Total Economic Value of a Public Park - Case Study Example

 Topic: An Estimation of the Total Economic Value of a Local Park As a real park, I have selected Kings Park of Australia. To do the project I have done a questionnaire-based fieldwork, which made my project more reliable and easier to do. Kings Park is located on the western edge of Perth. It is a 4.06 square kilometers (1003 acre) park having mixture of Grassed parkland, Botanical gardens and Natural bush land on Mount Eliza. Officially the Kings Park was opened on 10 August of 1895. Kings Park provides many types of facilities for its employees and visitors, which have made their park more famous. I collected the information from the park authority on the basis of questionnaire-based fieldwork. Total Economic Value of Kings Park is $6869.3m. Though the park authority is making much money, but they could make much more if they pay attention in terms of entrance fare, number of guides, transport services for foreign visitors, hospitality and other facilities. Having good and bad sides, Kings Park is one of the mentionable parks for its monuments that they have built for showing respect and honor to some people who have sacrificed their lives in different memorable events. INTRODUCTION: Research means scrutinizing carefully of a certain topic. For this research-based project, we have told to make an estimation of the total economic value of a local public park. That means that kind of park, which is for public entertainment. For an example, the names of National Park, City Park, Mexican Forest Park, Bold Park, Central Park and many other parks of different countries may be mentioned here. As a real park, I have selected Kings Park of Western Australia as my chosen park. To do the project, I have done a questionnaire-based fieldwork (research based on questionnaire and making interviews of related groups), which made my project more reliable and easier to do. Though it is a short project, but I had to be careful in case of collecting information and applying them properly. My lack of knowledge and shortage of information were great limitations for this work, but the Park authority helped me very much by providing disc losable information. But they didn’t disclose some confidential information, which is part of their business policy. I am very grateful to our instructor who has given me the opportunity to do the project that has enriched my knowledge, skills, and practical experiences on a mentionable place of a distinctive country. OVERVIEW OF KINGS PARK: Perth City is Western Australia's central business district. Kings Park is located on the western edge of Perth. It is a 4.06 square kilometers (1003 acre) park having mixture of: Grassed parkland; Botanical gardens and Natural bush land on Mount Eliza. The streets of Kings Park are another symbol of peace. They are lined with individual plaques. The plaques are dedicated by Western Australian Service men and women’s family members, who died in World War I and World War II. Other than the tourist facilities and attractive sites, Kings Park also has: The State War Memorial; The Royal Kings Park Tennis club and A reservoir. Basically, it is assumed that the Kings Park is one of the profitable Parks in Western Australia. Because according to specialists, the places, which are situated in the centre of countries or districts, are more or less seem to be profitable. Kings Park is sort of that, but in some cases it could be better. HISTORY OF KINGS PARK: Officially the Kings Park was opened on 10 August of 1895. At the beginning, it was named Perth Park. People believe that the name was like that by its district where it is situated. In 1901, it was renamed as Kings Park to mark the concurrence of King Edward VII and the visit to Perth of George to the British throne. May Drive, one of the major roads, was named in the Princess's honor. Kings Park’s this kind of honor is rare in Park’s history. For this reason it gained and still now gaining fame and likings of people. New York's Central Park is smaller than Kings Park in size. Though New York’s Central Park seems to be bigger than Kings Park, but actually it doesn’t. No park was designated for public use in Australia before this one (in 1872). Australia's largest wildflower show and exhibition take place in Kings Park during September to October of each year. In Australia, rarely any park has this kind of arrangements for public entertainment. By identifying the land to set aside for public, General John Septimus Roe (colony's first surveyor) recognized the qualities of the area and tried to protect it from any kind of disasters. Botanic Gardens and Parks Authority does not work under any Local Government sector. Since 1999, Kings Park has been administered by that authority. They also administer Bold Park. The administration building of Kings Park provides the options where the visitors can book guided walking tours, gather information, or reserve one of the facilities.1 MENTIONABLE ZONES OF KINGS PARK: (1) MEMORIAL: War Memorial is one of the mentionable states of Kings Park. It has the name of all servicemen and women from Western Australia, who died in the Boer War, World War I, World War II, Korean War or Vietnam. (2) BALI MEMORIAL: A terrorist bombing was held on 12 October 2002. It took place in the resort town of Kuta on the Indonesian island of Bali. 202 people were killed and 209 injured on that bombing. The majority of the dead people were foreign tourists, including 88 Australians. This Bali Memorial is dedicated to the 16 Western Australian victims, the injured people and those who helped the survivors of the terrorist bombing. (3) HONOUR AVENUES: There are over 1100 of plaques in the Kings Park. Mr. Arthur Lovekin, owner of the Daily News, proposed to name the plaque and other areas by the name of those wounded and died people of different wars. Eucalypt trees have been planted through the roads of Kings Park. In front of each one, there is a plaque showing honor to those service men and women who died during action or as a result of wounds received. Lovekin’s idea was basically based on the Avenue of Honour, which is in Ballarat, Victoria. Originally shillings were required to pay by the families to cover the cost of the plantings, ex-servicemen who work in planting the trees. In 1920, to clear and plant Forrest Avenue with Sugar