Willingness of tobacco farmers to accept compensation for tobacco crop substitution in Lichuan City, China.

OBJECTIVE: This study, conducted in China, explores tobacco farmers' willingness to accept (WTA) compensation for tobacco crop substitution. METHODS: The contingent valuation method was used to elicit farmers' WTA compensation. A face-to-face survey was conducted with 280 tobacco farmers in Lichuan City, China. The standard logit regressions were used to identify the factors that influence farmers' WTA. RESULTS: Without compensation, most of the respondents were unwilling to implement tobacco crop substitution. However, if the government provided compensation, the proportion of respondents' willingness for substitution increased to 86.7%. Male tobacco farmers are more likely to accept a given compensation value than female farmers. Older tobacco farmers have a higher probability of accepting compensation. The number of farmers engaged in tobacco growing in a family is negatively associated with the probability of accepting a given compensation amount. Tobacco farmers with greater confidence in the expected benefits of tobacco crop substitution tend to be more willing to accept compensation. The mean WTA estimate was achieved as US$2020.35/ha/year. CONCLUSIONS: If appropriate compensation is provided for tobacco farmers, there is a potential to implement the tobacco crop substitution policy in the study area.

Are Farmers Willing to Substitute Tobacco Cultivation? Evidence From Lichuan City, China.

INTRODUCTION: Tobacco crop substitution is a critical element in implementing comprehensive tobacco control policies. Understanding tobacco farmers' willingness or preferences is imperative to implement policies on tobacco crop substitution. This article assesses tobacco farmers' individual willingness to substitute tobacco cultivation and investigates the factors that influence their willingness in Lichuan City, China. METHODS: We conducted a face-to-face survey with 280 tobacco farmers in Lichuan City of China to assess their willingness to substitute tobacco cultivation. The binary probit model was used to examine the factors influencing farmers' willingness to substitute tobacco growing. RESULTS: The results show that fewer than one in five tobacco farmers are willing to substitute tobacco growing with other crops. The main reason for their unwillingness is that they thought the comparative income of growing tobacco was higher and more stable. The regression results show that tobacco farmers with higher education levels and more knowledge of tobacco crop substitution are more willing to take up tobacco crop substitution. Tobacco farmers' household income decreased the likelihood of their willingness to replace tobacco cultivation. Farmers who perceived the economic benefits and health benefits of tobacco crop substitution are more likely to substitute tobacco cultivation with other crops. CONCLUSIONS: Farmers' willingness to substitute tobacco cultivation is low. Policy interventions are needed to increase farmers' willingness to stop growing tobacco and to replace it with other alternative crops. IMPLICATIONS: Few studies have investigated local farmers' willingness to substitute tobacco cultivation in China. We found most tobacco farmers in the Lichuan City of China are unwilling to substitute tobacco growing with other crops. Farmers' low support of tobacco crop substitution is associated with economic factors. Better education and more knowledge of tobacco crop substitution can increase farmers' willingness to substitute tobacco cultivation.

Solid waste management in Macao: practices and challenges.

The rapid economic development and population growth in Macao have resulted in a large increase in refuse generated over the past decade. In 2003, the quantity of solid waste generated reached 249,255 tons, corresponding to 1.52 kg/day per capita. This figure has been gradually increasing. Domestic solid waste is the primary source of solid waste generation. The data showed that a considerable amount of the solid waste generated can be recycled and reutilized. Due to Macao's small geographic area and high cost of land, landfilling has the lowest priority for waste disposal. Solid waste incineration has been given a top priority over other waste disposal methods although it is much more expensive. In the last decade, more than 80% of the total waste in Macao was incinerated. However, the incineration capacity of the Macao Incineration Plant is going to reach its saturation earlier than expected. Waste minimization, the establishment of an effective waste collection and disposal fee system, and alternate ways dealing with the limited capacity of waste treatment facilities are regarded to be major challenges in the future.

Estimating the public preferences for solid waste management programmes using choice experiments in Macao.

This paper reports on the potential to apply the choice experiment method to understand the public's preferences for solid waste management programmes in Macao. A random sample survey of 260 respondents in Macao was conducted during the summer in 2004. The survey data was analysed using conditional multinomial logit models. The study results indicate that Macao residents prefer: (1) waste segregation and recycling at source; (2) noise reduction during waste collection and transportation and (3) lower garbage fees. The study concludes that choice experiment is a reliable tool in the analysis of respondents' preferences for developing a suitable solid waste management programme in Macao.

[Environmental impact assessment of the land use change in china based on ecosystem service value].

The environmental impact of land use change is long-term and cumulative. The ecosystem service change results from land use change. Therefore, the ecosystem service function change is the key object in the environmental impact assessment of land use change. According to the specific situation of China, this paper adjusted the unit ecosystem service value of different land use types. Based on this, the ecosystem service value change of different provinces in China resulted from the land use change since the implementation of the last plan of land use (1997-2010) was analyzed. The results show that the ecosystem service value in China increased 0.91% from 1996 to 2004. Thereinto, Tianjin is the province that the ecosystem service value increased most quickly, which was 5.69% from 1996 to 2004, while Shanghai is the province that the value decreased most quickly, which was 9.79%. Furthermore, the change of 17 types of ecosystem services was analyzed. Among them, the climate regulation function enhanced 3.43% from 1996 to 2004 and the biology resource control was weakened by 2.26% in this period. The results also indicate that the increase of the area of water surface and forest is the main reason for why the ecosystem service value increased in China in that period.