INTRODUCTION

Wetlands represent a combination of aquatic and terrestrial environment, in which the soil is seasonally or permanently covered by shallow water and the water table is close to or near the surface^1,2. Wetland covers thousands of square kilometers; at spatial scale ranging from a crack in the rock to rain forest or ocean. Being highly productive, in terms of biodiversity and as well ecosystem’s benefits; human community derive, directly or indirectly from ecosystem functions. Ecosystem functions refer varyingly to the habitat, physical and biological benefits/processes of the ecosystem³. On a larger scale, anthropogenic activities impact physical, chemical and biological processes, which impair the ecosystem functioning⁴ causing decline and degradation of ecosystem services and also economic value of the wetland⁵. Wetland predominantly endure change in wetland hydrology and habitat, loss of catchment area adjacent to urban growth, increasing runoff of nutrients and pollution, introduced species replacing indigenous species, land clearance and over-use of resources by losing its subsistence economies of that region mainly due to urbanization. The benefits which may be lost are not effectively quantified in viable markets and also in terms comparable with economic services, are often specified with too little weight in policy decisions. Hence, quantifying economic values of ecosystem are essential to respite human activities apart from accounting their services in the regional planning.

Valuation entails assigning an economic value in direct market for all the benefits (such as food, fodder, remediation, clean water, biodiversity, groundwater recharge, etc.) of wetlands. Nevertheless, the possible way of addressing the economic value is to estimate the value which is exactly the price payable to replicate the natural ecosystem³ or the price estimated/ paid for the same in direct market by means of economic valuation.