Contingent Valuation of Yangtze Finless Porpoises in Poyang Lake, China

<p>1. Introduction</p><p>        1.1 Problem Statement</p><p>        1.2 Goal of the Study</p><p>        1.3 Structure of the Thesis</p><p> </p><p>2. Background Information of Poyang Lake and Yangtze Finless Porpoises</p><p>            2.1 Introduction to Poyang Lake</p><p>                        2.1.1 Geographical Situation</p><p>        2.1.2 The Largest Freshwater Lake in China</p><p>        2.1.3 Landscape - "A Line at Low Water, An Ocean at Flood"</p><p>        2.1.4 Evolutional History</p><p>        2.1.5 An Important International Wetland</p><p>            2.2 Uses of Poyang Lake</p><p>                    2.2.1 Industrial Water Use</p><p>                    2.2.2 Agricultural Water Use</p><p>                    2.2.3 Fisheries          </p><p>                    2.2.4 Ecotourism</p><p>                    2.2.5 "The World of White Cranes" and "The Kingdom of Rare Birds"</p><p>                    2.2.6 Fish Source</p><p>                    2.2.7 The Best Habitat of Yangtze Finless Porpoises</p><p>        2.3 Use Conflicts in Poyang Lake</p><p>                    2.3.1 Conflicts Resulting from Sand Mining</p><p>                    2.3.2 Conflicts from Building Levees</p><p>                    2.3.3 Conflicts with Respect to Water Quantity and Quality</p><p>        2.4 Yangtze Finless Porpoises</p><p>                    2.4.1 Distribution and Category of Finless Porpoises</p><p>                    2.4.2 Biology and Behavior</p><p>                    2.4.3 Migration</p><p>                    2.4.4 Protection Status of Yangtze Finless Porpoises</p><p>                    2.4.5 Threats in Poyang Lake</p><p>                    2.4.6 Protection of Yangtze Finless Porpoises</p><p>        2.5 Conclusion</p><p> </p><p>3. Theoretical Background on Economic Valuation</p><p>        3.1 Introduction: Reasons for Economic Valuation</p><p>        3.2 Market failure on the Protection of Yangtze Finless Porpoises</p><p>                    3.2.1 The Theory of Market Failure</p><p>                    3.2.2 Public Goods</p><p>                    3.2.3 Property Rights</p><p>                    3.2.4 Externality</p><p>        3.3 Total Economic Value</p><p>                    3.3.1 Concept of Total Economic Value (TEV)</p><p>                    3.3.2 The Total Economic Value (TEV) of Yangtze Finless Porpoises</p><p>                    3.3.3 Relationship between Values and Valuation Technique</p><p>        3.4 Economic Valuation Methods</p><p>                    3.4.1 Introduction</p><p>                    3.4.2 Non-Market Demand Approaches</p><p>                    3.4.3 Revealed Preference Methods</p><p>                    3.4.4 Stated Preference Methods</p>                    3.4.5 Conclusion: Choice of Contingent Valuation Method as the Adequate Method for the                              Evaluation of the YFPs</p><p>        3.5 Theoretical Basis of Contingent Valuation Method</p><p>                    3.5.1 Welfare Measures</p><p>                    3.5.2 Willingness to Pay</p><p>                    3.5.3 Willingness to Accept</p><p>        3.6 Challenges Faced by Contingent Valuation</p><p>                    3.6.1 Overview of Main Challenges</p><p>                    3.6.2 Distance Decay as a Specific Challenge</p><p>        3.7 Conclusion</p><p> </p><p>4. Questionnaire Development</p><p>        4.1 Focus Group</p><p>                    4.1.1 Introduction to Focus Group            </p><p>                    4.1.2 Implementation of Focus Groups in China</p><p>                    4.1.3 Analysis and Interpretation of Focus Group Findings</p>                    4.1.4 Interviews with Experts</p><p>                    4.1.5 