ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Environ. Sci.
Sec. Environmental Economics and Management
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fenvs.2025.1633679
Wetland Ecological Compensation: A Study on Willingness to Pay and Its Determinants
Provisionally accepted
- Hunan Open University, Changsha, China
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Background: Coastal wetlands provide critical ecosystem services but face increasing threats from human activities. While ecological compensation mechanisms have gained global recognition, limited research exists on tourist willingness-to-pay (WTP) for wetland conservation, particularly in developing countries. The Red Beach Wetland in China, an internationally important coastal ecosystem, serves as an ideal case study to address this gap. Objectives: This study aims to 1) quantify tourist WTP for wetland ecological compensation, 2) identify key determinants of payment decisions, 3) analyze non-participation reasons, and 4) assess preferred payment mechanisms to inform conservation financing strategies. Methods: Using a contingent valuation approach, we surveyed 320 visitors to Red Beach Wetland during 2023. The questionnaire incorporated demographic, attitudinal, and payment preference measures. Binary logistic regression analyzed factors influencing WTP, while descriptive statistics examined payment levels and allocation preferences. Key Findings: Results showed 83.75% of tourists expressed WTP, with average annual contributions of 26.81 CNY (3.78 USD). Significant positive predictors included income (OR = 1.38), education (OR = 1.47), environmental concern (OR = 1.37), and trust in governance (OR = 1.29). Primary barriers to payment were financial constraints (58% of non-payers) and distrust (13%). Visitors strongly preferred allocating funds to water quality improvement (30%) through entrance fee surcharges (42%). Policy Implications: The findings support 1) implementing tiered payment options, 2) enhancing visitor education programs, 3) strengthening fund management transparency, and 4) developing targeted communication strategies. These measures can optimize participation in wetland conservation financing while addressing socioeconomic equity concerns. This study provides both theoretical advances in understanding WTP determinants and practical tools for designing effective ecological compensation programs in coastal wetlands globally. Future research should examine longitudinal WTP patterns and test innovative payment mechanisms.
Keywords: Formal analysis, S.L., Funding acquisition, S.L., Methodology, S.L., Supervision, S.L., Writing-original draft, S.L. Writing-review and editing, S.L. All
Received: 23 May 2025; Accepted: 20 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Lu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Shuaiyu Lu, Hunan Open University, Changsha, China
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