1. Introduction
In the mountainous island of Taiwan, the majority of the crowded population resides along the narrow plaints along the coasts; meanwhile, the central mountainous topographic terrains in Taiwan, the high mountain areas, are legally constrained to being covered by forests and governed by public institutions, including the National Park Service, Ministry of the Interior, and Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency. The land in the shallow hillside areas is at the forefront of the natural conservation of forests and human utilization for their livelihoods. With the development of Taiwan’s economy, the economic role of agriculture in generating the island’s aggregate income has been shrinking, and the public have created a higher demand for a chance to seek release in nature. In line with this trend, the shallow-mountain areas in Taiwan represent a case of a hybrid model of the transformation of agro-tourism from traditional agriculture to ecotourism; for example, forested trail hikes in hilly conserved areas are common, serving the needs of this high-density population. It is recognized that good governance of natural habitats is a prominent climate adaptation measure in Taiwan. As forest conservation is a measure of nature-based adaptation to climate change, it is not inevitable that nature conservation would mean sacrificing the livelihoods of local residents at the forefront of nature and human society. Yuanshan Township (YST), Taiwan, is a successful example of active agro-ecotourism, via the alliance of local communities and the government, delivering a nature-based climate adaptation strategy to balance the farming and conservation of forest land with soil and water conservation.
The economic viability of climate adaptation measures is essential for their long-term success [
1]. Economic viability refers to the ability of a measure to be sustainable over the long term, usually encompassing an assessment of whether the measure can continue successfully from an economic perspective, and this suggests appropriate adaptation measures should ensure that climate change does not have a drastic impact on local community economies. Well-designed and prudently implemented measures of nature-based solutions (NbSs) can simultaneously benefit sustainable natural systems and local economies by offering multiple advantages [
2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
7,
8], including building resilience and boosting tourism by providing multiple services from a healthy ecosystem [
9,
10,
11,
12,
13,
14]. To verify whether the development of agro-ecotourism in shallow-mountain areas could allow local farming residents to enhance their economic status, this study evaluated the economic viability of agro-ecotourism from a visitor viewpoint by applying the contingent valuation method for the case of YST.
Amidst the current urgency of climate change, local adaptation measures are necessary to curb the damage caused by severe weather. Implementing climate change adaptation measures based on a well-mediated ecosystem is an effective and low-cost approach adopted in developed and developing countries [
15] facing severe weather that threatens traditional agriculture. Nature-based adaptive measures can turn threats and risks into new opportunities through carrying out smart natural protection and forest conservation and securing resident livelihoods by transforming vulnerable local traditional farming into a practice with a more resilient pattern, such as agro-ecotourism [
16,
17]. In this type of tourism, tourists and residents are dual stakeholders that benefit each other, whereby visitors are attracted by unique local recreational resources that support the livelihoods of local residents who operate agro-ecotourism activities. Visitors, as natural resource users, and residents, as land-dependent stakeholders, often play central roles in agro-ecotourism, especially when acting as tourism demanders and suppliers, respectively. In other cases, feasible measures sometimes need to be taken to resolve tensions between stakeholders [
18].
Agro-ecotourism involves a combination of nature-based ecotourism and farm-based agro-tourism [
19,
20]. Agro-ecotourism is a form of tourism that provides visitors with recreational activities in rural areas or within forests that are in harmony with the environment. It is supported through community engagement in the protection of natural forests and rural landscapes, and it contributes to the well-being of local communities. The tourism activities are diverse and designed to offer visitors an experience of nature and rural farm areas, broadly including eco-tours along forest trails, farm tours in rural areas, forest or farm stays, wildlife watching or animal interaction, educational activities on natural conservancy or sustainable farming, and cultural and heritage tours. Agro-ecotourism creates an opportunity for visitors to create a meaningful connection with the land, sustainable agriculture, forest conservation, and the environment.
At the local scale of vulnerable communities, nature-based climate change solutions focus first on disaster reduction and climate adaptation while delivering social and economic benefits to communities [
21]. This study demonstrates the economic viability of the climate adaptation policy in the climatically, geographically, and socially fragile Yuanshan Township (YST), Taiwan. The Lanyang River Basin, to which it belongs, also shares these vulnerabilities. The terrain of YST is characterized by steep vertical drops within a small land area, and the local villages in this township are at the forefront of human–nature interactions. Forest conservation in hilly areas is an NbS to climate change because it strengthens ecosystem services that improve climate adaptability. This region has adopted a policy of management through community participation to achieve sustainable outcomes [
22], thus blending environmental conservation with societal development. Traditional agriculture is gradually transitioning to a leisure-oriented model [
23]. This shift has successfully integrated ecotourism with the historically preserved mountainous forest environment, popularizing rural tourism [
24,
25].