Gums, Mr. Lovekin and Board member Sir William Loton, each donated 500 pounds. That’s why after Mr. Arthur Lovekin’s death, Forrest Avenue was renamed to Lovekin Drive by the Kings Park board. (4) FRASER AVENUE: To honor the dignitaries and members of the Centenary Committee, (who planted the trees on 29 September 1929) from the northern entrance the Lemon Scented Gum trees were lining the road. An outstanding view of Fraser Avenue (in 1899) from the Perth Observatory Shows, the original or special state of the entrance and drive in the Weekend News Flashback Series 3542b 124 held in the collection of Battye Library Photography. (5) EDITH COWAN CLOCK: The formal name of Edith Dircksey Cowan Memorial is Edith Cowan Memorial Clock. It is located in the clock tower at the main entrance of Kings Park. Edith Cowan was the first female member of any Australian parliament in their history. It was built by her name in 1934 as a memorial to her. It is believed to be the first civic monument that was erected in Australia to show honor to an Australian woman. (6) BOTANIC GARDEN: Botanic garden of Kings Park was opened for the public in 1965. Currently the garden is recognized as the Western Australian Botanic Garden. The Botanic garden is of 18 Ha site within the park, which has a collection of 2000 species of Western Australian flora on display for the visitors. The collection of the flora makes the park much beautiful and attractive. In certain seasons the park gets decorated with flower nicely. (7) ROYAL KINGS PARK TENNIS CLUB: The Royal King's Park Tennis Club was founded in 1898 for serving its visitors. It is located within King's Park and it is open for all. The club organizes numerous tournaments like Davis Cup, which ties played there. It could bring some of the world's greatest players to Perth. Currently, the Club has 28 grass courts and 3 hard courts in number. These are the courts where the tournaments take place in different times of a year. The main pavilion of Royal Kings Park Tennis Club was built in 1926, and the McGibbon Stand was built in 1936.2 FACILITIES PROVIDED BY THE PARK AUTHORITY: Kings Park provides many types of facilities for its employees and visitors, which have made their park more famous. Some of the facilities are given below: The Kings Park Volunteer Guides provide guided walking tours for the visitors twice a day. The tour includes visit of the monuments and memorials, bush land paths and the Botanic Garden. The guides cover all aspects or zones of the park for the people who like to visit the park including the local Noongar names and traditions. Walks vary according to the Noongar season. For an example, Djilba-Kambarang, which is from July to October for the wildflower, season, the Mukuru from May to June, and the Birak-Djeran from November to April.3 They created a suitable living area for the people who take care of the park to facilitate their involvement in the Park. They provide necessary trainings if it is needed for the people who take care of the park. They create flexible working conditions for the employees and try to create employment of unemployed people. The park authority tries to make enough advertisements or promotion about the different events taking place in the park so that the visitors never miss the fairs and arrangements. Kings Park authority offers different types of packages for the visitors, so that the people get attracted to the park and the park may have more profit from that. QUESTIONNAIRE ASKED TO THE PARK AUTHORITY: To do the project I had to collect information from the park authority, other related groups and visitors as well. I used the primary and secondary sources to collect the information. But I didn’t use all the sources included in primary or secondary sources. How I collected information and what type of sources I used have given below: PRIMARY SOURCES: While I searching for information on the park, it is important to understand the value of both primary and secondary sources to do the work accordingly on that topic. A primary source is an original document containing firsthand or raw information about a topic. Different fields of study may use different types of primary sources. I used the following sources to collect information: INTERVIEWS: I conducted interviews with the some group of people, who are related with the whole entire park management. The questionnaire, on the basis of what I collected the information from them was like the following: 1) What is the exact existential situational of Kings Park? 2) How this park got establishment? 3) What is the measurement of its area? 4) From when it started to be opened for the public? 5) How many zones or areas they have? 6) Who work for the park? 7) What zone symbolizes whom and what events? 8) What kinds of facilities the park authorities provide for their visitors and employees as well? 9) What are the areas that have economic value? 10) How much the value of the areas are (mentioning certain areas name)? 11) What kinds of fairs or entertaining events they organize for their visitors? 12) If they provide any training for their employees or not? 13) How they provide guides for their visitors? 14) How they take care of the park? 15) What do the visitors think about the park? 16) Do they offer any packages for the visitors or not? 17) How they interact with the visitors? 18) Do they take any measures to make known the people of different countries and region about their fairs and festivals? 