Visitor’s Willingness to Pay for National Park Entrance Fees in China: Evidence from a Contingent Valuation Method

China has been making efforts in nature conservation by developing a new national park system. Setting a fee-based entrance policy for the newly established national parks can be challenging without information on visitors’ willingness to pay (WTP). Thus, this study aims to evaluate visitors’ WTP entrance fees with a dataset of 1215 visitors collected in China’s planned Qinling National Park (QNP). Using the double bounded dichotomous choice format of the contingent valuation method, we obtained the mean WTP for the entrance fee of QNP of 200 yuan. Visitors’ demand becomes relatively inelastic at the recommended entrance fee of 160 yuan when the expected ticket revenue will reach its maximum of 13.8 billion yuan. Our study also indicates that visitors’ WTP is significantly influenced by their gender difference, education level, income, number of trips to natural attractions, duration of stay, the intention of a future visit, and concern about commercial exploitation. Our empirical study provides insights into developing effective pricing policies and appropriate marketing strategies for China’s new national park system.

Dilemma Faced by Management Staff in China’s Protected Areas

Protected areas (PAs) are designated to safeguard specific areas with natural and cultural values. Importantly, appropriate management is vital for PAs to achieve their conservation goals. Therefore, the management staff is essential for guaranteeing the successful management of PAs and delivering outstanding organizational performance. In China, staff faces many difficulties when conducting conservation activities because of an inefficient management system, and the lack of relevant laws and regulations. Recently, the Chinese government has been attempting institutional reforms and developing a pilot national park system to address these problems. We reviewed international and Chinese literature to examine how various aspects of these proposed changes can impact management staff’s activities. Furthermore, we analyzed the aspects of current institutional reforms related to management staff. The results revealed that the National Park Administration’s establishment is a potential solution to China’s cross-sectional management. We suggest that the country should formulate relevant laws and funding systems that are fundamental for the success of both management staff’s conservation activities and PAs.

Developing Co-management for Conservation and Local Development in China’s National Parks: Findings from Focus Groups in the Sanjiangyuan Region

Environmental protection in China has progressed significantly in the past decades, including introduction of more collaborative approaches in the management of protected areas and the establishment of a new national park system. Many milestones have been achieved. While such developments are driven largely by national and global goals, the people who are most affected are those who reside in the protected landscapes. A range of strategies have been proposed and tried in relation to local development, with many important lessons learned, yet little has been heard to date directly from the community stakeholders themselves. In this study we report on feedback and recommendations received from focus groups in vicinity of China’s first national park, Sanjiangyuan, regarding lived experiences of “community co-management” by Tibetan herders and local officials. Overall, the most recent National Park model is deemed successful, albeit with some notable perceived limitations. Focus group participants recommend more balanced compensation opportunities including for communities living outside but in close proximity to the paranagement and health care) and establishing a more effective compensation or insurance system to offset econok, eased restrictions on ecotourism, provision of public services for communities in the park (especially waste mmic losses due to wildlife damage.

Categorizing Online Climate Change Interpretation Across the National Park System

Climate change effects are evident across the National Park System, and units are encouraged to provide proactive, meaningful interpretation on the issue to cultivate informed partners and encourage collaborative stewardship. But climate change is not currently interpreted across all units of the National Park System. Anecdotal observations suggest some units highly prioritize the topic, while others do not. Thus, we conducted an assessment of current online climate change interpretation across the National Park System as one means of quantifying park engagement. Results suggest that—of the 391 units included in the analysis—37% interpreted climate change in some manner online as of February, 2019. Though our method of analysis does not fully describe park interpretive efforts, our findings provide a baseline measure of online interpretation and help to prioritize future training and support. Furthermore, our work provides a minimally intensive approach for future assessment of online climate change interpretation.

Are We Loving Our National Parks to Death? A Call for Research on Crime and Law Enforcement in the U.S. National Park System

Despite a recent surge of visitation and frequent media accounts of lawlessness in America’s national parks, little empirical research has been dedicated to crime and law enforcement in the U.S. national park system. The absence of systematic crime and justice research within these protected spaces should raise concern, as recent park service data and intra-agency reports suggest visitor growth, funding and personnel declines, operational shortcomings, and technology constraints may endanger the capacity of the National Park Service (NPS) to adequately address anticipated crime threats in the 21st century. This call for research aims to raise awareness of the contemporary law enforcement challenges facing this federal agency and encourage the study of crime and justice issues within the U.S. national park system. We briefly examine the evolution and current state of NPS law enforcement and its associated challenges and conclude with a conceptual road map for future research occurring in these protected spaces.

Insights into Public Visual Behaviors through Eye-Tracking Tests: A Study Based on National Park System Pilot Area Landscapes

National parks are important natural reserves of high ecological value, and the visual perception of national park landscapes is closely tied to the degree of protection that the natural resources within national parks receive. Visual cognition has a direct impact on public consciousness and plays an increasingly important role in national park management. Most techniques and methods previously used to study visual behaviors are subjective and qualitative; objective and quantitative studies are rare. Here, we used the eye-tracking method to study the visual behaviors of individuals viewing landscapes within the Qianjiangyuan National Park System Pilot Area to assess the visual and psychological mechanisms underlying public perception of different landscapes. The effect of landscape type on visual behaviors was greater than that of color diversity and degree of spatial confinement and was mainly related to the characteristics of landscape elements. The public preferred recreational and forest landscapes with high ornamental value, whereas rural and wetland landscapes tended to be neglected given that perception of these landscapes required additional information to facilitate interpretation. When landscape colors were uniform and landscape spaces were more confined, the fixation duration was longer, and instant attractiveness was stronger. The effects of subject background on behavioral preferences were examined. Females were more interested in the whole landscape, whereas males focused more on the parts of the landscapes with prominent humanistic architectural features, complex colors, and open space. Art students generally preferred landscapes with strong humanistic attributes, whereas students majoring in forestry preferred landscapes with strong natural attributes.

National Park Theory

Chapter 6 delves into the topic of regard. In order to begin the process of reconciliation with the planet, mankind must first ask what is wrong with his broken relationship with the Earth. If man's first date with nature was one of wonder and awe, could it be that man now takes his beloved nature for granted? Perhaps his silent partner would like a say in how she is regarded, and especially in how she is treated. If so, what can man do to get back to that first love and shower the weeping Earth with affection? It turns out that the national park system may point the way back to conjugal bliss.