Living environment shaped residents’willingness to pay for ecosystem services in Yangtze River Middle Reaches Megalopolis,China

Profound understanding on the diversity of local residents’willingness to pay(WTP)for ecosystem services(ESs)may aid evaluation of policy impacts by uncovering trade-offs and synergies for achieving sustainable environmental resource management.However,the reasons for the spatial preference heterogeneity of WTP are still unclear.In this study,an extensive survey with 4,580 residents in the Yangtze River Middle Reaches Megalopolis(YRMRM),central China,was carried out to investigate the public’s WTP to maintain and improve ESs.We identified key influencing factors and explored how they shaped the preference heterogeneity in WTP by random forest model and surface fitting method.Our results showed that 81.4% of residents reported WTP for ESs greater than zero.Water supply,waste treatment,food supply and raw material supply were the preferred ESs for residents.Living environment factors(i.e.,extent of farmland,water and forest near the residence)were found as the key drivers of WTP.Proximity to farmland,water and forests resulted in high WTP values for a series of specific ESs.The reasons for the heterogeneity of WTP are(1)the difference in proximity to farmland,water and forest(i.e.,the contributor to ESs),(2)the divergence of local residents’preferences for ESs.This study disclosed the heterogeneity and causes of public preferences in YRMRM,which could help policy and decision makers to develop eco-compensation initiatives towards conservative and sustainable use of the environmental resources.

Willingness to Pay (WTP) for an Improved Environmental Quality in Ebonyi State, Nigeria

Increasing generation of rice husk requires better quality disposal options in Ebonyi State, Nigeria. The common practice has been incineration or dumping into dumpsite. The enormous heaps of these rice husks which have piled up since the 1960s now constitute nuisance. Removal of this rice husk from the environment is urgently needed because of the environmental pollution and health hazards it poses to the people and the environs. This study estimates the willingness to pay (WTP) for improved waste disposal services. Findings indicated that about 95% (152) of the households were willing to pay for removal of rice husk waste with an average amount of N957. Factors that positively affected WTP for the removal of rice husk from the environment include annual income (0.001), years of education (0.013), farm size (0.051), age (0.025) and farming experience (0.008), while household size (0.003) and distances of homes/farms from rice mill centers (RMCs) (0.001) were inversely related to WTP with the R2 value of 77%. About 90% (144) of the respondents generated rice husk with an average of 23 bags (kg). The study therefore recommends among others that through the help of extension agents, the general public should be informed on the need for waste recycling and the need for attitudinal change towards recycled product.

An Application of ＇Willingness to Pay＇ Method as a Quantifier for Environmental Impact Assessment

The preservation/restoration of natural environment is frequently entailing excessive cost （paid by people through taxation） while it is a source of additional income for both, the State and the people, due to tourism. Since the evaluation of this good cannot be in market terms, it is applied here in a modified version of the CVM （Contingent Valuation Method）, which is used in experimental economics in order to investigate the significance that people put on this good and how much they might be WTP （Willing to Pay） for supporting activities concerning the preservation/restoration of Lake Kastoria. The WTP dependence on （i） external diseconomies; （ii） the expectations for property values＇ rise as a result of the restoration; （iii） the proximity of interviewees＇ residence to the lake; （iv） the opinion of the interviewee on the time and money spent to visit the lake; （v） the time and money the interviewees spent to visit the lake, as well as other dependencies （all taken as independent variables） are estimated by means oflogit, probit, logistic and linear regression models. The optimal concentration Copt of a pollutant in the environment can be determined as an equilibrium point in the tradeoff between （i） environmental cost, due to impact on man/ecosystem/economy; and （ii） economic cost for environmental protection, as it can be expressed by Pigouvian tax. These two conflict variables are internalized within the same techno-economic objective function of total cost, which is minimized. In this work, the first conflict variable is represented by a WTP index. A methodology is developed for the estimation of this index by using fuzzy sets to count for uncertainty. Implementation of this methodology is presented, concerning odor pollution of air round an olive pomace oil mill.

Study on the Willingness to Pay the Tourists in the Ecological Environment Protection of Huashan Scenic Spot

In this paper, CVM method (conditional value evaluation method, also known as willingness investigation method) is used to investigate the willingness to pay about the ecological environment protection cost of Shaanxi Huashan scenic spot in July and August, 2013. By establishing the Logistic regression model, the per capita willingness to pay (WTP) of the tourists is calculated to be 79.2 yuan / person. The results show that the tourists' awareness of environmental protection is increasing day by day, and the visitors are fully aware of the importance of protecting the ecological environment. 57.85% of the tourists will be willing to pay, including civil servants, self-employed persons, college degree or above, family monthly income in the 8000-10000 yuan visitors will pay higher. This provides a reference for the sustainable development and development of ecotourism in Huashan Scenic Spot.

