Willingness to pay for the conservation of yew trees in vietnam

UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS HO CHI MINH CITY VIETNAM INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL STUDIES THE HAGUE THE NETHERLANDS VIETNAM - NETHERLANDS PROGRAMME FOR M.A IN DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS WILLINGNESS TO PAY FOR THE CONSERVATION OF YEW TREES IN VIETNAM BY NGUYEN THANH TUAN MASTER OF ARTS IN DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS HO CHI MINH CITY, SEPTEMBER 2013 UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS HO CHI MINH CITY VIETNAM INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL STUDIES THE HAGUE THE NETHERLANDS VIETNAM - NETHERLANDS PROGRAMME FOR M.A IN DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS WILLINGNESS TO PAY FOR THE CONSERVATION OF YEW TREES IN VIETNAM A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS IN DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS By NGUYEN THANH TUAN Academic Supervisor: DR TRUONG DANG THUY HO CHI MINH CITY, SEPTEMBER 2013 Abstract Yew tree has not only value in use of wood products but also in existence of itself which provides valuable opportunities to other fields of research such as biology, chemistry, pharmacology The number of Vietnamese yew trees, however, has reduced year after year and today there are only approximately 250 natural individuals locating in Daklak, Vietnam According to the IUCN and Viet Nam Red Data Book, Vietnamese yew trees are critically endangered The subject of this research is to measure the existence value of yew trees using contingent valuation method (CVM) with single-bound dichotomous choice (DC) The study finds out that the mean WTP for conservation of Yew in Vietnam is approximately VND 73,000 per household; and household heads with different socio-economic characteristics such as age, income, occupation, and education have significantly different levels of WTP Acknowledgement I would like to thank my supervisor for his instruction and comments through my research Especially I am deeply impressed by his enthusiasm with all students working with him That is one of the motivations to help me accomplishing the thesis I also want to say thanks to all of professors, lecturers, and other people in this program Without knowledge from their classes and tutorials, my thesis cannot be possible Eventually, I would like to express my gratitude to my family, my friends, and my company who did support me during the time of studying and working on my thesis Nguyen Thanh Tuan Table of Contents Chapter 1: Introduction Chapter 2: Literature Review 2.1 A brief history of CVM 2.2 Economic theory of CVM 10 2.3 Basic elements of CVM 12 2.4 Empirical applications 16 2.5 Empirical studies In Vietnam 17 Chapter 3: Methodology and Data 19 3.1 WTP estimation 19 3.2 Survey design 21 Chapter 4: Results and Discussions 26 Chapter 5: Conclusion 53 List of tables Table 1: Survey mode 13 Table 2: Statements .33 Table 3: Response of WTP questions – at the first time 36 Table 4: Response of WTP questions – at the second time .36 Table 5: Calculated mean WTP – non-parametric estimate .43 Table 6: Definitions of variables included in the regression .44 Table 7: Results of simple regression with constant and BID 45 Table 8: Regression results 47 Table 9: Summary of parametric estimated WTPs for the case of dependent variable - Y22 51 Table 10: summary of estimated WTPs for the case of dependent variable – Y22 52 List of figures Figure 1: Distribution of respondents’ age 26 Figure 2: Cross - tabulation of marital status and group of age 27 Figure 3: Occupation by gender 28 Figure 4: Levels of education .29 Figure 5: Gender in levels of education .30 Figure 6: Distribution of reported household income 30 Figure 7: Country facing problems 31 Figure 8: Environmental issues 32 Figure 9: Ranks of proposal species 33 Figure 10: Attitude toward endangered species 34 Figure 11: Survivor function for the second time WTP question 37 Figure 12: Reasons of why respondents dislike the proposed payment vehicle – electricity surcharge 40 Figure 13: Discussion time to answer questionnaire 41 Figure 14: Survivor function after certainty adjustment for the first time WTP elicitation 42 Figure 15: Survivor function after certainty adjustment for the second time WTP elicitation 43 Willi ngness to P ay for t he Co nserv ation of Ye w- trees in Viet nam Chapter 1: Introduction Yew (also known as water-conifer) is - the scientific names Glyptostrobus pensilis listed in the IUCN and Vietnam red data Books as endangered situation (CR) , and considered as the living fossil of gymnosperm industry The Decree 32/2006/NDCP of the Vietnamese government has stated that this kind of tree is classified into group IA: strictly banned from exploitation and use for commercial purposes According to the reports of Forest Protection Department (FPD) of DakLak province, this species of yew