Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-tf8b9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-28T10:13:19.187Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Estimating non-market environmental values for grassland protection in inner Mongolia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 April 2019

Bao Zhang ,
Jeff Bennett  and
Guanghua Qiao
Bao Zhang
Affiliation:
College of Economics and Management, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, China
Jeff Bennett*
Affiliation:
Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
Guanghua Qiao
Affiliation:
College of Economics and Management, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, China
*
*Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The non-market values of changes in grassland management stimulated by changes in policies were estimated by choice modeling. Four-hundred twenty-seven residents of Hohhot city in Inner Mongolia were selected using the popular mobile phone application WeChat. Conditional logit (CL) and random parameter logit (RPL) models were estimated to analyze the preference of respondents for environmental and social attributes. Based on the preferred RPL model, the average per household willingness to pay over 10 years for the best policy outcome scenarios was estimated to be CNY892 (US$141). The total willingness to pay for this policy change, extrapolated to the population of Hohhot, was CNY208 million (US$33 million). The findings suggest that environmental and social outcomes are valuable to Chinese residents of a regional urban center. Such values should be viewed as a public financial base for market-based mechanisms for grassland protection both in China and internationally. WeChat proved to be convenient but required the application of extrapolation caveats relating to sample representation.

Keywords

choice modelinggrassland managementInner Mongolianon-market values
Type
Research Article
Information
Environment and Development Economics , Volume 24 , Issue 4 , August 2019 , pp. 361 - 375
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2019 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Adamowicz, WL, Boxall, PC, Williams, M and Louviere, JJ (1998) Stated preference approaches for measuring passive use values: choice experiments and contingent valuation. American Journal of Agricultural Economics 80, 64–75.Google Scholar
Baker, R and Ruting, B (2014) Environmental policy analysis: a guide to non-market valuation: Productivity Commission Staff Working Paper, Canberra, Australia.Google Scholar
Bennett, J and Birol, E (eds) (2010) Choice Experiments in Developing Countries: Implementation, Challenges and Policy Implications. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd.Google Scholar
Blamey, R, Bennett, J, Louviere, JJ, Morrison, M and Rolfe, J (2000) A test of policy labels in environmental choice modelling studies. Ecological Economics 32, 269–286.Google Scholar
Cai, Y-Y, Li, X-Y and Zhang, A-L (2006) The application of contingent value method in non-market value of cultivated land resource. Ecological Economy 2, 10–14 (in Chinese).Google Scholar
China National Statistical Bureau (2010) Inner Mongolia Economic and Social Survey Yearbook 2010. Beijing, China: Chinese Statistics Press.Google Scholar
China National Statistical Bureau (2011) Inner Mongolia Economic and Social Survey Yearbook 2011. Beijing, China: Chinese Statistics Press.Google Scholar
China National Statistical Bureau (2012) Inner Mongolia Economic and Social Survey Yearbook 2012. Beijing, China: Chinese Statistics Press.Google Scholar
China National Statistical Bureau (2013) Inner Mongolia Economic and Social Survey Yearbook 2013. Beijing, China: Chinese Statistics Press.Google Scholar
China National Statistical Bureau (2014) Inner Mongolia Economic and Social Survey Yearbook 2014. Beijing, China: Chinese Statistics Press.Google Scholar
China National Statistical Bureau (2015) Inner Mongolia Economic and Social Survey Yearbook 2015. Beijing, China: Chinese Statistics Press.Google Scholar
China National Statistical Bureau (2016) Inner Mongolia Economic and Social Survey Yearbook 2016. Beijing, China: Chinese Statistics Press.Google Scholar
Daly, A, Hess, S and Train, K (2012) Assuring finite moments for willingness to pay in random coefficient models. Transportation 39, 19–31.Google Scholar
Gao, L, Kinnucan, H, Zhang, Y and Qiao, G (2016) The effects of a subsidy for grassland protection on livestock numbers, grazing intensity, and herders' income in inner Mongolia. Land Use Policy 54, 302–312.Google Scholar
