Local Residents’ Perceptions for Ecosystem Services: A Case Study of Fenghe River Watershed

Hongjuan Zhang, Qian Pang, Huan Long, Haochen Zhu, Xin Gao, Xiuqing Li, Xiaohui Jiang and Kang Liu
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Hongjuan Zhang: College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Northwest University, Xi’an 710127, China
Qian Pang: College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Northwest University, Xi’an 710127, China
Huan Long: College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Northwest University, Xi’an 710127, China
Haochen Zhu: College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Northwest University, Xi’an 710127, China
Xin Gao: Business School, Hohai University, Nanjing 211100, China
Xiuqing Li: College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Northwest University, Xi’an 710127, China
Xiaohui Jiang: College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Northwest University, Xi’an 710127, China
Kang Liu: College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Northwest University, Xi’an 710127, China

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 19, 1-19

Abstract: To make environmental management decisions more executive and targeted, it is essential for decision-making to include local residents’ perceptions and preferences for ecosystem services (ES) and biodiversity (BD). This study conducted a questionnaire survey with 386 local residents to explore social perceptions for ES and BD in the Fenghe River watershed. ES contain food from agriculture (AGR), food from livestock (LIV), fresh water (FW), air purification (AP), water purification (WP), water retention (WR), soil retention (SR), aesthetics (AES), recreation (RE), and spirit (SP) in this study. Ranking and Likert scales are combined to identify residents’ preferences for ES and BD. The hypothetical market method is used to identify the willingness to pay for BD and ES. Independent sample T-test, one-way ANOVA, and Spearman correlation are used to analyze preference heterogeneity. The results show that: (1) residents prefer WP, AP, AGR, and FW; (2) 51.3% of respondents are willing to pay a fee for improving ES while 48.7% of respondents are unwilling to pay; (3) residents’ personal and residential factors affect preference heterogeneity. Last, we put forward three management suggestions on controlling environmental pollution, improving residents’ awareness of ES, and establishing a multi-channel fund based on government financial resources for improving ES in the Fenghe River watershed. Integrating stakeholders’ perceptions for ES into decision-making can promote the sustainable development in Fenghe River watershed.

Keywords: ecosystem services; social assessment approach; social preference; willingness to pay; preference heterogeneity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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