Do Eco-Based Adaptation Measures Enhance Ecosystem Adaptation Services? Economic Evidence from a Study of Hillside Forests in a Fragile Watershed in Northeastern Taiwan

Abstract

As the risks of climate change keep increasing, countries have emphasized the ecosystem adaptation policy, and the United Nation Environmental Program (UNEP) aids countries to adapt to a warming world with eco-based adaptation (EbA) measures for good ecosystem governance for boosting ecosystem adaptation services (EAS). With the purpose of helping to indicate the magnitude of the benefits of EAS from local EbA measures, this study assesses the economic value of the EAS of hillside forests regarding the residents in a climate vulnerable watershed, the Lanyang River watershed, by applying a single-bounded contingent evaluation method. The demographic variables and motivation variables indexed by perceived impacts are influencing factors in the residents’ willingness-to-pay. These variables are of significance in EbA policy application. The average economic value for each responding resident was estimated to be NT$ 793.65 on the basis of a survey of the residents’ willingness to pay for EAS and the single-boundary contingent valuation method. The results verified that the residents depend on the protection of natural hillside ecosystems. Considering the complex interactions between ecosystems and humans, the EbA is demonstrated to be a crucial method for mitigating the consequences of climate change. Protecting hillside ecosystems in the Lanyang River watershed through soil and water management presents critical policy implications. Now that climate change has become an emergency, this case study shows the success of Taiwan’s long manipulated EbA for EAS, with evidence of residents benefiting. This Taiwan case study has policy implications for the world and UNEP’s global EbA program to maintain EAS.