By maintaining a tree-covered forest in this sensitive area, this strategy exemplifies a nature-based adaptation through the stewardship of forest ecosystem services. Enhancing community self-sufficiency in environmentally protected areas can be achieved by developing recreational activities such as ecotourism, which boosts economic vitality and reduces economic pressures on land development in these regions [
2].
This transformation into agro-ecotourism has created economically viable climate adaptation measures for hillside regions. This economic viability has been realized in the context of government support for forest conservation in hillside areas, which has simultaneously attracted visitors and supported the local economy. The transformation of leisure agriculture further promotes local prosperity and the vigorous development of the agricultural industry [
26,
27,
28]. Chen et al. [
16] showed that local transformation toward leisure presents a viable policy from a socioeconomic perspective. This shift toward a hybrid leisure model has been recognized as a feasible long-term adaptation measure for mitigating the risks of climate change. Protecting local forest ecosystems and their services is crucial, with forest conservation serving as a key eco-based adaptation strategy [
14,
15].
YST has unique geographical landscapes, natural scenery, and recreational, cultural, and ecological resources. The high quality of its recreational resources has attracted visitors from the neighboring Yilan City and Luodong Township, from the metropolitan Taipei area, which is separated from YST by only a mountain, and from all over Taiwan. This study assessed the perceived value of local recreational resources among visitors to YST.
Under the sustainable funding and management of the government, the economic viability assessment of climate-resilient governance and nature-based climate adaptation strategies evaluates whether these measures can provide benefits to the resource users, visitors, and relevant communities. Specifically, this investigation aimed to provide empirical evidence of the economic value that visitors place on local recreational resources. Accordingly, this study highlights the benefits of climate-resilient governance through the transformation of the recreational industry, which attracts visitors and causes the local economy to thrive, and it has been shown that the long-term transformation of local traditional agricultural industries can ensure residents’ livelihoods [
16]. These thorough verifications through multiple methodological perspectives are conducive to the formulation of reliable on-the-ground climate policies.
The economic value of the local hybrid model in YST, which combines traditional agriculture with leisure activities and ecotourism, was explored in this study by investigating the economic value of recreational resources according to visitors. This approach not only enhances the economic viability of rural communities but also promotes sustainable development, environmental conservation, and climate adaptation. The transformation of traditional agriculture into a leisure–agriculture hybrid model developed alongside ecotourism. To explore the integrated economic value of leisure agriculture and ecotourism in YST, this study applied the single-bounded contingent valuation method with an open-ended survey of visitors. The recreational commodities that were evaluated for their economic value were the culture and amenities of cherished recreational resources that were protected by the government. The recreational resources included natural resources (i.e., landscapes, flora and fauna, and ecology), cultural resources (i.e., agricultural and culture, and local drama), and recreational facilities [
25].
3. Results and Discussion
3.1. Distribution of Responses across Different Bidding Amounts
In the survey, interviewees indicated their willingness to pay the designated bidding amount. Respondents replied “yes” if their assessment of the resources exceeded the bidding amount and “no” if it fell below the specified amount. As observed in
Table 1, the proportion of respondents consenting to pay decreased as the bid value increased.
Among the respondents, those who disagreed with the bidding value in the hypothetical market indicated that they assigned a lower economic value to the service than the bidding amount. This group also included individuals who did not benefit from the recreational services and those who were explicitly protesting the bid amount, all of whom were categorized as unwilling to pay. The number of those who were unwilling to pay was 261, as shown in
Table 1.
Table 1 demonstrates two key points: the distribution of respondents for each bidding amount was evenly spread, and there was a noticeable decline in the willingness to pay at higher bidding prices.
