Work

Forest Ecological Compensation and Forest Farmers’ Willingness to Accept: Evidence from Nanping, China

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: This study adopts the contingent valuation method (CVM), Logit model, and quantile regression to evaluate the compensation level of public welfare forests and identify the influencing factors of compensation standards from the perspective of forest farmers’ willingness to accept compensation. The results show that the forest farmers’ expected compensation standard ranges from 1034 to 1128 CNY·ha−1·year−1, more than three times the current official compensation standard. Based on forest farmers’ willingness to accept, the current forest ecological compensation level only reaches 30.6%–33.4% of the expected standard, which is insufficient to mobilize the enthusiasm of forest farmers for forest management and protection. Therefore, it is necessary to further raise the public welfare forest compensation standard and implement diversified compensation measures that adapt to the differentiated demands of forest farmers. In addition, analysis of zero-willingness samples reveals that poor policy cognition is the main reason for zero compensation bids among partial respondents, rather than the overall sample. A better understanding of ecological compensation policies can significantly promote farmers’ willingness to accept compensation, suggesting that targeted policy publicity should be strengthened to improve forest protection awareness and policy satisfaction among forest farmers. Furthermore, household age, annual household income, forestland area, forest management cost, and policy understanding degree are core factors affecting compensation willingness. Quantile regression results indicate that these influencing factors show heterogeneous effects at different compensation levels, which provides evidence for the formulation of differentiated compensation schemes. The robustness test and heterogeneity analysis further confirm the reliability of the research conclusions. This study provides a practical reference for governments to optimize forest ecological compensation policies, balance household welfare, and promote sustainable forest resource protection.

Source: Forests

DOI: 10.3390/f17091073

Authors: Lianbei Wu, Weimin Zhang, Bo Zeng, Junlong Li, Yiyi Luo

Institutions: Sanming University, Beijing Forestry University

Language: English

Topic: Conservation, Biodiversity, and Resource Management

Subfield: Global and Planetary Change

Field: Environmental Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDGs: Life on land, No poverty

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,137