Outdoor cats pose substantial threats to native biodiversity, especially on islands. However, cats also provide benefits to people, such as companionship and the killing of pests. Thus, management of outdoor cats is controversial and can lead to conflicts among stakeholders. Although previous studies have examined stakeholders' preferences for outdoor cats and their management, little is known about the differences in their attitudes toward cat occurrences and management across habitats. Identifying these attitudinal differences would provide useful knowledge for policy makers about zoning management. We conducted structured interviews with residents in Amami Oshima Island, Japan, to evaluate the residents' attitudes to outdoor cats' occurrence and their management across habitats (Forest, Rural, and Town areas). Furthermore, we compared the attitudes of cat- owners and non-owners. The results show that the Forest was least preferred as an outdoor cat habitat. Lethal options as a management strategy were unacceptable to the residents, whereas adoption was acceptable in all areas. Cat-owners showed a significantly higher acceptance toward outdoor cats in Town and Rural areas than did non-owners; they also showed a lower acceptance of lethal options and a higher acceptance toward Trap, Neuter and Return (TNR) than non-owners. These findings imply that it is difficult to achieve consensus regarding outdoor cat management, especially in town and rural areas; however, outdoor cats from these areas move to the forests and pose a threat to the endangered species. Communication efforts with both cat-owners and non-owners should fill these attitudinal gaps among stakeholders and lead to effective management. (C) 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V

Integrating the benefits associated with biodiversity into market mechanisms can play an important role in conservation practice. Food labeling is a widely used measure that highlights biodiversity conservation benefits to the market.However, few studies have explored the effects of labels on staple agricultural products that are associated with agro-ecosystem conservation. We evaluated the biodiversity price premium of wildlife-friendly rice by analyzing data from retail stores in Japan. The results showed a significant positive impact of biodiversity-relevant labels on rice prices. Specifically, rice with this type of labeling had about 20% price premium as compared with rice that did not. The results also showed that outcome-based certifications have the potential to work well in the market. The findings highlight the role of conservation marketing in agro-ecosystem conservation and its potential to help balance biodiversity conservation and food security.

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Alpine landscapes are projected to be degraded under climate change, which would threaten their benefits to society. Previous studies, however, have been limited to aesthetic change, and it remains unclear how much the aesthetic change would affect human welfare. To address this issue and gain insights into climate change adaptation policies, we conducted a choice experiment survey using digitally manipulated images based on climate change scenarios and natural scientific knowledge in a mountainous national park in Japan. We uncovered that park visitors appreciate the alpine landscapes that include snow patches on mountains and some types of alpine flowers by analyzing the data from 445 respondents. Conversely, both the invasion of alpine vegetation by dwarf bamboo and the disappearance of snow patches due to climate change substantially deteriorated the perceived aesthetic benefits from alpine landscapes. The economic loss caused by climate-induced landscape degradation was estimated at more than 100 USD per visitor, at maximum; the disappearance of snow patches and invasion by dwarf bamboo reduced the benefits by approximately 13 USD and 101 USD, respectively. Our findings suggest that sustaining the aesthetic value of alpine landscapes in national parks via climate change adaptation has potentially significant economic benefits. By supposing that the mountain national park attracts 70,000 visitors in summer, climate change would cause as a minimum of eight million USD economic loss at the park without appropriate measures annually. Our findings highlight the importance of climate change measures by considering climate change impacts on social benefits associated with alpine landscapes.

Invasive alien species management requires public participation to overcome a lack of human and financial resources in management; however, little is known about the demand for public participation in invasive alien species management. To address this knowledge gap, the present study evaluated demand for management of invasive carp, which is one of the worst but publicity invasive species worldwide. A choice experiment survey was conducted in Amami Oshima Island, Japan to quantify tourists' demand for participating in invasive carp removal in nature-based tourism, and to evaluate the impact of ecological information provision on their preference. The results show most tourists would avoid participating in carp removal activities as a tour option without any financial discounts; however, over 35.2% of tourists were willing to work for carp removal, based on their own motivations. We also found that ecological information encouraged tourists to participate in tours that included carp removal activities. Incorporation of invasive alien species management in nature-based tourism can enhance the economic benefits for local tourism industries. Our findings indicate that tourists could play an important role in invasive alien species management by compensating for a lack of human and financial resources in management.

No abstract

The abandonment of irrigated paddy land has increased in Japan, which can cause a decline in food security and biodiversity. Despite the importance of individual decisions, most studies have only examined regional or community-based determinants of paddy land abandonment. This study aimed to uncover the socio-economic determinants affecting individual landowners’ decisions to abandon paddy land, using Japanese agricultural census data (2005, 2010, and 2015) composed of over one million unique paddy landowners. Results showed that low agricultural benefits are a key driver of abandonment, similar to European countries. Conversely, there is a positive correlation between the population of full-time cultivators in a household and paddy land abandonment, which contradicts previous evidence. Although some mosaics of socio-ecological landscapes with high biodiversity formed through long-term human influence (i.e., the Satoyama landscapes) are less-favored agricultural areas, the paddy land in some of these landscapes tends not to be abandoned. These findings support effective policymaking that balances biodiversity conservation and the provision of agroecosystem services in semi-natural landscapes.

Feral cat management needs cooperation, including financial support, from a variety of stakeholders. We used a payment card approach to investigate the willingness of tourists to donate to non-lethal feral cat management at a potential natural World Heritage site on Amami Oshima Island in Japan. We found that more than 80% of tourists intended to donate funds to non-lethal feral cat management, and the mean willingness to donate was about USD $14 (1374.1 JPY). The rate of participation in the donation was higher than that found in previous studies, and the amount of intention to donate was large enough to support non-lethal cat management. Respondent income and attitudes toward lethal options affected intentions to donate. Those who valued the island farmland also had a higher intention to donate. Our findings provide useful information for the implementation of feral cat management strategies to conserve biodiversity while minimizing conflict.