An assessment of willingness to pay for improved water services in Tanzania: a case study of Igunga Town

The study assesses the willingness to pay (WTP) for conservation of the water catchment to improve the availability of water services in Igunga town. The study used the contingent Valuation Method (CVM)) to assess and examine determinants of the households; WTP for conservation. The study employed both parametric and non-parametric methods on sample of 200 household randomly selected in the study area. Probit regression model was estimated to determine factors influencing the WTP and the average WTP amount. In addition, a non-parametric method-Kruskal wallis and Man Whitney U were carried to assess the variation of WTP on the household characteristic such as socioeconomic, demographic and location. The key findings from this study are that, on average, household are willing to pay for conservation of the water catchment, 83 parent indicated to be willing to pay. Furthermore, household are willing to pay Tsh. 4,92 per month, equivalent to 100 percent of estimated amount of money required for catchment conservation. Factors influencing WTP was household income, , education level, house ownership, price of water the outbreak of water diseases. Increase in income and education found to influence positively the probability of household to pay for conservation. While the outbreak of waterborne diseases and increase in price water reduces the probability of household to pay for conservation. The implication from the study findings ia that, effective conservation of catchment in the study area would require to large extent the community participation. Policies geared towards improving income and education at local level would benefit further water resource management.