Public willingness to pay for environmental management, risk reduction and economic development: Evidence from Tianjin, China

Following the rapid economic development of China and the improvement of living standards there, the Chinese people are increasing their demand for improvement of environmental quality. This paper reports the results of a choice experiment approach to evaluating the preferences and willingness of residents of Chinese coastal areas to pay for environmental management and regional development. The survey results show that people are most concerned about water quality, fishery development, garbage and oil on the sea and beaches, planting trees and grass in coastal areas, and reducing the risk of earthquakes, high waves, tsunamis, and floods. Respondents were willing to pay 19.7 RMB (Chinese dollars) for a 10% improvement of water quality; 24.6 RMB for a 10% reduction of garbage and oil pollution at the seaside; 24.2 RMB for a 10% improvement in the coastal ecosystem; and 17.3 RMB, 39.0 RMB and 20.7 RMB for 10% reductions in the respective risks of earthquakes, high waves and tsunamis, and floods. The marginal willingness to pay for each goal of coastal management can be used as an important quantitative indicator when allocating social resources for coastal management. The statistically significant interrelationships in the tradeoff between the attributes of coastal management were also clarified. These findings suggest directions for re-allocating social resources and quantify the potential tradeoffs between goals.