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Proceedings of the International Academy of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, 2023, 13(3): 94-110
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A production function approach to estimate agricultural yield benefits of sacred groves: Evidence from sacred groves of Kachchh, Gujarat, India

Amit Pandey
Ecology and Economics of Sacred Forests, Department of Policy and Management Studies, TERI School of Advanced Studies, New Delhi, India

Received 26 March 2023;Accepted 30 April 2023;Published online 10 May 2023;Published 1 September 2023
IAEES

Abstract
The study is pivotal because of the uniqueness of the study-site. This is because on one hand the saline and marshy deserts of Kachchh makes the groundwater levels low and a region less conducive for agriculture but, the presence of perennial water source inside the groves are likely to provide moisture to nearby fields through underground aquifers that could be facilitating agriculture. The estimate of soil acidity from WLS model is 0.019% for cereals compared to 0.053% for cereals in 2SWLS respectively. A comparison of the soil acidity estimate shows a substantial downward bias (178.94%) for cereal yields in estimation using WLS as compared to 2SWLS. According to theory, I expect a negative sign on the coefficient of soil acidity - with a unit increase in soil acidity, agricultural yields reduce. The endogeneity test suggests that environmental quality is an endogenous variable with a F-statistic value of 4.163 with 1 restriction and 175 degrees of freedom with a p-value of 0.04. In this study, I reject the null hypothesis of exogeneity of environmental quality (soil acidity) at 5% significance level. I have got a U-shaped relationship between distance and soil acidity. An increase in distance from 6 to 7 kilometers, increases acidity by 100*{[-0.59+2*.047*(7)]}=0.068*100=6.8%. Additionally, it has been estimated that as we go further from sacred grove, soil acidity increases after six kilometers. However, before six kilometers, say, going from two to three kilometers, away from sacred grove, soil acidity is declining (giving it a U-shaped). This is because of high-level of acidity due to lignite mining and other industrial pollution. This study would also add to the existing database of the studies related to the valuation of ecosystem goods and services that highlight economic consequences of decline in ecosystem services initiated under the TEEB-India initiative.

Keywords production function;ecosystem services;sacred groves;conservation.

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