The heterogeneous preferences for conservation and management in urban wetland parks: A case study from China

This study aims to investigate the heterogeneous preferences for ecological services, cultural services and facilities, and information-related facilities in an urban wetland park in Xixi National Wetland Park, China, and explore choice inconsistencies among individuals via a multi-profile best-worst scaling choice experiment. Face-to-face surveys were conducted in the winter 2018 and summer 2019, and 397 valid questionnaires collected. Random parameter logit models and generalized multinomial logit models with relaxed assumptions regarding the correlations among the utility coefficients were applied to capture the heterogeneous preferences and analyze the factors shaping the preferences. The respondents' choice strategies for the best and worst options were found to be inconsistent, but valuable information was still obtained. The results indicate the following. Biodiversity improvement is ranked the most important on average, followed by information-related facilities, cultural facilities and services. The confidence intervals of the average willingness to pay across the best- and worst-option models are USD4.30 to USD4.74(biodiversity improvement), USD1.64 to USD3.35(information-related facilities) and USD1.83 to USD2.04 (cultural facilities and services). Based on these estimations, the aggregated compensating surplus of the highest improvement strategy is USD13.09 similar to 25.25 million per year. However, heterogeneous preferences were also found. Visitors with higher income value water quality higher. Residence and traveling style also contribute to the formation of preferences. Albeit choice inconsistency exists in almost all the models, visitors without children aged under 18 years old were less confused and need better informationrelated facilities and cultural services with smaller variances. Additionally, the results indicate that public policy may shape individuals' preferences for natural conservation and management options. These findings add new evidence to the literature that identifies park users' heterogeneous preferences and contribute to an understanding of the trade-offs between conservation and tourism development in urban wetland park designs in the developing world.