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<p>For centuries, the Khasis and the Jaintias of Meghalaya have trained the young roots of the <i>Ficus elastica</i> building, or rather growing, root bridges providing connectivity across rivers, the meticulous maintenance of which has eventually become a tradition that essentially embodies the unbroken stream of their life since antiquity. With these sites attracting visitors from all over the world making them collectively an ecotourism destination, the challenge of striking a balancing between conserving the heritage and utilizing it as a primary source of livelihood begins to loom large on the horizon. This challenge points to the need for an optimal increase in the entry fee and determining a sustainable tourist volume against the sites’ carrying capacity. In view of this, an attempt was made to estimate the recreational value and the bequest value of the living-root bridges, the sole core drivers of the sites’ conservation in the long run, using the double-bound contingent valuation method (CVM). The finding shows that tourists are willing to pay (WTP) ₹ 154 (≈ $1.85 USD) per visit and the community members are willing to work (WTW) for around 14 days in a year to conserve the living-root bridges.</p>

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Assessment of recreational and bequest value of Meghalaya’s living-root bridges

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2025年7月21日

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  • Monica Konjengbam,
  • Sanjay Singh

摘要

For centuries, the Khasis and the Jaintias of Meghalaya have trained the young roots of the Ficus elastica building, or rather growing, root bridges providing connectivity across rivers, the meticulous maintenance of which has eventually become a tradition that essentially embodies the unbroken stream of their life since antiquity. With these sites attracting visitors from all over the world making them collectively an ecotourism destination, the challenge of striking a balancing between conserving the heritage and utilizing it as a primary source of livelihood begins to loom large on the horizon. This challenge points to the need for an optimal increase in the entry fee and determining a sustainable tourist volume against the sites’ carrying capacity. In view of this, an attempt was made to estimate the recreational value and the bequest value of the living-root bridges, the sole core drivers of the sites’ conservation in the long run, using the double-bound contingent valuation method (CVM). The finding shows that tourists are willing to pay (WTP) ₹ 154 (≈ $1.85 USD) per visit and the community members are willing to work (WTW) for around 14 days in a year to conserve the living-root bridges.