An Integrated Analysis of Residents’ Preferences on Ecological Governance in Yarkant River Basin, China

This study investigates residents’ preferences for ecological governance in China’s Yarkant River Basin (YRB) through household surveys (<i>N</i> = 422) employing Discrete Choice Experiments (DCE), Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), and Latent Class Modeling (LCM). The analysis reveals a prioritized hierarchy of governance attributes: agricultural output enhancement emerges as the paramount concern, followed by desert governance, hydrological regulation, habitat conservation, and cultural recreation. Socioeconomic segmentation analysis identifies two distinct preference clusters - a majority agrarian-focused group (65.7%) and a cultural amenity-oriented minority (34.3%) – with income levels and educational attainment being key determinants. These findings underscores the importance of balancing ecological governance policies with residents’ preferences to support sustainable development.