trees in the world now exists only in Ea Ral (Ea H'Leo district), Trap K'sor (Krong Nang district) and a few dozen has been scattered in Krong Buk district, DakLak province (Bao Huy, 2010) This ancient species facing extinction needs urgent solutions for propagation, conservation and development Yew wood is un-attackable to termite, warping, and fragrant Therefore, it is normally used to produce furniture, household goods, musical instruments, etc The breathing roots which are smooth, porous, and light have been used to produce cork, hat Moreover, its branches, leaves, and ripe cones are used as arthritic medications, pain reducing, and skinny tightening It also has fine grain, many patterns, and especially the longer soak in the water or mud, the shinier it is Additionally, yew shape is beautiful, then, one could grow yews for ornamentation, or for protection the coastal land from erosion Population and habitats of yew tree in Daklak, Vietnam: The number of yew currently is 255 individuals which only locate in Daklak province (Bao Huy, 2010) There are 219 individuals of yew in Ea Ral, Ea H’leo CR – according to classification of IUCN and Vietnam red data book, CR means critically endangered The order of classification is that Extinct (EX), Extinct in the wild (EW), Critically endangered (CR), Endangered (EN), Vulnerable (VU), Lower risk (LR), Data deficient (DD), and Not evaluated (NE) Find more details in Vietnam Red Data Book, Part II Plants (Dang et al., 2007) According to the managers of the conserving yew tree project in Daklak for period 2011 – 2015, this number was updated as 162 individuals in Aug, 2012 Page district; 31 individuals in Trap K’sor, Krong Nang district; and old trees in Cu Ne, Krong Buk district The existence of yew has not only meaning to itself, but also to the whole area of primary forest with biodiversity in which they locate According to Bao Huy (2010), with the biological characteristic that they have just lived in the seasonal wetlands, yews only exist in some specific areas in Vietnam or in the world With the thousand-year existence, yews and biological system in the area of conservation have been a very valuable place for researches If there is no action or intervention from the government from now, the risk of permanent loss of the thousand-year primitive forest is inevitable by the growing and strengthening effects of timber extraction and yew-wood trading activities That would be a large detriment for studies have not been done as well as the discovery of biodiversity here Figure 1C (in Appendix C) illustrates the current distribution of yew individuals in Trap Ksor (Krong Nang) Each individual has been numbered as shown in the figure The distribution is dispersed widely in a large area In Trap Ksor (Krong Nang, Daklak), on March 24, 1987 the local government of Daklak province established a Decision about scheming and forbidding Trap Ksor forest area, and identified that this zone had become a protection area of yew trees’ gene The total area is about 98.6 hectares and under the control of rangers and contractual officers The surrounding area is agricultural land, separated from the core zone by simple barbed wire The current problems with this preservation area are that there are not sufficient human resources for protection purpose, low budget (about 16 million VND per year), and long distance from here to the managerial office (10 kilometers) This explains why there are still a lot of timber extraction activities here Moreover, the agricultural activities of farmers in surrounding area have reduced the water resource that supports for growing and fire protecting of yew (Bao Huy, 2010) Page Figure 2C (in Appendix C) describes the current distribution of yew population in Ea Ral (Ea H’leo) In comparison with population in Trap Ksor, the individuals’ location is quite close This would be a good condition in planning this area for conservation program In Ea Ral (Ea Hleo), the Yew management station has been established and under control of Ea Hleo forest protection unit (FPU) in 1994 But according to the manager, there has been not an official decision for this establishment The number of rangers here is just five persons Similarly to Trap Ksor, this lack of management gives more opportunities to illegal loggers The statistic number of FPU shows that during 2009 there have been 22 violating cases caught and prosecuted (Bao Huy, 2010) The number of yew trees in Cu Ne (Krong Buk) is just five individuals In addition, these trees are very old and without top of trees All of them locate far away from the residential area, then, the officers face many considerably difficulties in protecting activities (Bao Huy, 2010) According to scientists (Bao Huy, 2010; Tran, 2012 in Thai, 2012), the number of current yew trees is going to be reduced in the near future due to the increasing illegal logging and trading Current efforts of conserving yew tree in Daklak