Title: The impact of a wetland conservation act on environmental evaluation: taking Gaomei Wetland as an example

Authors: Tingting Song; Sijia Fan; Ge Liu; Guangwei Huang

Addresses: Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies, Sophia University, Tokyo, Japan ' Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Sophia University, Tokyo, Japan ' Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Sophia University, Tokyo, Japan ' Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies, Sophia University, Tokyo, Japan

Abstract: Wetlands are multi-functional ecosystems and important for global environment. Taiwan implemented the Wetland Conservation Act in 2013. This study surveyed in Gaomei Wetland by conjoint analysis. The purpose of this research is to examine environmental value by willingness to pay (WTP) of the Gaomei Wetland, to study the relationship between the environmental value of the water quality, mangrove coverage and bird species in Gaomei Wetland, the popularity of the Wetland Conservation Act and the relationship between the Wetland Conservation Act and environmental economic valuation. The results show that approximately 70% of respondents were willing to pay to improve the wetland environment, the females' WTP is higher than males, and young peoples' WTP is higher than older people. Those who were not willing to pay believed that protecting the wetlands should be the government's responsibility. When considering different ecological attributes, respondents prioritised water quality over bird diversity and mangrove coverage.

Keywords: Gaomei Wetland; environmental valuation; conjoint analysis; Wetland Conservation Act; willingness to pay; WTP; environmental value; sustainable development.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSDES.2021.115466

International Journal of Sustainable Design, 2021 Vol.4 No.1, pp.42 - 54

Received: 01 Dec 2019
Accepted: 12 Dec 2020
Published online: 03 Jun 2021 *

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