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Evaluation of households’ willingness to accept the ecological restoration of rivers flowing in china
Author(s) -
Yifei Zhang,
Li Sheng,
Luo Yuxi
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
environmental progress and sustainable energy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.495
H-Index - 66
eISSN - 1944-7450
pISSN - 1944-7442
DOI - 10.1002/ep.13094
Subject(s) - willingness to accept , contingent valuation , china , renminbi , landscaping , willingness to pay , welfare , payment , compensation (psychology) , restoration ecology , valuation (finance) , government (linguistics) , business , environmental degradation , geography , economics , natural resource economics , agricultural economics , ecology , finance , psychology , market economy , linguistics , philosophy , archaeology , psychoanalysis , biology , microeconomics
During the past decade, many urban rivers in China have undergone ecological restoration overseen by government agencies at the local and national level. Ecological restoration efforts such as this can improve the welfare of urban residents. This study reports the willingness to accept (WTA) for Pingjiang and Guangtaiwei rivers degradation in Suzhou based on a contingent valuation study of 426 respondents. Our results indicate that 48% of respondents would not accept any money as compensation for river degradation. The mean WTA estimate for those willing to accept a finite amount of compensation is 39,607 RMB, while the median WTA estimate for this group is 25,000 RMB. Results from the econometric model show that residents who have previously donated in support of environmental causes, are more satisfied with the river, more frequently come in contact with the river, who are employed, and who own a house are less likely to provide a finite WTA amount. Moreover, the results also indicated that residents who have lived around the river for longer periods, who live near the river, who are younger, who have larger families, who have not donated to environmental issues, and who are unsatisfied with the landscaping around the river are willing to accept more money. Our results provide an estimate of the average welfare loss associated with not restoring rivers, while also suggesting that there is considerable heterogeneity in the responses of those willing to accept a finite WTA payment as well as those who reject such compensation. © 2018 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 38:e13094, 2019