Stakeholder’s Decision-making Behaviors In Forest-tourism:the Perspective Of Carbon Offset

In the context of the reality of global climate change and the political game, and the issues on the environment and energy, the value of the forest carbon sink is taken seriously gradually and reflected in various forms like market compensation, which will change the level of China’s forestry construction and development direction of the afforestation and reforestation, forest protection and management,etc. With Sanzhualun National Forest Park as a case, from the carbon offset perspective, the study, adopting low-carbon economic theory, environmental economics and other related theories, establishes forest carbon sink and travel carbon footprint evaluation system, and based on the willingness surveys of stakeholders concerning visitors, householders,etc, builds carbon-oriented forest management(COFM) decision models, explores decision-making(DM) patterns of forest Park stakeholders and its influencing factors, analyzes the dynamic mechanism of forest park carbon offset, proposes feasible ways in COFM, provides intellectual supports and DM references for forest management, community participation and sustainable development of forest tourism in order to achieve the integration of forest Park’s economic, social, and environmental benefits, ultimately accomplishing comprehensive coordination of management. This is not only beneficial to explore the new path of the forest park operation and management in the global climate change, helpful to deepen the study of forest eco-tourism and forest management theory and offers new ideas for practicing the subject exploration of eco-econornic development model and thus has important theoretical and practical significance. The main contents and results are as follows:(1)The research of carbon sequestration potential in Sanzhualun.Eestimation of the carbon sequestration and their value can provide the basis for compensation and COFM. This thesis adopts the IPCC and other methods to estimate the biomass of each forest vegetation, and then calculates the carbon storage and carbon sequestration. Estimation study of forest carbon sinks and the value in the study area showed in Sanzhualun the amount of forest carbon sinks and economic value are both great with the obvious growing trend. Carbon sink capacity varies greatly between forest types. Carbon sinks of arbo forestry units increase most in a year, nearly60times more than that of bamboo,and the carbon sink capacity of the mixed class in arbo forestry is four times more than the foreign pine trees; Forest carbon sink capacity has large differences among forestry age groups, and the over-mature forest is five times as great as the young forest in carbon sink capacity.(2)The Estimates of tourist carbon footprint(TCF).Based on the terminal consumer perspective, from six elements the TCF model of the travel product level is built, and the TCF of Sanzhualun Forest Park is estimated. The results showed that the total TCF was51233.65t in2011in Sanzhualun, including tours, accommodation, catering, transport, shopping, entertainment of7.55%,11.49%,7.62%,59%and5.28%; and the average TCFwas36.66kg/p.(3)The research on visitors’carbon offset behaviors. On the basis, through questionnaires and correlation analysis, factor analysis and multiple regression analysis and other statistical analysis methods the carbon offsets attitude of the forest visitors, motivation, behavior and its influencing factors are explored. Results are:The main factors affecting the DM behavior of visitors carbon offsets include the first-level ones namely environmental anxiety, participation motivation and attitude as well as seven second-level ones such as pressure fear, etc. The prediction model of carbon compensation DM is established; The model predicting carbon offset willingness strength in three mechanisms is analyzed and built; The age, occupation of visitors and urban-rural discrepancy has a significant impact on its carbon offset participation. These studies provide a reliable basis for carbon offset management decisions.(4)Study on COFM decision-making behavior of householders.By questionnaire, the finite rational model and multiple regression model, the forest carbon sink management attitude of Sanzhualun householders, motivation, behavior and its influencing factors are explored. Resultls are:householders are more concerned about the natural environment but most householders care more about the practical value of the timber than ancillary value like carbon sinks; The householders involved in COFM are mainly affected by six factors such as the compensation attitude, public opinion,etc.The farmer COFM decision-making model can predict the participation probability of householders; Participation willingness is mainly affected by the five factors like carbon sink cognition,etc; According to this the wish strength of COFM prediction model is constructed. Measures for householders to be willing to participate in COFM include non-removing the understory dead matter, fireproof, cut the miscellaneous, management and protection, extending the rotation interval, reducing deforestation and utilizing and increasing ecological forests to increase biodiversity. The current willingness strength of householders’COFM is not high, the carbon sink compensation has an limited impact on the number of participants, but enhances obviously wish intensity of COFM.(5) Study on the government COFM decision-making behavior.Through questionnaires, application of general statistical analysis methods, the local government’s COFM attitude, motivation, behavior and its influencing factors are explored. Results are:local governments have much attention and high cognition concerning the ecological environment and forest carbon sink, strongly willing to participate in the COFM, mainly tending to organize daily custody, fire proof, replanting and so on. In Influencing factors, the political performance ones can motivate managers to promote rationally the organization of COFM, and economic factors are important considerations affecting the participation in the organization and management.Based on above, Forest Park’s COFM countermeasures and suggestions are proposed, ranging from the travel carbon sink sub market, travel carbon sink fund, carbon offset tickets and varieties of means of travel carbon sequestration compensation, COFM measures to government policy support patterns and social support network systems, etc.