Grassland Monitoring Center of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (2014) China Grassland Development Report (2011): Grassland Policy Support. China Animal Industry, pp. 61–63 (in Chinese).Google Scholar
Hohhot Statistical Bureau (2017) Hohhot Economic Statistical Yearbook. Beijing, China: China Statistics Press.Google Scholar
Huo, Y (2016) Study on the elder care service in rural and pastoral areas of inner Mongolia: from the perspective of public service. Northern Economy 6, 42–44 (in Chinese).Google Scholar
Lancaster, K (1966) A new approach to consumer theory. Journal of Political Economy, 74, 132–157.Google Scholar
Liu, Y (2017) The National Grassland Monitoring Report of China in 2016. China Animal Industry 8, 18–35 (in Chinese).Google Scholar
Lu, ZJ, Lu, XS and Xin, XP (2005) Present situation and trend of grassland desertification of northern China. Acta Agrestia Sinica 13, 24–27 (in Chinese).Google Scholar
McFadden, D (1974) Conditional logit analysis of qualitative choice behaviour. In Zarembka, P (ed). Frontiers in Econometrics, New York: Academic Press, pp. 105–142.Google Scholar
Morrison, MD, Blamey, RK, Bennett, JW and Louviere, JJ (1996) A comparison of stated preference techniques for estimating environmental values. Paper presented at the 41st Annual Conference of the Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, January 22–24, 1997, Gold Coast, Australia.Google Scholar
Qi, G (2013) The present situation and characteristics of surplus labor transfer in rural pastoral areas in inner Mongolia. Journal of Chifeng University (Philosophy and Social Science Chinese Edition) 3, 57–59 (in Chinese).Google Scholar
Revelt, D and Train, K (1999) Customer-Specific Taste Parameters and Mixed Logit. Berkeley: Mimeo, University of California. Available at https://eml.berkeley.edu/wp/train0999.pdf.Google Scholar
Sa, R (2009) Ecological situation and protection countermeasures of grassland in inner Mongolia. Theoretical Research 6, 52–53 (in Chinese).Google Scholar
Shi, H and Zhao, M (2015) Willingness to pay differences across ecosystem services and total economic valuation based on choice experiments approach. Resources Science 2, 351–359 (in Chinese).Google Scholar
Uthes, S, Li, F, Zhen, L and Cao, X (2010) Payments for grassland ecosystem services: a comparison of two examples in China and Germany. Journal of Resources and Ecology 1, 319–330.Google Scholar
Wang, H (2011) Present situation and countermeasures of grassland ecological environment degradation in inner Mongolia. Review of Economic Research 47, 24–27 (in Chinese).Google Scholar
Wang, X, Bennett, J, Xie, C, Zhang, ZT and Liang, D (2007 a) Estimating non-market environmental benefits of the conversion of cropland to forest and grassland program: a choice modeling approach. Ecological Economics 63, 114–125.Google Scholar
Wang, Y, Dai, L, Liu, X, Liu, G and Wu, G (2007 b) Discussion of the grassland situation and approach of ecological restoration in China. Prataculture & Animal Husbandry 5, 29–32 (in Chinese).Google Scholar
Xu, C (2017) Study on the aging pastoral labor force based on sustainable development of pastoral areas. Modern Agricultural Science and Technology 12, 280–283 (in Chinese).Google Scholar
Yan, Y, Gao, J, Lu, S and Ren, H (2014) Survey on strengthening grassland ecological protection and improving its ecological services. China Development 6, 7–12 (in Chinese).Google Scholar
Yang, J and Zhao, L (2012). Ecological environment protection and construction of grassland in inner Mongolia. Inner Mongolia Prataculture 4, 1–5 (in Chinese).Google Scholar
Yang, X, Yang, C and Meng, Z (2016) The current situation, problems and suggestions of grassland ecological protection in China. Pratacultural Science 33, 1901–1909 (in Chinese).Google Scholar
Yang, Y and Han, R (2016) Analysis on the influencing factors of the choice of elderly care way in inner Mongolia rural and pastoral area. Management Observer 9, 58–60 and 64 (in Chinese).Google Scholar
Yin, X (2017) Implementation, performance and suggestions of grassland eco-compensation policies: based on urat back banner, inner Mongolia. Ecological Economy 3, 39–45 (in Chinese).Google Scholar
Yuan, G (2017) Characteristics and cause of the sandstorm in inner Mongolia in 2001–2015. Journal of Desert Research 6, 1204–1209 (in Chinese).Google Scholar
Zhen, L, Li, F, Yan, HM, Liu, GH, Liu, JY, Zhang, HY, Du, BZ, Wu, RZ, Sun, CZ and Wang, C (2014) Herders' willingness to accept versus the public sector's willingness to pay for grassland restoration in the Xilingol league of inner Mongolia, China. Environmental Research Letters 9, DOI:10.1088/1748-9326/9/4/045003.Google Scholar