province: In 2011, the government of Daklak province has approved the project of conserving habitat and yew trees in DakLak for period 2011 - 2015 The project was designed with funding from the state budget and partly from the contributions of the people and the international donor organizations However, this project had not been implemented until August 2012, and at that time, only Ea Ral area was taken over by the project managers The remaining areas in Krong Buk and Krong Nang have just been handed over in March 2013 This slow procedure is due to lack of personnel and funding According to the project design, the Ea Ral area needs at least people on patrolling duty However, three of them are general staff, and handle concurrently Mr Phuoc – current director of Yew conservation program – answered reporter of Da Nang Polices Newspaper on May 20, 2013 Online version is available at http://cadn.com.vn/new/65_10471_-tha-p-tung-ba-u-va-t-thu-y-tu-ng.aspx jobs as official and patrolling staff in reality Infrastructure and equipment are not fully equipped This has made limited in ability to protect yew populations in Ea Ral, especially patrolling activities in protected areas With flooded and marshy properties, the movement of patrol is very difficult In heavy rain conditions, this problem is even more difficult Another concerning problem is the area around the belt has not been cleared; there are many individuals of yew being on the boundary and adjacent areas of agricultural crops of the local residents Therefore, it is very easy for illegal loggers to intrude the reserves At the same time, farming operations, irrigation of the surrounding population directly affect water resources and ecological conditions of the yew populations As mentioned above the number of yew individuals in Ea Ral area was counted as 219 at the time of conducting the project research by a group of researchers from the Tay Nguyen University in 2010 However, until the project management was officially formed and accepted the transfer of management, this number is only 140 yew trees The main reason is due to destruction of illegal loggers If the loss of control is continued, there will be more individuals of yew ruined annually The reduced number of yew also means that the resource for research and breeding will decrease Reducing the number of individuals and increasing of competing species which have been dominated habitats, plus the impacts of unfavorable natural elements from the surrounding agricultural activities will directly affect the habitat of yew environment This increases the risk of loss of yew in the future Research problems In summary, the lack of resources for research and management has constrained the conservation of yew trees Moreover, the low ability and quantity of rangers make this task limited One important thing should be considered is that during 35 years the scientists who were tracking these areas did not recognize any regeneration of young yew tree by seed, just only a few plants regenerated by buds Most individual yews in these areas are old, and have a very poor growth and sparse foliage SECTION 1: PROBLEM FACING THE COUNTRY In your opinion, what are the THREE BIGGEST PROBLEMS facing our country today? (on the right column, write if you think it is the biggest, if it is the second biggest, and if it is the third biggest problem) Order Problem A B C D E F G H I J K Ranking (1, and 3) Economic problems (e.g., unemployment, inflation, …) Poverty Education Health Crime, violence, inequality Government and governance (corruption, poor administration, ) Infrastructure (e.g., road, water, electricity, …) Environment (e.g., climate change, air pollution, deforestation, …) Terrorism Relations with other countries (trade, ocean, …) Other (please specify): Do you think that Vietnamese environment and natural resources are properly taken care of? (Please tick your choice) Yes No Don’t know What you think are the THREE MOST IMPORTANT issues related to natural and human impact on the natural environment? (on the right column, write if you think it is the most important problem, if it is the second important problem, and if it is the third important problem) Order Natural resource and environmental problem A B C D Air pollution Water pollution Solid waste Loss of endangered species (plants and animals considered to be facing a high risk of extinction) Deforestation Traffic problems Soil erosion Enhanced greenhouse effect (reason why heat is trapped on earth) Destruction of coral reefs (loss of protective environment for marine animals) Other (please specify): E F G H I J Ranking (1, and 3) SECTION 2: ATTITUDE AND KNOWLEDGE ABOUT SELECTED ENDANGERED SPECIES In terms of endangered species protection, which species you believe is more deserving of protection? (on the right column, place if you think it is the most important species, if it is the second important species, and if it is the third important