Economic value evaluation of conserving the rare and endangered species affected by the Three Gorges Project

doi:10.3724/SP.J.1003.2009.08311

Abstract

Abstract:

We designed the payment card questionnaires to survey the willingness to pay (WTP) of people using the contingent valuation method (CVM), in an attempt to evaluate the economic values of conserving the rare and endangered species influenced by the Three Gorges Project (TGP), including Lipotes vexillifer,Psephurus gladius,Acipenser dabryanus,Myxocyprinus asiaticus,Acipenser sinensis,Adiantum reniformevar. sinense,Myricaria laxiflora and Chuanminshen violaceum. The employees in the state-owned units and other companies from 31 provinces/autonomous regions were surveyed. A total of 1,036 valid surveys were collected in June 2008. The result indicated that 70.08% of the respondents were willing to pay for the conservation of the rare and endangered species. The average WTP bids of all the respondents were 127.82 RMB yuan per year. We also analyzed the correlation between the respondents’ characteristics and their WTP bids using the contingency table and the Chi-square test for independence. The results indicated that WTP bids were mainly affected by age, education level, profession, personal income, the awareness of TGP, the attention paid to TGP, and the knowledge of the influence of TGP on the rare and endangered species. In conclusion, the economic values of conserving the rare and endangered species affected by TGP is 82.19×10⁸RMB yuan per year. This study may provide basic information for the further policy-making of the conservation of the species in the Three Gorges area.

Key words: the Three Gorges Project (TGP), contingent valuation method (CVM), rare and endangered species, willingness to pay (WTP), WTP bids, economic value evaluation

Jianhong Xiao, Min Wang, Guoqing Shi, Qingdong Yu, Chunmei Mao, Dongjing Chen. Economic value evaluation of conserving the rare and endangered species affected by the Three Gorges Project[J]. Biodiv Sci, 2009, 17(3): 257-265.

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URL: https://www.biodiversity-science.net/EN/10.3724/SP.J.1003.2009.08311

https://www.biodiversity-science.net/EN/Y2009/V17/I3/257

Figures/Tables 4

References 61

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区域 Areas	国有单位就业人数(万人) * Number of employees in state-owned units (×10,000)
库区(湖北、重庆) Three Gorges Reservoir Area (Hubei, Chongqing)	422.3 (6.57%)	241 (6.86%)	122 (11.78%)
长江上游 Upper reaches of the Yangtze River	544.0 (8.46%)	298 (8.49%)	74 (7.14%)
长江中下游 Middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River	1,082.7 (16.84%)	596 (16.97%)	213 (20.56%)
其他区域 Other areas	4,381.0 (68.13%)	2,377 (67.68%)	627 (60.52%)
合计 Total	6,430 (100%)	3,512 (100%)	1,036 (100%)

区域 Areas	国有单位就业人数(万人) * Number of employees in state-owned units (×10,000)
库区(湖北、重庆) Three Gorges Reservoir Area (Hubei, Chongqing)	422.3 (6.57%)	241 (6.86%)	122 (11.78%)
长江上游 Upper reaches of the Yangtze River	544.0 (8.46%)	298 (8.49%)	74 (7.14%)
长江中下游 Middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River	1,082.7 (16.84%)	596 (16.97%)	213 (20.56%)
其他区域 Other areas	4,381.0 (68.13%)	2,377 (67.68%)	627 (60.52%)
合计 Total	6,430 (100%)	3,512 (100%)	1,036 (100%)