3.2. Empirical Model Specifications and Data Statistics of the Determinant Variables
A logit regression was performed in this study to analyze the determinants of the visitors’ willingness to pay the randomly assigned bidding amounts to protect local recreational resources, which were specified as encompassing the combination of ecotourism and leisure agriculture activities. Based on the estimates of the logit regression, the economic value was calculated by following Cameron [
40,
41]. The logit model was applied to fit the data collected from the survey.
The logit model was estimated using interpolative and extrapolative techniques, and only the significant dependent variables were included in the model specifications at a significant level of 0.10. The specifications of the logit model for the single-bounded contingent valuation procedure adopted in this study were as follows.
where µ is the residual, and the subscript
represents the
respondent; P(
) is the dependent variable representing the binary responses of the residents to the bidding values assigned in the survey; BID is the assigned bidding value;
is a binary dummy variable for the intention to revisit, representing the respondents’ consent for prioritizing YST as their next outgoing destination;
is a dummy variable reflecting agreement that the local community is a feasible institution for safeguarding local natural recreational resources; and
and
are demographic variables of the respondents. The insignificant demographic variables of age, occupation, and education were left out of this final chosen specification, but the details of the definitions for these variables are shown in
Table 2.
The variables’ statistics are illustrated in
Table 3, and the statistics of the bidding values are not applicable because they were designed as part of the study and assigned to the respondents; the distribution of the bidding variables is shown in
Table 1.
Table 3 presents statistical summaries for a sample of 400 respondents across variables included in the empirical model specifications. Among these, the mean and standard deviation are provided; the statistics of
show that respondents answered ‘yes’ in approximately 35% of cases. The statistics of
, measured using a Likert-type scale, has an average of 3.96, suggesting a tendency toward a higher priority for the intention to revisit with some slight dispersion among respondents.
, with a mean of 0.11 and a standard deviation of 0.31, indicates a low average value for variability. The gender distribution (
) shows that 53% of the respondents identified as male, reflecting a fairly balanced sample.
data reveal an average monthly income of NTD 45,395.00, with a substantial standard deviation of NTD 23,551.87, indicating a wide range of income levels among respondents. Overall, these statistics provide insights into the central tendencies and variations within the sample across different variables.
In addition, the statistics of the significant variables are provided in
Table 3. More descriptive analyses of the demographic attributes of the respondents are offered. The average number of times in the past year is 2.80, with a standard deviation of 4.08. The average age is 36.88 years old, with a standard deviation of 12.23. The average number of years of schooling is 15.40 years, with a standard deviation of 1.92. The respondents’ occupations were in the fields of agriculture (1%); industrial, commercial, and service sectors (43%); military, public, and educational sectors (6%); freelancers (10%); students (20%); housewife (5%); and others (15%).
3.3. Estimation Results and Point Estimate of Economic Value
Table 4 lists the estimated results of the logit regression based on treating uncertainty about paying as an unwillingness to pay; hence, the estimated economic values were lower. The significance of the variables in the regression model was examined using the z-test at a significance level of 0.1. High collinearity was not observed among the explanatory variables. The logistic regression analysis identified several significant variables related to the respondents’ willingness to pay the bidding amount.
In the estimated logit regression model, the bidding amounts assigned to the respondents (BID variable) were significantly negatively correlated with the tendency of the agreement to pay. The bidding amount was not the only significant variable in the regression, with the following variables also positively related to the tendency to pay the bidding value. An interpretation of these variables is presented below.
(intention to revisit): This variable represents the degree of respondents’ agreement (expressed on a Likert-type scale) with the statement that they intend to prioritize YST as their next travel destination. The positive relationship suggested by the estimated coefficient revealed that a strong personal intention to return to YST increased the likelihood of financial support for the conservation of local recreational resources. Among the three statements about revisiting in the questionnaire ((1) prioritizing YST as the next travel destination, (2) recommending it to relatives and friends, and (3) revisiting in the near future), the first and strongest had a significant impact on visitors’ willingness to pay. The other two variables were not significant and were not included in the final logit model.
(feasibility of the local community as an institution): This dummy variable reflected the respondents’ agreement with the statement that the local community is a feasible institution for safeguarding natural recreational resources. Its positive correlation with willingness to pay implied that respondents who believed in the local community’s ability to protect natural resources were more inclined to financially support these efforts.
: This dummy demographic variable indicated that a respondent’s gender was male. The positive relationship observed suggests that male respondents were more likely to agree to pay the bidding amount than female respondents were. This could reflect differing attitudes or financial willingness between genders regarding recreational resource conservation.