species) Species Species rank 21 22 Fokienia hodginsii Yew A D Dalbergia Tonkinensis Prain B Calocedrus 24 E Pinus C 23 25 26 Dalbergia F 21 http://www.vietstamp.net/forum/showthread.php?t=8466 Self – taken photo https://www.google.com.vn 24 http://daitutintuc.violet.vn/entry/show/entry_id/8155150 22 23 25 http://www.baokhanhhoa.com.vn/xa-hoi/yte-suckhoe/201301/Vo-cay-thong-giup-phuc-hoi-chan-thuongnao-2215748/ 26 http://guitargo.vn/homepage/vi/news/Tin-tuc/Dan-guitar-lam-bang-go-gi-30/ Please read the following statements and give your opinion (Strongly agree/ Agree/ Indifference/ Disagree/ or Strongly disagree) Don’t worry about the answers, there is no right or wrong to these questions Statement Agree Indifferent Disagree Strongly Strongly agree disagree There are more considerable environmental problems than conservations of endangered species Poaching, exploiting, and trading endangered species should be punished by laws The conservation of endangered species should be a priority concern of the government The endangered species are important even though we not see or have an interaction with them Everybody has duty to guarantee for existence together with mankind in the future of current known plants and animals The government should increase more monetary resource to resolve the environmental programs in Vietnam The government should increase taxes to pay more for endangered species The government should pay attention to helping people before spending money on endangered species conservation High-income household should be taxed more to pay for conservation of endangered species People should contribute by cash to endangered species conservation Have you ever seen a yew tree? Yes No Yew trees have many different kinds Yes No Don’t know Some communities could obtain some still benefits from yew tree without timbering them - for example, through tourism? Yes No Don’t know SECTION 3: THE CONSERVATION PLAN FOR YEW TREES In this section, we will provide you some information about the yew trees Yew tree Glyptostrobus pensilis (Staunt) K.Koch belonged to the Taxodiaceae is a rare plant, not only in Vietnam but also in the world This kind of trees is concerned too much in term of biological researches, and in the earliest protection They have been recorded in the Vietnamese and World Red Data Books as endangered situation (EN) The Decree 32/2006/ND-CP of the government has stated that this kind of tree is classified into group IA: strictly banned from exploitation and use for commercial purposes With the historical development in million years, it has been considered as living fossil of gymnosperm industry According to researches (Nguyen & Vidal, 1996; Bao Huy, 2010; Nguyen & Thomas, 2010) the unique natural population of Yew is only in Daklak, Vietnam Beside the scientific values, Yew also has the economic values: Yew wood is un-attackable to termite, warping, and fragrant Therefore, it is normally used to produce furniture, household goods, musical instruments, etc The breathing roots which are smooth, porous, and light have been used to produce cork, hat Moreover, its branches, leaves, and ripe cones are used as arthritic medications, pain reducing, and skinny tightening It also has fine grain, many patterns, and especially the longer soak in the water or mud, the shinier it is Additionally, yew shape is beautiful, then, one could grow yews for ornamentation, or for protection the coastal land from erosion (Bao Huy, 2010) Source: Internet 27 The problems of Yew trees: In Vietnam, there are only three areas having the natural 28 individual yew trees in Dalak province In Ea Ral, there are 140 individuals; in Trap K’sor 29 the number of yew is 32 ; and in Cu Ne there are some old individuals with only trunks 27 http://60s.com.vn/index/2863544/10102010.aspx; http://www.tinmoi.vn/nguy-co-cui-hoa-gan-80m3-gothuy-tung-quy-hiem-01962992.html 28 Statistical number of the project’s Board of management (1/11/2012) 29 Bao Huy (2010) “Proposal of Yew Conservation Program in Dalak from 2011 to 2015” – unpublished Planning strictly protected zones, ecological recovery and buffer zones for all protected areas are clarified, but have not been implemented; so it is very difficult in the conservation and development of this species Although there have been some studies of genetic individuals, populations, tissue culture, cuttings, grafing, but the actual implementation of conservation in place and displacement has not been done systematically According to Dr Bao Huy, Yew is an ancient plant, even though there is no intervention of human, the existence of Yew is no longer by the degenerative process of paleontology Moreover, it is conifer, and hard to be pollinated Its seed has no embryo for new plant generation causing the feasible risk of loss of Yew trees Therefore, it is necessary to have a scientific intervention of human if we want to conserve it The local government (Dalak province) approved