19) Do they have any profit making motive or not? 20) Do they really care about the quality of services they provide for their visitors? PHOTOGRAPHS: Photographs are the impression of many things. It plays a vital role in some cases as a primary source of information. I have got ideas from the photographs that they provided me during interview, as it was not possible to visit all the areas within a short time. I also get ideas through the pictures provided by the websites. SECONDARY SOURCES: On the other hand, a secondary source contains commentary or discussion about a primary source. That means secondary source is the additional explanation of primary source. The most important feature of secondary sources is that, they offer an interpretation or explanation of information collected through primary sources. The secondary sources that I used for collecting information of Kings Park were like the following: BIOGRAPHIES: It is related to Internet. I collected information from the wikipedia of Kings Park and other relevant websites. JOURNAL ARTICLES: Journal articles are also one kind of secondary source. I found an article on Kings Park in a daily newspaper. I used that information for making my project more enriched with data. TOTAL ECONOMIC VALUE OF KINGS PARK: Before measuring the total Economic Value of Kings Park, it should be clear that what is Economic Value and how to calculate that. In general, how much a product or service is worth compared to someone relative to other things, is known as the economic value of something. It is often measured in money. It can be an assumption or the measurement of what it should be in worth. It can be an explanation of something’s market value. There are various ways by which the Economic Value can be evaluated or explained. According to accounting specialists, Total Economic Value (TEV) =Direct-use value + Indirect-use value + Option value + Existence value Now to calculate the Economic Value, the terms or values of the equation should be clear and ambiguous. Like: DIRECT-USE VALUE: Direct-use value of a forest or park may include revenues from timber and values of non-timber forest products. That means the direct products or zones that earn money for that certain area or place. INDIRECT-USE VALUE: Another name of Indirect-Use Value is "functional" values. It is related to the ecological functions performed by forests or the park. For an example, the Indirect-Use Value may be global biogeochemical cycling, the protection of soils, and the regulation of watersheds. OPTION VALUE: Another name of Option value is quasi-option value. It is the expected value of the information based on the benefits of an asset. That means it is the expected value of an asset, which can earn money if it is utilized or preserved properly for future. For example, future pharmaceuticals developed from plant materials can be mentioned here. EXISTENCE VALUE: Existence value is related to the value of environmental assets, without considering current or optional uses. According to contingent valuation method, these can be a significant element or term in total economic value especially in those cases, where the asset has undifferentiable characteristics or cultural significance.4 Kings Park, Western Australia Total Economic Value Sheet July 26, 2007 Zone Direct-Use Value Indirect-Use Value Option Value Existence Value (1) Memorial $345.9m (2) Bali Memorial $467.5m (3) Honor Avenues $556.2m (4) Fraser Avenue $624.9m (5) Edith Cowan Clock $255.6m (6) Botanic Garden $107.0m (7) Royal Kings Park $3788.3m Tennis Club (8)Eternal Flame $154.7m (9) Narrows Bridge $331.7m (10) Plaque $237.5m Total $4120.0m $261.7m $237.5m $2250.1m So, the Total Economic Value of Kings Park is = Direct-use value + Indirect-use value + Option value + Existence value = $(4120.0+261.7+237.5+2250.1) m = $6869.3 m RECOMMENDATIONS: Perth City is Western Australia's central business district. Kings Park is located on the western edge of Perth. So people expect a lot from the park and the park authority expects to have remarkable profit from that. I have talked with some people, who regularly visit the Kings Park. According to their opinion, some recommendations for Kings Park are given below: The Botanic Garden Zone of Kings Park is incurring less revenue. So it should be more equipped with necessary and attractive elements. If the park authority reduces entrance fare, it will bring more people and the revenue of them will be high too. They should have more guides, as the number of visitors is more in ratio of guides. And the inadequate guides can’t provide all visitors proper services. It causes dissatisfaction of the visitors. They should be more careful in taking care of the monuments that they have been founded as the symbol of honor for some great people. To attract more foreign visitors, they should have better hospitality for them. If they provide transportation facilities for the foreign visitors in a large manner, then they would be more attracted to this park. They should be aware of their promotional or advertisement activities so that they can reach too many people, but with low rate of money. They should launch different types of packages for its visitors, so that people don’t be monotonous with the same types of packages in every year. They may introduce the packages considering the total country’s condition and economy. CONCLUSIONS: Kings Park situated in Western Australia. It is one of the great local parks for the Australian people. It is situated in Perth District, which is a centre of business. Its situation has created an opportunity for its related people in making money as well. Kings Park has several zones or areas, which serve people with amusement. Many people come here to pass their leisure time and enjoy themselves. Weekends and different types of long vacations are the high time, when people come to have a pleasant vacation with their family, friends or individually. Different occasions, fairs or festivals in different times attract people a lot to come and see the arrangements of the park. Though the park authority is making much money, but they could make much more. According to visitors, if they pay attention in terms of entrance fare, number of guides, transport services for foreign visitors, hospitality quality, packages, advertisements and other aspects, then they may cross their current revenue and reach more than their expected one. Having good and bad sides, Kings Park is one of the mentionable parks for its monuments that they have built for showing respect and honor to some people who have sacrificed their lives in different memorable events. It is a very rare and appreciable attempt of Kings Park obviously. REFERENCES: 1. Kings Park, Western Australia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia available at: < http: // en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kings_Park,_Western_Australia > ( Accessed on 26th July, 2007) 2. Masera et al. (1992), available at < http://www.fao.org/DOCREP/003/W3641E/W3641E14.htm > (Accessed on 26th July, 2007) 3. Ward, Frank A. March 1987. "Economics of Water Allocation to Instream Uses in a Fully Appropriated River Basin: Evidence for a New Mexico River." Water Resources Research 23(3): 381-392. Read More