How Environmental Awareness and Knowledge Affect Urban Residents’ Willingness to Participate in Rubber Plantation Ecological Restoration Programs: Evidence from Hainan, China

Yu Gan,Jilv Xu,Nengrui Xu,Dan Qiao,Tao Xu

doi:10.3390/su13041852

Abstract

The rapid expansion of rubber plantations in Asian countries has led to various environmental problems. Therefore, local governments are implementing rubber plantation ecological restoration (RPER) programs as an essential solution. However, such programs can be implemented only if residents are intensely involved. Based on a survey of 521 urban households in Hainan Province, China, this study investigates the effect of environmental awareness and knowledge on residents’ willingness to participate in RPER programs. We employ a double-hurdle (DH) model to estimate residents’ participation in two stages. First, we determine whether residents wish to participate or not (PN). Then, we measure residents’ degree of willingness to participate (DWP). The results show that residents’ environmental awareness has a significant positive effect on whether they wish to PN but has no impact on their DWP. By contrast, residents’ environmental knowledge has a significant positive effect on whether they wish to PN and their DWP. The moderating effect shows that residents’ environmental knowledge significantly weakens the positive effects of their environmental awareness on whether they wish to PN. Moreover, residents’ age, educational level, employment, and place of residence substantially influence their DWP. The findings in this study can provide useful insights for policymaking on improving rubber plantation ecosystems.

Highlights

Since the 1960s, rubber plantations have been rapidly expanding in developing Asian countries, with the total planting area of rubber trees increasing by 196% from 3.57 million ha in 1961 to 10.57 million ha in 2018 [1]
This study focuses on the impacts of environmental awareness and knowledge on residents’ willingness to participate in rubber plantation ecological restoration (RPER) programs
We assume that residents’ environmental knowledge affects the relationship between their environmental awareness and their willingness to participate in RPER programs

Summary

Introduction

Since the 1960s, rubber plantations have been rapidly expanding in developing Asian countries, with the total planting area of rubber trees increasing by 196% from 3.57 million ha in 1961 to 10.57 million ha in 2018 [1]. The rapid expansion of rubber plantations has damaged local tropical rainforest ecosystems and led to various ecological and environmental problems, such as a weakened climate-moderating capacity, biodiversity loss, and soil erosion [2,3]. Restoring and protecting the ecosystems threatened by natural rubber plantations have become urgent issues in Asian rubber-planting countries [4,5]. As a natural rubber-producing country, China faces severe ecological and environmental problems due to rubber plantation expansion. In this context, the Chinese government is implementing rubber plantation ecological restoration (RPER) programs as an essential solution to these issues. Because of limited funding and technology, as well as the influence of relevant policies, regulations, and other factors, government-led RPER programs have not been implemented effectively [8]

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Conclusion