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

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.

On the Mismatches between the Monetary and Social Values of Air Purification in the Colombian Andean Region: A Case Study

“…Regarding the identification of AP as a priority, the literature emphasizes that AP is a highly valued ES in urban contexts (in terms of social importance level), given its contribution to urban quality of life [8,17,48]. Although the research on air quality recognizes the great importance of the value to be paid, few studies assign a specific amount to AP because these values are involved in multiple ES assessment contexts [8,22].…”

“…In general, AP has been understood as a human welfare indicator, in terms of air quality or clean air [15,16]. AP mainly embodies the production of negative tropospheric ozone, absorption of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, fluoride, particulate matter (PM10), and noise reduction [17,18]. Further, they contribute to a final benefit related to clean-air environments, by removing pollutants from the atmosphere, reducing the cost of human-led air purification, and preventing large expenditures on public health and safety [19].…”

The Evolution Response of Ecosystem Cultural Services under Different Scenarios Based on System Dynamics

“…Other studies found that when people face more survival risks, their perception of the surrounding CES will be reduced [57]. People's direct experience plays an important role in shaping their perception of the surrounding CES [58]. CES can be evaluated after they are perceived.…”

Regional Spatial Management Based on Supply–Demand Risk of Ecosystem Services—A Case Study of the Fenghe River Watershed

“…Nahuelhual et al apply willingness to pay to estimate agricultural heritage values [24]. Based on these definitions, various assessment methods for ES demand have been explored, such as the consumption method [25], the preference method [26][27][28], the contingent valuation method [29], and the matrix method [4,12]. Although these methods have promoted the progress of ES demand assessment, some obstacles still exist.…”