Heterogeneity Impacts of Farmers’ Participation in Payment for Ecosystem Services Based on the Collective Action Framework

Yunyun Qi, Tianye Zhang, Jing Cao, Cai Jin, Tianyu Chen, Yue Su, Chong Su, Srikanta Sannigrahi, Arabinda Maiti, Shiqi Tao, Qi Zhang and Tan Li ()
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Yunyun Qi: College of Economics and Management, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei 230036, China
Tianye Zhang: College of Economics and Management, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei 230036, China
Jing Cao: College of Economics and Management, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei 230036, China
Cai Jin: College of Economics and Management, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei 230036, China
Tianyu Chen: College of Economics and Management, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
Yue Su: College of Economics and Management, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei 230036, China
Chong Su: Institute of Agriculture Remote Sensing and Information Technology, College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
Srikanta Sannigrahi: School of Architecture, Planning and Environmental Policy, University College Dublin Richview, Clonskeagh, D14 E099 Dublin, Ireland
Arabinda Maiti: Department of Geography and Environmental Management, Vidyasagar University, Midnapore 721102, India
Shiqi Tao: Graduate School of Geography, Clark University, Worcester, MA 01610, USA
Tan Li: College of Economics and Management, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei 230036, China

Land, 2022, vol. 11, issue 11, 1-20

Abstract: Payments for ecosystem services (PES) are designed to reduce the impact of human activities on eco-sensitive areas. PES programs often adopt economic-incentive and command-control strategies. Increasing the enthusiasm of farmers’ participation is crucial for the sustainability of PES programs and ecosystem restoration. The watershed ecological compensation in Xin’an River Basin is the first horizontal ecological compensation pilot in China. In this study, economic-incentive strategy and command-control strategies in living and farming are implemented simultaneously to improve water quality. Under the collective action framework, we analyze the drivers of farmers’ participation in three concurrent strategies using hierarchical linear models (HLM). The results show: (1) Overall, 81.79%, 76.26%, and 79.11% of farmers are willing to participate in economic-incentive strategy, command-control strategy in living, and command-control strategy in farming, respectively, while 18.21%, 23.74%, and 20.89% are from the village level. (2) Among statistically significant ( p < 0.01) factors at the farmer level, social trust ( β = 0.305), and social participation ( β = 0.134) have positive effects on the economic-incentive strategy; the number of communication and entertainment equipment has a positive effect on the willingness to participate in command-control strategy in living ( β = 0.287) and command-control strategy in farming ( β = 0.336). (3) At the village level, village characteristics have a direct impact on the farmers’ willingness to participate in strategies. Village woodland area is positively correlated with strategies participation. In addition, village characteristics play a moderating role by influencing farmers’ sustainable livelihood capital. We conclude that different concurrent strategies and collective actions need to be considered in the design of PES programs, particularly in ecologically sensitive areas, which can enrich the theory of collective action and the connotation of PES.

Keywords: collective action; hierarchical linear model; payment for ecosystem services; watershed ecological compensation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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