: This demographic variable represented the respondents’ income level. Its positive correlation with willingness to pay indicated that higher-income respondents were more likely to agree to the bidding amount. This makes sense, as individuals with higher incomes may have more disposable income to allocate toward contributions to recreational resource conservation.
The visitors with a stronger intention to prioritize revisiting YST as their next destination demonstrated a greater intention to pay for the local recreational resources. The local community institution was designated as the payment channel for the bidding amounts in the survey. A higher payment tendency was revealed among visitors who held the designated payment channel in high regard as a feasible institution for safeguarding recreational resources. Male and higher-income visitors were more willing to pay the bidding amounts. These were key determinants in enhancing the value for the visitors.
The point estimate of the visitors’ willingness to pay was estimated based on the estimated results of the regression analysis using Equation (3). The estimated value of
= −0.000998 was substituted into Equation (2), and the point estimate for the economic value was NTD 1002.00. The point estimate of the visitors’ willingness to pay, E(WTP), was estimated as follows:
The economic value of the recreational resources in YST, according to the visitors, was determined by evaluating their willingness to pay to conserve the resources that they received and enjoyed.
To further index the value of the estimated value of the local recreational resources to an average visitor, the point estimate of NTD 1002.00 is about USD 32.17 (in the survey year, 2023, the exchange rate was USD 1 to NTD 31.15). In addition, the average monthly income of the respondents is NTD 45,395.00, as mentioned in
Table 2 for the variable definition and
Table 3 for the statistics. The average personal monthly income is about USD 1457.30. The estimated value of local leisure resources accounts for 2.21% of the average monthly income of respondents.
3.4. Balancing Economic Viability and Forest Conservation with Agro-Ecotourism in YST
The study results provide evidence supporting that the NbSs for climate change do not always involve erasing local opportunities to earn a livelihood. Prioritizing economic viability while ensuring forest conservation as a measure of an NbS to climate change is essential for the success of community climate adaptation policies. This study demonstrated an assessment of the economic viability of a climate adaptation policy in a fragile township, YST, Taiwan, where traditional agriculture there is transforming into agro-ecotourism. Hillside forest protection has historically been supported by the government and can be seen as promoting NbSs to climate change on hillsides and as boosting the local economy by attracting visitors. Visitors are consumers of the local ecosystem services and recreational resources, their visits enhancing the local economy, which has undergone a transformation into agro-ecotourism, and thus supporting the livelihoods of residents. This study evaluated the value of the local recreational resources through the lens of consumers’ (visitors’) perceived value. This investigation aimed to provide empirical evidence of the economic value that visitors place on local recreational resources, highlighting the benefits of climate-resilient governance through the transformation of the recreation industry. This study applied non-market valuation methods for the performed assessment and showed that the value of recreational resources for an average visitor was NTD 1002.00.
The determinant components of the visitors’ willingness to pay were addressed. The likelihood of agreeing to pay the bidding amount was higher among respondents who intended to revisit YST, believed in the local community’s ability to protect recreational resources, were male, and had higher incomes. This analysis offers significant insights into the economic viability of forest conservation when adapting to climate change.
This reflects the high esteem for local resources utilized in recreation and has implications for the potential commercial interests of residents operating local recreational businesses, making this a two-sided coin. This is an economic indicator that the Taiwanese society values maintaining the rich natural resources in this area. These findings can provide a crucial basis for the sustainable management of local resources as an NbS to climate change. In this case, successful nature-based measures for adapting to climate change must consider the economic rights and interests of the resource users—the visitors who utilize the recreational resources and the residents who rely on the local resources for their livelihoods. Agro-ecotourism in YST is an economically viable policy that can balance the requirements of nature and society in the local area. The evidence from the estimated economic value shows the recreational benefits and suggests the viability of agricultural transformation for potential income generation in the community.
4. Conclusions
The hybrid agro-tourism and ecotourism model is common in shallow-mountain areas in Taiwan, and is especially active and successful in the climate-fragile terrain of Yuanshan Township, Taiwan. The economic value of recreational resources in Yuanshan Township, as perceived by visitors, was investigated in this study. The estimated results for the visitor perceived value of the agro-ecotourism transformation from traditional agriculture empirically showed the viability of the integrated measures. The economic value of these recreational resources highlights the benefits of climate-resilient governance through the evolving leisure industry.
