Data Sheet 1_Impact of forestry carbon sink policies on farmers’ willingness to utilize idle forest land: evidence from Fujian province, China.pdf

The willingness of farmers to participate in forest land utilization is crucial to the realization of the “two-carbon” goal and the high-quality development of forestry, but existing studies lack empirical analyses of the specific impacts of carbon-neutral policies. Based on survey data from 411 farmers in Fujian Province, this study used a binary probit model to analyze the effects of farmers’ perceived effectiveness of carbon-neutral policies and related factors on their willingness to participate in forest land use. The results show that 74.6% of farmers are willing to utilize idle forest land. Farmers who perceive carbon financial policies, fiscal policies, tax preference policies, and sink price policies as effective are significantly more willing to participate. Additionally, years of education, number of family laborers, and forest land quality also have a positive effect. Conversely, family non-farm income and accessibility to transportation show a negative association, whereas gender, age, occupation, forestry business activities, and subsidies do not demonstrate statistically significant effects. The study suggests that policy instruments and farmers’ characteristics jointly shape their behavior. Drawing on the link between perceived policy incentives and participation willingness, the findings imply that prioritizing financial support systems and carbon financial products could lower participation thresholds. Furthermore, optimizing fiscal policies, offering tax incentives to reduce burdens, and coordinating carbon sink markets to stabilize price expectations may help align policy designs with farmers’ incentives to efficiently utilize forest land. These measures provide a practical basis for the “dual-carbon” goal.