Summary</p><p>        4.2 Questionnaire Structure</p><p>                    4.2.1 Information Folder</p><p>                    4.2.2 Designing a Hypothetical Market</p><p>                    4.2.3 Obtaining WTP</p><p>                    4.2.4 Validation of WTP</p><p>        4.3 Pre-Test and Modification of Questionnaire</p><p>                    4.3.1 Characterization of the Pre-Test</p><p>                    4.3.2 Findings from the Pre-Test Survey</p><p>        4.4 Implementation of the Questionnaire</p><p>                    4.4.1 Target Population</p><p>                    4.4.2 Sampling Frame</p><p>                    4.4.3 Sampling Design</p><p>                    4.4.4 Sample Size</p><p>        4.5 Survey Method</p>                    4.5.1 Traditional Survey Methods</p><p>                    4.5.2 Deliberative Group-Based Approaches</p><p>                    4.5.3 Comparison and Choice of Survey Methods</p><p>5. Results</p><p>        5.1 Sample Characteristics</p><p>                    5.1.1 Gender Distribution</p><p>                    5.1.2 Age Distribution</p><p>                    5.1.3 Income Distribution</p><p>                    5.1.4 Educational Level</p><p>                    5.1.5 Family Size</p><p>                    5.1.6 Membership of Environmental Groups</p><p>                    5.1.7 Summary</p><p>        5.2 Attitudinal Questions</p><p>                    5.2.1 Attitude on General Issues on Environment and Wildlife</p><p>                    5.2.2 Comments on Information Folder</p><p>                    5.2.3 Individuals’ Views toward the Porpoise Conservation Project</p><p>                    5.2.4 Individuals’ Preference on Different Uses of Porpoise Conservation</p><p>        5.3 Validity of Responses</p><p>                    5.3.1 Non-respondents and Non-responses</p><p>                    5.3.2 Protest Responses</p><p>                    5.3.3 Strategic Bias</p><p>                    5.3.4 Embedding Effect</p><p>                    5.3.5 Warm Glow</p><p>                    5.3.6 Summary of Invalid Responses</p><p>                    5.3.7 Valid WTP Responses and Attached Statements</p><p>        5.4 Quantitative Analysis</p><p>                    5.4.1 Comparison of Socio-economic Characteristics</p><p>                    5.4.2 Descriptive Statistics</p><p>                    5.4.3 Theoretical Validity of WTP</p><p>        5.5 Conclusion</p><p> </p><p>6. Discussion</p><p>        6.1 Difficulties with the Design of Contingent Valuation Studies in China</p><p>                    6.1.1 Recruitment and Implementation of Workshops</p><p>                    6.1.2 Protest Responses</p><p>                    6.1.3 Embedding Effect: Finless Porpoises versus Biodiversity</p><p>        6.2 Distance Effect</p><p>        6.3 Different WTP in Germany and China</p><p>        6.4 Summary</p><p> </p><p>7. Conclusions</p><p>        7.1 General Conclusions</p><p>                    7.1.1 Adequacy of the Valuation Workshop</p><p>                    7.1.2 Absence of Distance Decay</p><p>                    7.1.3 Important Role of Budget Constraints</p><p>                    7.1.4 Policy-related Implications</p><p>        7.2 Recommendations for Future Research</p><p> </p><p>Appendix A: Demographic characteristics of participants in Focus Groups<p>Appendix B: Summary of Focus Group Findings<p>Appendix C: Summary of Interviews with Experts<p>Appendix D: Questionnaire</p><p> </p>Index</p></p></p><p>Appendix B: Summary of Focus Group Findings<p>Appendix C: Summary of Interviews with Experts<p>Appendix D: Questionnaire</p><p> </p>Index</p></p><p>Appendix C: Summary of Interviews with Experts<p>Appendix D: Questionnaire</p><p> </p>Index</p><p>Appendix D: Questionnaire</p><p> </p>Index