Japan Geoscience Union Meeting 2018

Presentation information

[EE] Poster

H (Human Geosciences) » H-CG Complex & General

[H-CG20] International Comparison of Landscape Appreciation

Mon. May 21, 2018 1:45 PM - 3:15 PM Poster Hall (International Exhibition Hall7, Makuhari Messe)

convener:yoji aoki(Open University of Japan)

[HCG20-P03] A study of Willingness to Pay and Willingness to work for Morizum

*ZHANG JUNCHI1, SIQI XING1, Syoukan Kou1, YINGMING MAO1, Shi Jiaying1, Dibyanti Danniswari1, Mikiya Matsuda1, minseo kim1, Atsushi Yamada1, Takayo Negishi1, Katsunori Furuya1 (1.Chiba University Graduate School of Horticulture, Faculty of Horticulture)

Keywords:Morizum, Willingness to work, Willingness to pay, Economic value, Green lifestyle

Background and Purpose of the Study

According to the concept of "Morizum" the healing effect of greenery can be felt in daily life in simple ways. The term refers to anything or activity that makes us feel close to nature in daily life.

Morizum can improve "quality of green life" of people who are concerned about environmental conservation and preservation. Because young people tend not to feel interested in complex activities, it can also encourage young people's participation in green activities still decreases.

There are many different types of Morizum, and various ways to pay for it. This study has two main objectives that to analyze the potential economic value of Morizum and to analyze how people prioritize spending on Morizum-related things. Through this study, we have tried, first, to investigate the degree of people's awareness of and interest in Morizum, and second, their willingness to pay (WTP) and willingness to work (WTW) for Morizum and the scope of improvement of Morizum's economic value.

Methods

For the purpose of this study, which focuses on young people between the ages of 10 and 30, a questionnaire was used to gain an understanding of their participation awareness and personal attributes. After being shown 24 pictures depicting Morizum-related activities, the participants were presented with 20 statements and asked to score the degree of agreement to each statement on a 6-point Likert-type scale. We used the Kruskal-Wallis, Steel-Dwass, and X2 tests to perform statistical analysis using SPSS software. The Kruskal-Wallis test was used to analyze the data for significant difference, the Steel-Dwass test (ST) for a cross-sectional study, and the X2 test to determine the cause of significant difference.

Results

We collected 310 questionnaires, but only 254 met the criteria for analysis.

First, the result of the relationship between young people's personal attributes and participation awareness shows that the women have a higher percentage of health, relax, living environment and growing vegetables than men's on participation awareness. Meanwhile, men's consciousness is higher than women's on cost, meaningless, lack of information, and a few events. People who owned apartments or condominiums showed negative attitudes towards the concept of Morizum, and high-annual-income groups could not spare much time to participate. Therefore, personal attributes based on gender, residence, and annual income partly influence participation awareness where Morizum is concerned.

Second, we found that while the participants tended to give negative responses to questions related to time, cost, safety and cleanliness, largely, they responded positively to questions related to education and entertainment, and to simple activities that require little space and energy.

Last, the analysis of the relationship between personal attributes and WTP/WTW demonstrates that the average of WTP is 145,880 yen, and that of WTW is 2.5 days (61.5 h). The most important factor affecting people's WTP is age. Consequently, the older the person, the lower the WTP. WTW, however, is unaffected by age.

Conclusion

In conclusion, citizens' personal attributes partly influence WTW and WTP. To improve young people's participation awareness, we need to develop more relaxing and educational Morizum events and create more work that is both time- and cost-effective and that also takes safety and cleanliness into consideration. As part of future research, we intend to clarify the specific activities that can help exploit Morizum's economic value.