Factors affecting consumers’ willingness to join (WTJ) and willingness to pay (WTP) for rain water harvesting system (RWHS) for household needs: a case study in the northern part of Sri Lanka

Abstract

An escalation in the population, pollution and contamination of fresh water bodies in the island nation exerts a strain on adequate supply of fresh water. When it comes to fresh water supply the condition in the dry zone is far more acute than in the rest of the island. This feature is intensively felt in the Jaffna peninsula. In consideration of this situation, the researchers deliberated on applying traditional concepts with modern alterations to conserve and store rain water at household levels. Thus, the researchers had taken effort to (i) ascertain consumer willingness to join, (ii) ascertain consumer willingness to pay for the bid and (iii) identify the socio economic factors influencing the choice of individuals. The city of Jaffna within municipal limits was selected for this purpose and around 300 respondents were picked randomly corresponding to the population of the relevant secretarial divisions. The collected data were analyzed within the frame work of contingent valuation (CV) method, using Probit and Multinomial Logit Regression. The results revealed that household WTJ depends on education, household size, income, media exposure index and real estate extent. These factors again influenced positively and were statistically significant. Similarly household WTP is positively influenced by education, age, household size, media exposure index, real estate extent and income which were statically significant. Thus, increasing media exposure relevant to the immediate need, extending a knowledge of the ground reality in a wide range, making available credit facility essentially for the institution of RWHS for the economically unstable, will make the supply of RWHS for all possible, thus making the storage and use of fresh water a success in the peninsula region.