变量 Variable	频数 Frequency
性别 Gender
男 Male	792(76.45%)
女 Female	244(23.55%)
年龄 Age
25-30	147(14.19%)
31-40	488(47.10%)
41-50	327(31.56%)
≥51	74(7.14%)
文化程度 Education level
本科及以下 Bachelor and below	520(50.19%)
研究生教育 Postgraduate	516(49.81%)
从事职业 Profession
水利 Water conservancy	185(17.86%)
生态环境 Ecological environment	363(35.04%)
环境保护 Environmental protection	184(17.76%)
其他 Other profession	304(29.34%)
个人收入(元) Personal income (RMB yuan)
≤30,000	277(26.74%)
30,001-60,000	485(46.81%)
60,001-90,000	206(19.88%)
≥100,000	68(6.56%)
居住区域 Residential regions
库区(湖北、重庆) Three Gorges Reservoir Area (Hubei, Chongqing)	122(11.78%)
长江上游 Upper reaches of the Yangtze River	74(7.14%)
长江中下游 Middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River	213(20.56%)
其他区域 Other areas	627(60.52%)
对三峡工程的了解 The knowledge of TGP
十分熟悉 Most familiar	62(5.98%)
比较熟悉 More familiar	390(37.64%)
一般 Generally familiar	520(50.19%)
不熟悉 Not familiar	64(6.18%)
对三峡工程的关注 The attention paid to TGP
十分关注 Most attentive	190(18.34%)
比较关注 More attentive	613(59.17%)
一般(包括了3位不关注的) Generally attentive (including three not attentive persons)	233(22.49%)
对三峡工程对生物影响的了解 The knowledge of the rare and endangered species affected by TGP
十分熟悉 Most familiar	26(2.51%)
比较熟悉 More familiar	255(24.61%)
一般 Generally familiar	578(55.79%)
不熟悉 Not familiar	177(17.08%)

变量 Variable	频数 Frequency
性别 Gender
男 Male	792(76.45%)
女 Female	244(23.55%)
年龄 Age
25-30	147(14.19%)
31-40	488(47.10%)
41-50	327(31.56%)
≥51	74(7.14%)
文化程度 Education level
本科及以下 Bachelor and below	520(50.19%)
研究生教育 Postgraduate	516(49.81%)
从事职业 Profession
水利 Water conservancy	185(17.86%)
生态环境 Ecological environment	363(35.04%)
环境保护 Environmental protection	184(17.76%)
其他 Other profession	304(29.34%)
个人收入(元) Personal income (RMB yuan)
≤30,000	277(26.74%)
30,001-60,000	485(46.81%)
60,001-90,000	206(19.88%)
≥100,000	68(6.56%)
居住区域 Residential regions
库区(湖北、重庆) Three Gorges Reservoir Area (Hubei, Chongqing)	122(11.78%)
长江上游 Upper reaches of the Yangtze River	74(7.14%)
长江中下游 Middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River	213(20.56%)
其他区域 Other areas	627(60.52%)
对三峡工程的了解 The knowledge of TGP
十分熟悉 Most familiar	62(5.98%)
比较熟悉 More familiar	390(37.64%)
一般 Generally familiar	520(50.19%)
不熟悉 Not familiar	64(6.18%)
对三峡工程的关注 The attention paid to TGP
十分关注 Most attentive	190(18.34%)
比较关注 More attentive	613(59.17%)
一般(包括了3位不关注的) Generally attentive (including three not attentive persons)	233(22.49%)
对三峡工程对生物影响的了解 The knowledge of the rare and endangered species affected by TGP
十分熟悉 Most familiar	26(2.51%)
比较熟悉 More familiar	255(24.61%)
一般 Generally familiar	578(55.79%)
不熟悉 Not familiar	177(17.08%)

因素 Factors	总样本各因素对支付意愿影响的相关性 Correlation between the respondents’ characteristics and their WTP			总样本各因素对支付意愿值影响的相关性 Correlation between the respondents’ characteristics and their WTP bids
因素 Factors	χ² Chi-square	自由度 df	显著性水平 Significance	χ² Chi-square	自由度 df	显著性水平 Significance
性别 Gender	5.019	1	0.025	7.684	4	0.104
年龄 Age	16.400	3	0.001	62.660	12	0.000
文化程度 Education level	4.368	1	0.037	52.218	4	0.000
从事职业 Profession	85.010	3	0.000	99.035	12	0.000
个人收入 Personal income	0.488	3	0.922	104.851	12	0.000
居住区域 Residential regions	6.738	3	0.081	15.012	12	0.241
对三峡工程的了解 The knowledge of TGP	9.255	3	0.026	41.309	12	0.000
对三峡工程的关注 The attention paid to TGP	22.667	2	0.000	47.050	8	0.000
对生物影响的了解 The knowledge of the rare and endangered species affected by TGP	42.977	3	0.000	126.335	12	0.000