479 / 2024-09-17 22:46:09

The Impact of Equity Perception on Residents' Conservation Willingness: the Case of the Sousa chinensis protection area

Effectiveness of MPAs,Equity Perception,Machine Learning,Social Equity,Agent-based Modelling

Marine protected areas (MPAs) not only contribute to the promotion of biodiversity and ecosystem services but are also crucial for sustaining the livelihoods and well-being of coastal residents. MPAs are unlikely to persist without social recognition, making it essential to understand and address issues of equity to achieve conservation effectiveness. This study takes the Chinese White Dolphin Marine Protected Area in the Pearl River Estuary as a case study, analyzing the impact of residents' perceptions of social equity on their participation in conservation efforts. Specifically, based on survey data, an equity index system was constructed, encompassing dimensions such as distributive equity, procedural equity, and recognition equity. A structural equation model (SEM) was employed to examine the pathways through which perceptions of equity influence residents' conservation behaviors. Additionally, the Gradient Boosting Decision Tree (GBDT) algorithm was applied for decision tree training and feature importance analysis, identifying key equity perception factors that influence behavioral choices. Agent-based modeling (ABM) was then used to simulate collective behavioral evolution under different policy scenarios, exploring the interactions between individual behaviors and conservation policies, thereby further validating the SEM results. The findings indicate that targeted policy interventions can significantly enhance residents' willingness to participate in conservation efforts. Perceptions of distributive, procedural, and recognition equity were found to have a significant impact on residents' conservation behaviors. The recognition of equity by residents contributes to the effectiveness of the MPA.