Research on the Willingness to Accept Compensation and Compensation Sharing of Returning Land for Farming to Forestry in Zhangjiakou and Chengde Region

[Objective] The aim was to study the willingness to accept compensation and compensation sharing of returning land for farming to forestry in Zhangjiakou and Chengde region.[Method] Based on the investigation of farmers’ willingness to accept ecological compensation in Zhangjiakou and Chengde region,farmers’ willingness to accept compensation was quantized,and the calculation model of sharing rate of ecological compensation was established,finally the sharing rate of ecological compensation was calculated choosing water supply quantity as reference.[Result] Farmers’ willingness to accept compensation in Zhangjiakou and Chengde region was 2 740.5 yuan/(hm2·a),and returned farmland area was 429 700 hm2 in 2008,so the willingness to accept ecological compensation was up to 1.178 billion yuan/a.In addition,the ecological compensation sharing rate of government was 37.60% in Beijing,42.75% in Tianjing and 19.64% in Tangshan,and their ecological compensation funds were 443,504 and 231 million yuan,respectively.[Conclusion] The study could provide important foundation for the establishment of ecological compensation standard and implementation of ecological compensation in Zhangjiakou and Chengde region.

Farmers’willingness to accept compensation for livestock and poultry waste resource utilization and its determinants

Ecological compensation is widely considered a policy that encourages farmers to recycle livestock and poultry waste for economic and ecological benefits.Therefore,based on field data from 30 counties(districts)in six cities of Shandong Province,China,this study systematically analyzes farmers'willingness to accept compensation for livestock and poultry waste resource utilization as well as its determinants.It does so using the UTAUT theoretical analysis framework,as well as the contingent valuation method and Heckman two-stage selection model.The results show that,first,72.4%of the farmers in the sample are willing to accept a certain amount of compensation—the expected value of which is RMB 98.02 per month per household—as an incentive to utilize livestock waste.Second,the key determinants of farmers'willingness to accept compensation are marital status,family annual income,concurrent business,farming scale,economic performance expectation,social performance expectation,knowledge reserve,public relations,and technical convenience.Finally,the factors that affect farmers’willingness in terms of the compensation amount are gender,age,family annual income,social performance expectation,subjective norms,and public relations.Therefore,to promote the recycling of livestock and poultry waste,this study proposes policies that promote education and technology popularization in relation to livestock and poultry waste resource utilization,provide subsidies for waste recycling,and strengthen government control and social supervision over the non-standard disposal of such waste.

Estimating farmers’stated willingness to accept pay for ecosystem services:case of Lake Naivasha watershed Payment for Ecosystem Services scheme-Kenya

Introduction:Lake Naivasha watershed is recognized for its contribution to Kenya’s national gross domestic product from the export of horticultural products.Commercial horticultural investment downstream depends mainly on the Lake’s water.The fresh water lake lacks surface outflow,and its recharge depends on river Malewa flowing from upper catchment in Aberdare ranges.However,unsustainable land use practices in the upper catchment has led to increasing sediment loading and pollution in river Malewa which affects water quality in the Lake downstream.Payment for Environmental Services(PES)scheme has been initiated as an alternative incentive approach to motivate upstream smallholder farmers adopt sustainable land use practices for conservation of watershed services.This paper analyzes willingness to accept pay(WTA)as proxy economic measure of environmental service(ES)value and determines socio-economic factors influencing farmers WTA for watershed conservation.We analyzed the WTA and characterized WTA underlying socio-economic determinants in two PES intervention sites in Kenya.Methods:The objective of this study was to estimate WTA and determine socio-economic factors influencing WTA.Semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect data from 200 PES farmers through face-to-face interview.We applied contingent valuation(CV)and logistic regression for data analyses to elicit farmer’s WTA estimates to implement PES farm practices and determine socio-economic factors influencing WTA,respectively.Results:Results revealed over 90% of respondents were farmers and 60% had primary level of education.Average household farm size was 2.305 acres and family size was six members on average.We recorded a monthly marginal household increase in gross income from Kshs.6891.969(US$68.92)before PES to Kshs.11,011.48(US$110.12)with PES interventions.The estimated annual lowest and highest WTA for PES farm practices were at Kshs.8835(US$88.35)for grass strip and Kshs.21,847.500(US$218.48)for fallowing.Household socio-economic characteristics had significant influence on WTA among farmers.Conclusions:The study revealed heterogeneity in WTA estimates among PES implementing farmers.The WTA reflects opportunity cost to farmers.We recommend PES mechanism as a policy tool to internalize negative watershed externalities to provide ecosystem services.

Agricultural opportunity costs assessment based on planting suitability:a case study in a mountain county in southwest China

Payment for ecosystem services(PES) has become an increasingly popular means of ecosystem conservation. Opportunity cost is an important factor to increase the investment efficiency of PES projects.However, the distribution of opportunity cost is usually unclear in mountainous regions due to the obvious environment changes. In this study, we developed a framework to assess the distribution of agricultural opportunity costs in mountainous regions and applied this method to Baoxing County, a typical mountainous county in Sichuan Province of southwest China. Planting suitability of 17 crops was assessed based on agricultural statistics and natural conditions data within a GIS environment.Agricultural opportunity cost was quantified with a weighted summation of farmers' willingness to cultivate and each crop's opportunity cost. Finally,specific agricultural opportunity cost was obtained according to the spatial areas of the protection programs and land use status. The results showed that agricultural opportunity costs of PES in Baoxing County were estimated to be more than $30 million,with a mean of 400.85 $/ha. Agricultural opportunity costs in mountainous regions displayed some obvious spatial variation and areas with lower agricultural opportunity costs could be selected as priority areas for PES. Our findings revealed that the planting suitability evaluation can make agricultural opportunity costs mapping more reasonable. It will be helpful for the PES programs implementation in mountainous regions.

Environmental benefits and farmers' adoption of winter cover crops in the North China Plain

The introduction of cover crops into monoculture systems to improve soil health has been widely adopted worldwide. However, little is known about the environmental risks and application prospects of different cover crops in spring maize(Zea mays L.) monocultures proposed in the North China Plain. A pot experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of different winter cover crops on subsequent maize yield, soil fertility, and environmental risks of nitrogen(N) loss, and a questionnaire survey was conducted to examine factors influencing farmers' willingness to adopt cover crops in the North China Plain. Based on the same fertilization regime during the maize growing period, four winter cover crop treatments were set up, including bare fallow, hairy vetch(Vicia villosa Roth.), February orchid(Orychophragmus violaceus), and winter oilseed rape(Brassica campestris L.). The results indicated that winter cover crops significantly increased subsequent maize yield and soil organic carbon, total N, and microbial biomass carbon and N compared with the bare fallow treatment.The incorporation of cover crops led to a negligible increase in nitrous oxide(N_(2)O) emissions and had a very limited effect on ammonia(NH_(3)) emissions.The incorporation of February orchid and winter oilseed rape decreased nitrate leaching compared with the hairy vetch treatment in the maize growing season.The N losses via N_(2)O and NH_(3) emissions and N leaching accounted for 71%–84% of the N surplus. However, yield increase and environmental benefits were not the main positive factors for farmers to accept cover crops. Financial incentive was rated by 83.9% of farmers as an “extremely important” factor, followed by other costs, when considering winter cover cropping. These results indicate that the environmental benefits depend on the type of cover crop. Maintaining high levels of soil fertility and maize yield, providing sufficient subsidies, and encouraging large-area cultivation of cover crops are critical measures to promote winter cover cropping in the North China Plain.