Benefit assessment of the ecological restoration of the Yellow River Delta coastal wetland based on improved contingent valuation method

Abstract

Coastal wetlands, which provide important habitats for offshore organisms to reproduce and serve as transfer stations for migrating birds, have important ecological functions. Recently, the amount of coastal wetland destruction has increased with the intensification of human activities in coastal areas; thus, ecological restoration is used to ensure the continuous serviceability of wetland ecosystems. In this paper, the benefits of restoring the Yellow River Delta coastal wetland were divided into four categories: water quality, carbon sequestration, erosion regulation and biodiversity maintenance services. Data were collected with a contingent survey, the Heckman-style two-stage sample selection model was adopted to solve the protest payment problem in the contingent valuation method, and the marginal value to improve these four services was estimated. Finally, the benefit of the restoration of this coastal wetland was calculated. The key findings are as follows. (a) The public's average willingness to pay to improve the four categories of the Yellow River Delta coastal wetland is 26.84, 25.59, 25.18 and 24.76 yuan/a, and these values negatively correlate with age and sea front distance and positively correlate with income level. (b) The per capita benefit of restoring this coastal wetland is 102.37 yuan/a, and the annual total benefit is approximately 209 million yuan. (c) Respondents who are younger, have higher education levels and annual income levels and are more satisfied with the ecological restoration of coastal wetlands have lower protest payment ideas. These conclusions can provide a reference for marine management departments to improve the ecological restoration of the Yellow River Delta coastal wetland, and policy recommendations can help advance ocean and coastal management.