Research On Construction Of Forest Horizontal Ecological Compensation Mechanism Based On Public Willingness To Pay

Forests are related to the national ecological security and are the main body of the terrestrial ecosystem.Carrying out theoretical research and practical exploration of forest ecological compensation is of great significance to the construction of an ecological civilization and a beautiful China,and the realization of the sustainable development of the Chinese nation.The 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China proposed to establish a "market-oriented and diversified ecological compensation mechanism",which pointed out the direction for solving the government’s vertical compensation efficiency dilemma,leveraging social capital investment,and promoting the realization of ecological benefits.The practice of forest ecological compensation in China has always been based on government financial investment.Horizontal ecological compensation is proposed for the government’s vertical ecological compensation.The purpose is to realize the marketization and diversification of ecological compensation,improve the efficiency of the use of ecological compensation funds,expand funds source channels and expand public participation.In the new era,the main contradiction in our society has been transformed into a contradiction between the people’s growing needs for a better life and unbalanced and inadequate development.The process of horizontal ecological compensation is a good way to promote the public’s need for better ecological benefits into practical actions.For example,the carbon sink function of forests,hydrological services,protection of biodiversity,forest landscapes,etc.are related to people’s yearning for a better life,but its ecological value has not been fully realized.Based on the market-oriented compensation direction,this paper identifies the beneficiary public as the main compensation subject from the principle of "beneficiary pays",and starts from the logical starting point of "there is a market when there is demand",constructs a forest horizontal ecological compensation mechanism,and uses demand to stimulate supply to realize the sustainable management of forest ecological resources.These above have certain theoretical significance and important practical significance.Based on this,this paper analyzes the current situation of my country’s forest horizontal ecological compensation,and learns from the successful experience of Costa Rica’s PES plan,and uses this to provide guidance for the design of questionnaire survey indicators.Furthermore,an empirical analysis of public willingness to pay and its influencing factors is carried out.The results showed that 45.74%of the respondents indicated that they should and are willing to pay for forest ecological benefits,of which 53.65%of the group chose to "pay for benefits",indicating that most of the public supports the principle of "pay for benefits";those with an annual income of less than 50,000 yuanGroups have the highest willingness to pay,and the higher the annual income,the lower the willingness to pay;only 12%think that they should not and be unwilling to pay,indicating the need to rationally design constraints and incentive mechanisms to enhance the public’s willingness to pay.The multi-logistics regression model is used to analyze the factors that affect the public’s willingness to pay and their proportions,and it is concluded that six factors,including the public’s concern about the ecological environment,the understanding of ecological value,and the understanding of ecological compensation,have a positive impact on their willingness to pay.The above studies have provided feasibility and necessary support for the construction of a horizontal forest ecological compensation mechanism,and provided reference indicators for the construction of the mechanism.Therefore,from the basic elements,decision-making mechanism,restriction mechanism,incentive mechanism and guarantee mechanism,a comprehensive forest horizontal ecological compensation mechanism is constructed.The basic element part defines the compensation subject,compensation object,compensated subject,compensation standard and compensation form of the forest horizontal ecological compensation,and pave the way for the construction of the main body of the mechanism.In terms of decision-making mechanism,a central unified decision-making mechanism has been established to ensure that the central government makes high-level decisions while smoothing public feedback channels.Regarding the restraint mechanism,a total control mechanism,an administrative regulation mechanism and a market transaction mechanism have been constructed.In terms of incentive mechanisms,a "consumer support" mechanism,an ecological credit mechanism,an idea cultivation mechanism,and a market preference mining mechanism have been constructed.As for the guarantee mechanism,a quality guarantee mechanism,a value accounting mechanism and an interest guarantee mechanism have been constructed.Finally,the safeguard measures for the horizontal forest ecological compensation mechanism are proposed from five aspects to ensure the smooth implementation of the forest horizontal ecological compensation mechanism.