Estimating the economic value of forest ecosystem services using stated preference methods: the case of Kakamega forest, Kenya

According to the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, in the next 40 years, tropical forests are among the biomes projected to lose habitat and species most rapidly. Yet these biomes provide numerous ecosystem services that confer local, regional and global economic benefits. One of these forests, and the focus of this study, is Kakamega forest in Kenya. Kakamega Forest is the last remaining rainforest in Kenya and is home to numerous endemic fauna and flora species while it provides crucial ecosystem services to a large number of people. Moreover, the conservation of the forest incurs an oppor...