the project of Yew tree conservation in Daklak province from 2011 to 2015 designed by a group of researchers in Tay Nguyen University This project is planned to be financed a part from the government’s budget and the rest will be contributed by population and charitable international organizations Source: Internet 30 The status of the project: It is proposed in 2010, but until August 2012 this project had been started Now only the Ea Ral area is managed by the board of management, the others in Krong Nang and Krong Buk have not been transferred because of the lack of budget and human resource By the time of October 2012, there are only five forest protectors; meanwhile as designed it should be at least seven employees The infrastructure, instruments have not been fully equipped This constraints the ability of Yew trees protection in Ea Ral The movement is especially important The surrounding 30 http://nld.com.vn/20100508125115417p1002c1005/san-lung-than-duoc-thuy-tung.htm ; http://www.sggp.org.vn/phongsudieutra/2010/10/241372/; http://60s.com.vn/index/2863544/10102010.aspx area is flooded and marshy; therefore, the controlling patrol is very difficult In heavy rain conditions, this problem is even more difficult Another concerning problem is the area around the belt has not been cleared; there are many individuals of yew being on the boundary and adjacent areas of agricultural crops of the local residents Therefore, it is very easy for illegal loggers to intrude the reserves At the same time, farming operations, irrigation of the surrounding population directly affect water resources and ecological conditions of the yew populations As mentioned above the number of yew individuals in Ea Ral area was counted as 219 at the time of conducting the project research in 2010 However, until the project management was officially formed and accepted the transfer of management, this number is only 140 yew trees The main reason is due to destruction of illegal loggers If the loss of control is continued, there will be more individuals of yew ruined annually The reduced number of yew also means that the resource for research and breeding will decrease Reducing the number of individuals and increasing of competing species which have been dominated habitats, plus the impacts of unfavorable natural elements from the surrounding agricultural 31 Source: Internet activities will directly affect the habitat of yew environment This increases the risk of loss of yew in the future Now we wo uld li ke to a sk yo u about info rma tio n of Ye w t ree s i n Vie tna m Yew trees have not much economic value Yes No Don’t know 10 In Daklak, Yew trees now are in (choose only one answer) Order 31 Krong Nang Ea Hleo Krong Buk All of them http://60s.com.vn/index/2863544/10102010.aspx; http://www.godep.asia/index.php?catid=35:tinmi&id=86:thy-tung-tit-chng&option=com_content&view=article 11 The number of Yew trees in Ea Ral (Ea Hleo) is 100 individuals 140 individuals 200 individuals 12 The Daklak’s project of Yew and habitat conservation has been conducted in Krong Nang Ea Hleo Both districts 13 The Daklak’s project of Yew and habitat conservation has been efficiently implemented Yes No Don’t know 14 Yew species will be extinct if there is no more efficient measures Yes No Don’t know Now we will introduce to you a Yew trees conservation program that could remain the existence of Vietnamese yew trees The Yew trees conservation program remaining the existence of Vietnamese Yew trees based on the following measures: - Planning the conservation area: releasing the surrounding agricultural land to create the buffer zones Zoning the strictly protected areas for Yew and the current habitat; the areas for ecological recreation (existing forest-covered area without Yew) to bring new plants resulted from clonal generation to planting, or to regenerate the new breathing roots by silvicultural intervention; and the administrative area for management and experimental research faculties - Creating the management and protection system - Building the infrastructure: including basic construction for working area of management; roads and concrete barrier surrounding the two conservation areas; three protection stations in three conservation areas; and for other activities - Protection activities, research, and implementing conservation measures: equipping vehicles, equipment, and support tools for patrol employees to be on duty 24/24 Conducting research activities for Yew propagation: tissue culture, cutting, grafing; regenerating from breathing roots’ buds or Yew seeding; seeding germination, supporting and local plants in the buffer zones; planting Yew in the ecological recreation Beside this, another program also will be conducted to improve the knowledge of people living around these areas about the conservation of this endangered species The expected results: - Protecting the integrity habitat and Yew from the unfavorable