Agro-ecotourism is the dominant local industry in YST, its characteristic components being agriculture tourism and ecotourism. This study demonstrated that hybrid measures implemented through the long-term transformation of traditional agriculture and forest conservation are viable nature-based solutions to climate change. By applying non-market valuation methods, this study assessed the value of local recreational resources, as perceived by visitors, providing crucial information for the sustainable management of natural resources amid climate change. This analysis reveals significant economic benefits and offers insights that are essential for preserving the area’s abundant natural resources through the continuous development of the leisure industry. The performed logit regression analysis identified determinant factors of the value assigned by visitors. The positive correlation between visitors’ willingness to pay and their intention to revisit, belief in the local community as an institution, gender, and income level highlighted the key factors that influenced the visitors’ recreational benefits. These factors are the key components driving the success and viability of the integrated forest conservation and climate adaptation efforts. The integration of leisure agriculture and ecotourism, which is supported by government initiatives, has proven to be a valuable strategy in YST and the Lanyang River Basin. This approach not only fosters economic development but also ensures the sustainable management of natural resources. The continued development and promotion of leisure agriculture and tourism will thus be crucial in maintaining the region’s natural resources and achieving long-term climate resilience.
It is common in Taiwan, especially in shallow-mountain areas, for local residents to address forest conservation in the hillslopes and identify opportunities for agriculture in areas of fertilized soils. The Yuanshan Township is therefore a place that demonstrates how this hybrid type of recreation can thrive. The recommendations given to the authorities are that an ideal nature-based solution to climate adaptation can meet the multiple needs of people simultaneously. Within the context of the currently proposed Anthropocene epoch, the high population density in the small island of Taiwan presents a high demand for outdoor recreation. Furthermore, with climate change becoming an emergency, forest conservation efforts in the fragile hilly areas of Taiwan have protected people from disaster and have become feasible and cost-effective measures of nature-based solutions to adapt to climate change. The agro-ecotourism industry in shallow-mountain areas in Taiwan, especially in the study site and other local feasible terrains, can (1) support forest conservation efforts to stabilize slopes as feasible measures of nature-based adaptation to climate change, (2) provide the opportunity of recreation by fulfilling visitors’ desire for ecosystem-provided cultural services to release the pressure caused by the high density of Taiwan’s population, and (3) support the livelihoods of local residents in communities with viable incomes. However, what must be carefully noted is that this hybrid measure has its locality and applicability and should not be blindly and extensively implemented.
Furthermore, the development of agro-ecotourism has noticeable constraints, with the cultural shift requested of traditional local farmers to transform their farms into tourist attractions and the commodification of cultural heritage and natural landmarks being critical points of debate for local communities. The opportunities for economic viability should be accompanied by an awareness of the relevant threats to traditional communities, cultures, practices, and knowledge. A reflection worth noting here refers to the need to establish a market mechanism and the accompanying regulation for local agro-tourism governing practices. Local communities can take lessons from their previously experiences of the huge influxes of visitors that occurred following Taiwan becoming open to visitors from mainland China in 2008 [
42]. As a superior ecotourism system within Yuanshan Township, the popular and famous Fushan Botanical Garden has established a public visiting screen and reservation mechanism to regulate the visiting areas and visitor numbers [
43]. Visitor regulation in Fushan Botanical Garden is evidence of delivering higher-value and higher-quality ecotourism [
44,
45]. The experience of Fushan Botanical Garden represents a model for local market expansion in terms of natural resource management addressing the risks relating to tourism exploitation and the anthropic pressure on fragile natural ecosystems due to the increased touristic activity.
In the literature, the quality and value of ecotourism in the famous Fushan Botanical Garden within Yuanshan Township have been investigated, but the value of agro-ecotourism is hardly explored. This research is based on a visitor-stated value in a hypothetical market, and the actual visiting time is omitted from the regression analysis in this study. In future work, to properly incorporate the visiting time in the value assessment, we suggest using real-world data and including the actual visiting time. However, an alternative method for obtaining the value of recreational resources is to use the travel cost method, which directly applies the frequency of visiting to reflect actual activity in a realized exchange market. In future studies, it will be worthwhile adopting the travel market as a surrogate to evaluate the value of local resources.