Consumer willingness to pay for plastic bags levy and willingness to accept eco-friendly alternatives in Botswana

Plastic bags, though commonly used for packaging of goods, are highly durable and non- biodegradable. Plastic bag litter serves as a negative environmental externality detrimental to animal health and natural beauty of the environment. In an effort to curtail the excessive use of plastic bags in Botswana, the government introduced a plastic levy targeted at consumers at retail points. This study uses primary data collected from 367 respondents randomly selected from six geospatially and purposively selected shopping malls to determine the consumers＇ willingness to pay （WTP） for continued plastic bag usage and their willingness to accept （WTA） to shift to eco-friendly alternatives. The results of the study revealed that open dumping and burning of plastic litter are more common in Maun than in Gaborone, It also showed that there is a significant relationship between the level of education and W＇FP. Further, there is a significant variation in income and education in respect to environmental awareness. The government should improve its efforts of sensitizing the public about the improper disposal of plastic bags.

Analysis on the Influencing Factors of Residents' WTP for Environmental Protection in Tourist Destination——A Case Study of Yellow River Stone Forest in Jingtai of Gusu Province

On the basis of questionnaire survey,by adopting Contingent Valuation Method,residents' WTP for the protection of Yellow River Hoodoo National Geopark in Longwan Village,Jingtai County of Gansu Province was investigated.The result showed that tourism development had greatly influenced local society,economy and culture.Residents in this area had a strong awareness of all the factors above mentioned and showed a positive attitude.Local residents would definitely like to provide a certain degree of labor or money to promote the development of tourism,which was different from the residents' attitude of developed countries.To some extent,it reflected the characteristics of tourism development in developing countries.However,the result of this paper that demographic among residents had little effect on WTP also differed from previous researches.The improvement of living standard and residents' consciousness of environmental protection were the main reasons affecting residents' WTP.Besides,the amount of payment was also in remarkable correlation with the improvement of living standard and the destruction degree of local ecological environment.

WILLINGNESS TO PAY AND PREFERENCES FOR GREEN HOUSING ATTRIBUTES IN HONG KONG

Promotion of green housing is of utmost importance in the achievement of sustainability in the built environment. While the states often use legislation or offer subsidies to motivate developers to build green, market forces can lead to green housing provision without any state intervention if the market players are willing to pay extra for the green attributes of housing. This study aims to explore residents’ willingness to pay (WTP) and preferences for green housing attributes based on the findings from a structured questionnaire survey in Hong Kong. The housing attributes under investigation include the uses of green materials and construction methods (e.g. timber from sustainable sources), energy-efficient technologies (e.g. LED lighting) and water-saving devices (e.g. grey water recycling system). Results indicate that apart from moral or altruistic reasons, residents’ WTP was mainly motivated by economic incentives. Green housing attributes which can directly reduce residents’ utility bills corresponded to greater WTP. Besides, environmental attitude was found a strong determinant of the WTP. Policy implications of the research findings then follow.

Public Participation in Rural Environmental Governance around the Water Source of Xiqin Water Works in Fujian

Public participation is an important way to improve the overall effect and social recognition of rural environmental governance in water source areas. Public participation makes environmental governance measures more targeted and effective, contributes to protecting the basic environmental rights of the public, and makes it easier to meet the livelihood needs of rural people. Public participation in rural environmental governance in water source areas is characterized by complex behavior and is dependent on public willingness to participate. Amongst other factors, it is subject to the combined influences of both internal（psychological cognition） and external（environmental regulation） conditions. This paper builds a theoretical framework for understanding public participation behavior in rural environmental governance, and uses it to analyze a case in the rural area surrounding the Xiqin Water Works in Fujian Province. In the case study, the public shows high willingness to participate, but low actual rates of participation. At the same time, the willingness of villagers to pay for the control of pollution from livestock and poultry breeding varies greatly from village to village, and there are also noticeable individual differences in public participation in the use of public collection points for rural household waste. We found that gender, understandings of environmental protection and perception of environmental regulation, play a key role in influencing the willingness of farmers to pay for the control of pollution from livestock and poultry breeding. Individual awareness of environmental protection, environmental protection facility conditions, and environmental service quality had a significant influence on public participation in the use of public collection points for rural household waste.

Estimating the Outdoor Recreational Value of Lavizan Jungle Park of Tehran Using Contingent Valuation Method (CV)

Natural resources and its condition have always had a key role in economic and social developments of different societies around the world and these resources are considered as natural capital and bankroll of economic growth and development for every country. In the present study, we have evaluated the outdoor recreational value of Lavizan Jungle Park of Tehran and its visitors’ willingness to pay per visit (WTP) by using Contingent Valuation method (CV) and two-dimensional choice questionnaires. We used 125 questionnaires and logit model in order to evaluate the WTP. The purpose of this study is to measure individuals’ willingness to pay for visiting and preserving the environment of Lavizan Park as well as indicating the relationship between influential factors on their WTP. Estimating the value of natural resources is very important in making environmental preservation policies because preserving these natural attractions, as a part of ecotourism, is highly important. JEL Classification: Q29, Q51, C25.