activities of human: illegal exploitation (thef, destruction, digging roots,…); agricultural farming impacts the water resource and environment; … - Successfully implementing the Yew propagation; planting Yew forest and natural habitats According to researchers, this program can remain the existence of Yew trees However, it needs a considerable budget Now we’d like to find out if your household would have willingness to contribute to the conservation of Vietnamese Yew by paying some money to the fund The purpose of this survey is to identify if people in Vietnam would be willing to contribute to fund making it worthwhile The proposal payment here is a surcharge in monthly electricity bill; and it is a one-time payment This means that your electricity bill in the next month could be added a surcharge; and this would be applied to all households in Vietnam The whole amount of money will be transferred to the fund of conservation program Supposing that this program would just been conducted if almost Vietnamese people vote for it Please take note that this survey is only aimed to find out your opinion about this problem and there is not an actual referendum However, we are surely interested in finding what and how could you vote for this program if a referendum did take place in our country There is a normal behavior that researchers have identified; people usually say “yes” when they are asked to vote for a proposal program; but they change the answer when the program is actually implemented (voting against) It is also stated that people are easy to vote for a program when it is unreal and not care much about the means of their answers Therefore, please try to tell us how you think you would really vote in an actual referendum Please vote for the program only if you are really willing to pay the adding amount Suppose that in the next month, everyone has to pay a surcharge that was 15 Would you vote in favor of a surcharge that would be added to the electricity bills of your household and of other households in this country Remember that the surcharge is a one-time payment and would be added to your next month electricity bill The money raised would be transferred to the Vietnamese yew trees conservation program described above Yes go to question 19 No go to question 16 16 What are the reasons why you did not vote for the program? Please tick the most appropriate answers (limit to answers) I cannot afford this amount I not believe that the money I pay will actually be used for yew conservation I not like adding the amount to my electricity bill I not think conservation of yew trees is worth doing I prefer giving money to humanitarian cause instead I think that other species are more important than yew trees Majority of the poor will be affected Only people who will directly benefit from yew tree conservation should pay for Only those from higher income groups should pay for this Others (please specify) 17 If you vote “NO” to the proposal of setting up the yew tree conservation program given that will cost your household a one-time payment of , is there any amount that you would be willing to donate to support this program? Yes No go to question 20 18 If Yes, what amount would it be? VND 19 What was it about the Conservation program that made you willing to vote for it? (check the most appropriate answers and limit them to 3) A The yew tree is a special plant and should be protected B I like the idea that we could get matching funds from international organization as long as we can provide counterpart funding C It is high time that people in Vietnam something concrete about protecting the yew D This initiative can lead to more protection efforts for other endangered species in Vietnam E Other, please specify: 20 How certain are you that you would vote “YES”/ “NO” if such a referendum would really take place? (please tick the appropriate answer) Completely sure/ definitely vote YES/NO Sure Not very sure Not sure Completely not sure 21 Before you began answering this questionnaire, did you think there are real existing threats to the yew trees as described? Yes No 22 Please rank the following according to how effective you think they would be in encouraging people to contribute to the Yew trees conservation fund Place for the method, which you think is most important, as the second most important, and so on Method A Provide more information about the problems of yew B.Provide more information about the responsible organizations and their activities C.Create more transparency and accountability on how to help D Make it convenient for people to donate Rank E.Get organizations to publicize their activities (i.e use celebrities as presenters) F Others, please specify: 23 When you decide on your vote, did you believe the description of the current situation with regards status of yew trees that was provided in this questionnaire? Yes (go to question 19) No 24 If No, why not? (please check the