Uncovering the willingness-to-pay for urban green space conservation: A survey of the capital area in China

Abstract Urban ecosystems in cities, such as urban green spaces, provide diverse amenities and areas for relaxation to the public. However, the public's understanding of the value of urban ecosystems in cities has not been widely explored. This study aims to elucidate the value attributed to urban ecosystems in an area by targeting green spaces in the Pinggu District of Beijing, China. A dedicated questionnaire survey was conducted to investigate the public's willingness-to-pay (WTP) to conserve green spaces and to evaluate the non-use value of urban green spaces following the contingent valuation method (CVM). Policies for preserving and protecting urban ecosystems in urban areas are then proposed. A valid sample of 1000 respondents was surveyed face-to-face in the Pinggu District, Beijing. The key findings are as follows: (1) 55.90% of the respondents would be willing to pay to conserve green spaces, and the respondents that would not be willing believed that government should be responsible for preserving and improving green spaces; (2) the mean annual WTP and non-use values of green spaces were 57.56 CNY and 26.25 million CNY without considering the “unwilling to pay” responses, and the values were 40.06 CNY and 18.27 million CNY considering the full sample, respectively; (3) the environmental awareness key factor influencing WTP positively, however, higher education and income levels negatively affected WTP, which were explored through logistic regression and Pearson correlation analyses. It is necessary to enhance ecological education for the sustainable preservation for long term.