Perceived Impacts of Ecotourism on Environmental Learning and Conservation: Turtle Watching as a Case Study

Using a case study, involving turtle-based ecotourism, we explore the role of ecotourism in promoting environmental learning and in sustaining conservation of nature. Mon Repos Conservation Park (an important marine turtle rookery involved in ecotourism) in Queensland, Australia, was selected for this study and visitors were surveyed using a structured questionnaire. The reported on-site experiences of respondents are analysed to identify important factors that alter their stated conservation attitudes and behaviours. The impact of these factors (such as the amount of environmental education that respondents claimed they obtained, sighting of sea turtles, nationality) is quantified using regression analyses. There has been little previous quantification of such influences. The study reveals that a considerable amount of environmental knowledge is gained by visitors to Mon Repos. The ecotourism experience, involving environmental education and seeing of turtles, was found to have positive and statistically significant impacts on the visitors' stated desire and intended behaviour to protect sea turtles. The study reveals the importance of learning and the interaction of tourists with wildlife as a contributor to their pro-conservation sentiments and actions. It shows how ecotourism can support nature conservation. Readers should send their comments on this paper to: BhaskarNath@aol.com within 3 months of publication of this issue.     

A new baseline model for estimating willingness to pay from discrete choice models

We show a substantive problem exists with the widely-used ratio of coefficients approach to calculating willingness to pay (WTP) from discrete choice models. The correctly calculated standard error for WTP using this approach is shown to be undefined. This occurs because the cost parameter's standard error implies some possibility the true parameter value is arbitrarily close to zero. We propose a simple yet elegant way to overcome this problem by reparameterizing the (negative) cost variable's coefficient using an exponential transformation to enforce the theoretically correct positive coefficient. With it the confidence interval for WTP is now finite and well behaved.     

中国陆地植被生态系统生产有机物质价值遥感估算

可持续发展的战略要求推进生态资产研究,对生态系统生产有机物质功能价值的估算则是生态资产评估的重要组成部分。利用改进的CASA模型对中国陆地生态系统1995年NPP进行了估算,它与实测数据和国内其他研究成果的比较验证证明了该方法的可靠性;进而对1995年全国陆地生态系统生产有机物质的价值进行了估算,结果表明,1995年中国陆地生态系统净第一性生产力生产有机物质的总价值为1.902049×1012元.a-1,其空间分布是从东部向西北递减、由中部向东北和南部递增;从类型上看,常绿阔叶林的单位面积值最高,裸地和极稀疏植被的单位面积值最低。     

北京市环境质量改善的居民支付意愿研究

以北京市空气质量与地表水环境质量改善的经济评价为例,采用开放式问卷的意愿调查价值评估法(CVM),通过2004年与2007年2次调查,研究了居民对环境质量改善最大支付意愿(WTP)的影响因素及变化趋势.结果表明,居民对北京空气质量和地表水环境质量改善的平均最大WTP分别从2004年的83.52~93.48,71.28~84.84元/年,提高至2007年的366.48~399.48,302.52~366.72元/年;最大WTP占家庭收入的比例分别从2004年的0.28%,0.24%,提高至2007年的1.63%~1.78%,1.35%~1.64%,居民对于工资扣除形式的支付方式的接受程度逐渐提高;收入、年龄、受教育程度以及环境介质接触程度等因素对居民环境质量改善最大WTP的影响显著.     

清洁生产审核中基于资源、能源审核重点的评估方法

清洁生产审核是节能减排战略实施的重要手段,通常清洁生产审核一般分为七个阶段,35个步骤。其中评估阶段是对组织审核重点的原材料消耗、生产过程以及资源浪费的产生进行审核。当前进行的清洁生产审核工作重点关注的是污染物排放,对于能源节约方面的评估尚不多见。文章以资源、能源为审核重点,结合案例对评估阶段中采用的数据分析方法和资源、能源E—P图的绘制和分析进行了探讨,并从八个方面讨论了如何来查找造成资源、能源浪费的原因。     

条件价值评估法研究居民改善空气质量需求

采用条件价值评估方法,调查了北京市居民改善空气质量的支付意愿,初步分析居民对空气质量这种公共环境物品的需求状况,探讨了影响居民对公共环境物品需求的人口和社会经济因素.研究结果表明,居民的经济状况是影响对公共环境物品需求的重要因素,居民的经济状况比较好则对公共环境物品的需求越高,但是支付意愿与家庭收入弹性<1.随着教育水平的提高,对公共环境物品的需求也增加.另外,性别和健康状况也影响居民对公共环境物品的需求.从政策实施的角度来看,政府必须完善人们对公共环境物品需求偏好的表达机制,才能制定政策实现公共环境物品的有效供给.     

企业环境信息公开的激励经济学研究

企业环境信息公开的意愿以及真实性成为了环境信息公开工作中面临的一个重要问题。本文从激励经济学的角度出发,分析了企业在环境信息公开过程中面临着的外部性内化、公众的逆向选择以及道德风险等问题,提出了政府主导,企业完善,多元参与的对策建议,以期实现环境保护与经济发展的"双赢"。     

典型海岛生态系统服务及价值评估

海洋生态系统服务评估相关研究主要集中在特殊海洋生态系统的评估方面.海岛生态系统兼有陆地和海洋的生态系统特征,生态系统组成、结构复杂,很多的服务表现为岛陆互相交错,难以分别计量.选择庙岛群岛南五岛作为研究区域,研究了其生态系统服务,并进行了价值评估.结果表明:2003年庙岛群岛南五岛生态系统服务总价值为3.08×108元.其中,市场价值占到总服务价值的50.99%,与非市场价值基本持平.对于非市场生态系统服务,如气候调节、废弃物处理等,我们仅计算了目前人们已经认识到和容易计算的生态系统服务部分.因此,该研究仅为对庙岛群岛南五岛生态系统服务价值的保守估算.     

Policy context as a factor of bias in the valuation of environmental goods – a dual-process theories perspective

When ecosystem services value estimates are applied in the economic assessment of environmental policies, high accuracy of these estimates is required. One of the directions in the scientific discussion on biases in stated preference (SP) valuation surveys builds on dual-process theories of judgment. The paper contributes to this literature by presenting an experiment where two types of judgment were induced via separate versus joint valuation of environmental goods. The results demonstrated that policy relevance of environmental issues, e.g. the need for conservation measures increases emotional response, causing a larger bias in the separate design as it involves ‘valuation by feeling.’ This finding suggests that the context of a specific policy, which is often the reason for conducting SP surveys, influences the answers, thereby making the results less reliable for use in cost–benefit analysis.     

重庆市可持续发展指标体系的设计和评价

本文从可持续发展目标出发,建立反映重庆市可持续发展的存量,质量,结构与变动度指标体系,应用层次分析法,模糊综合评判法及功效系数法对重庆市可持续发展进行了定量分析,并确定了可持续发展的满意值和不允许值。力图为重庆市可持续发展指标体系的评价和理论研究提供一套可行的方法。