Economic valuation of Shadegan International Wetland,Iran: notes for conservation

Wetlands are among the most productive ecosystems on the earth. They produce various market and non-market goods and services, which have a significant role in human welfare. Despite the great opportunities from sustainable development, wetlands all over the world are under serious threat from a diverse range of non-sustainable activities. One of the major reasons for excessive depletion and the conversion of wetland resources is due to underestimating the non-market values of wetlands during development decisions. Shadegan International Wetland (SIW) in southern Iran is one of these wetland areas that is threatened by undervaluation and overexploitation from commercial activities. This study utilizes the contingent valuation method to estimate the economic benefits of SIW from the view point of peoples’ willingness to pay (WTP). The logit model was defined based on dichotomous choice to measure individuals’ WTP. The estimated mean WTP was US$ 1.74 per household as a onetime donation. This study concludes that the benefits of SIW to society could encourage managers to set priorities to ensure that the health of the ecosystem, its integrity, and its uniqueness would be conserved in a proper manner.     

Non-users’ trade-off between natural scenery, water quality, ecological functions and biodiversity conservation: a way to preserve wetlands

The inclusion of both non-use values and values placed by non-users provide more reliable results about the real values of wetlands. A choice experiment method was conducted to estimate the willingness to pay for environmental conservation in non-users’ communities adjacent to the Shadegan International Wetland (SIW) in Iran. A random parameter logit (RPL) model was developed to derive the marginal value and compensating surplus of the respondents for five attributes of the non-market values of SIW. The trade-off between five different wetland attributes showed that water quality improvement and biodiversity conservation were the most highly valued attributes. The results demonstrated that about 66 % of non-users were willing to donate money for the contribution in SIW conservation, suggesting that non-users have the potential to contribute to SIW conservation programs.     

Bisphenol A Adsorption from Aqueous Solution Using Graphene Oxide-Alginate Beads

Journal of Polymers and the Environment - In this study, the potential of graphene oxide-alginate beads (GO-AB) as an adsorbent for bisphenol A (BPA) removal from aqueous solution was investigated....     

Photoreduction of Cr(VI) in wastewater by anodic nanoporous Nb2O5 formed at high anodizing voltage and electrolyte temperature

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - In this study, nanoporous anodic film was produced by anodization of niobium, Nb in a fluoride ethylene glycol electrolyte. The effect of anodization...