Abstract
The economic contribution of forest resources to the communities surrounding nature reserves cannot be ignored. The method for which to find a forest resource utilization path to balance the contradiction between local farmers’ economic development and ecological protection in the development of nature reserves is important. However, little attention has been given to the effect of forest resource users’ behavioral preferences on forest resource utilization. This study selected Wolong Nature Reserve as a case study and randomly interviewed different stakeholders with semi-structured questionnaires to investigate the differences in forest resource utilization patterns among stakeholders with different behavioral preferences. According to the results of multi-attribute decision analysis with behavioral preference, stakeholders form different behavioral preferences by judging their own resource endowment. With a change of in the behavioral preference value λ, when the behavioral preference of stakeholders is more pessimistic (λ = 0.1), cautious (λ = 0.3), or neutral (λ = 0.5), they are more inclined to choose the economically dominant forest resource utilization mode; when the behavioral preference of stakeholders is optimistic (λ = 0.7) or even radical (λ = 0.9), they choose the eco-economic or eco-dominant forest resource utilization mode, respectively. This study confirms that stakeholders’ behavioral preferences have an important impact on forest resource utilization patterns. Therefore, policy making should focus on improving the economic benefits of forest resources and providing alternative livelihoods, which will change the resource endowment of the stakeholders of nature reserve, guide them to turn to relatively optimistic behavioral preferences, enhance their awareness and motivation of ecological protection, and thereby improve forest conservation outcomes.
Highlights
China is a country rich in biodiversity, and is one of the countries facing the greatest threat
The historical timeline related to the use of forest resources in the two villages was plotted, and the historical nodes that they believe have played a significant role in the use of forest resources were marked, as shown in Wolong Nature Reserve management personnel
It was found that when the behavioral preferences of stakeholders are pessimistic, cautious, or neutral, they tend to choose economically dominant forest resource utilization, which is consistent with the participatory scenario selection results
Summary
China is a country rich in biodiversity, and is one of the countries facing the greatest threat. As of September 2019, China has established 2750 nature reserves, including 474 national nature reserves, with a total area of 1.47 million square kilometers, accounting for approximately 14.86% of the land area. The establishment of nature reserves has played an important role in the protection of China’s ecological environment. As nature reserves are areas with the richest biodiversity, while simultaneously being sensitive ecological environments and with underdeveloped economies, the indigenous people in or around nature reserves still extract traditional forest resources, such as logging, picking medicines, and collecting wild vegetables and firewood [3]. With the establishment of nature reserves, restrictions on resource utilization have forced local community residents to reduce their income from relying on natural resources. This has exacerbated the conflict between the development of farmers in reserves and the needs of ecological protection [4,5,6]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