most appropriate answers) Have not seen yew tree yet Others reasons: Other reasons: 25 When you decided on your vote, did you believe that the yew tree conservation program would actually be effective in saving the yew? Yes go to question 27 No 26 If NO, why not? (please check the most appropriate answers and limit them to 3) A The funds may not be used to support the program activities due to graf and corruption B The funds may not be used to support the program activities since the government may channel it to other uses C The funds may not be remitted on time by the collecting agency D A lot of money will be used for clearing and planning, the rest will be not enough for the other activities E I don’t believe that the result of propagation research will be in time to save Yew F Investment on infrastructure helps nothing for the conservation G I don’t believe in the ability of intact protection of Yew and its habitat H Other, please specify: I Other, please specify: 27 When you decided on your vote, did you believe that the Electric Company would agree to collect the funds for this program? Yes go to question 29 No 28 If NO, why not? (please check the most appropriate answers and limit them to 3) The electric company will not this for free – they will charge as a big part of the collected money for their efforts The electric company is not bound by law to this – I don’t know what will make them agree to this I don’t see any connection between electricity and yew trees Other, please specify: Other, please specify: 29 When you decided on your vote, did you like the proposal to collect the people’s contribution as a surcharge on your electricity bill rather than, say, an increase in other taxes? Yes go to question 31 No 30 If NO, why not? (please check the most appropriate answers and limit them to 3) A The electricity bill is always increasing I am afraid this fee will always increase also B I can’t see any connection between electricity bill and yew trees – this does not make sense to me C Not everyone has electricity connections – so, how can you collect from those not connected? D The connection should not be mandatory every month – why can’t we just pay when we want to? E One – time payment is simply too much – why not make this an annual payment? F I not like the compulsory payments G I prefer increasing taxes for the program rather than increasing my electricity bill H Other, please specify: 31 Now, I would like to give you a chance to review your answers in Question 15 where you would vote for or against the Yew tree conservation program Would you vote in favor of a surcharge that would be added to the electricity bills of your household and of other households in this country Remember that the surcharge is a one-time payment and would be added to your next month electricity bill The money raised would be transferred to the Vietnamese yew trees conservation program described above Yes No 32 How certain are you that you would vote “YES”/ “NO” if such a referendum would really take place? (please tick the appropriate answer) Completely sure/ definitely vote YES/NO Sure Not very sure Not sure Completely not sure In the next part, we would like to ask for some background information about you and your household SECTION 4: YOUR HOUSEHOLD’S INFORMATION 33 Does your household have electricity? Yes No go to question 36 34 Does your household pay the entire electricity bill, or share the bill with anyone outside your household? Household pays entire bill Shares bill with someone else 35 How much was your household’s own electricity bill last month? Or if you share the bill, how much was your share? VND/ month 36 Does your household own this house/ apartment? Own Rent Provided by employer/ State Use for free Other, please specify: 37 How old are 38 Gender you? Age Male 39 Marital status Female Single Married 40 Main occupation Government employment Private employment Self-employment (own business) Fisherman/ farmer Laborer/ mechanic/ tailor/ skilled worker Overseas foreign worker Pensioner (retired) Other, please specify: Other, please specify: 41 Highest educational attainment th Please give the highest level attended on the lef column (For example, college – year) Educational attainment Highest Level attended No formal schooling Elementary High school Vocational College Graduated Post-graduated 41.a Total schooling years: year 42 Please list number of household members per age group Age group Children (< 12 yrs) Teens (13 – 17 yrs) Adults (> 17 yrs) Number of household member 43 How many people in your family, including yourself, earn cash income? (divided by gender) Gender Number of earners Male Female 44 Please check the average monthly HOUSEHOLD income bracket where your household belongs to (include the cash earning of all family members who are working or gainfully employed, including yourself) Level of household’s income Level of household’s income Less than mil VND From 16 to