Saving the Philippine Eagle: How Much Would It Cost and are Filipinos Willing to Pay for It?

The Philippine Eagle, classified by the IUCN as an endangered species, has received limited funding support from the government and private organizations relative to the needed resources for enhanced conservation efforts. To address this gap, the study sought to answer this basic question: Are Filipinos willing to pay to increase conservation efforts that would also improve the chances for survival of the Philippine Eagle? Along with this are concerns on the amount Filipinos are willing to pay, motivations for paying, attitude toward the proposed conservation program, and factors affecting households' decision to pay. The study also addressed four methodological issues on payment vehicle effect, scope sensitivity, extent of the market and effect of using colored or black and white photographs. In general, results show that the potential aggregate benefits on the national level outweigh conservation costs by almost 10 times despite low support for endangered species conservation. Across subsamples, only 23-31 percent are willing to support the Mindanao Eagle Conservation Program as a monthly surcharge on their utility bill. Parametric and non- parametric willingness to pay (WTP) values range from PhP 20 (USD 0.40) to PhP 34 (USD 0.68) and from PhP 14 (USD 0.28) to PhP 22 (USD 0.44), respectively, across subsamples. The main reason for unwillingness to pay is economic constraint, which is consistent with the finding that economic problem is the main priority concern among Filipinos. Findings also reveal that respondents are insensitive to the payment vehicle (voluntary vs. mandatory water bill), collection mechanism (mandatory water vs. electric bill), scope of the program (national vs. regional), and extent of the market (on-site vs. off-site). However, WTP was found to be influenced significantly by questionnaire packaging (colored vs. black and white photographs).