The impact of perceptions on farmers’ participation in human wildlife conflicts insurance: The moderating role of risk aversion

Human–Wildlife Conflict (HWC) poses significant challenges to both farmers' livelihoods and wildlife conservation worldwide. Insurance, as a key risk-transfer mechanism, plays a vital role in balancing ecological preservation with socioeconomic stability by compensating farmers for losses. However, traditional compensation schemes often suffer from insufficient payouts and administrative inefficiencies, which may exacerbate farmers' antagonism toward wildlife. To reduce farmers' economic burdens and improve compensation effectiveness, this study proposes a cost-sharing insurance mechanism that integrates farmer participation with government subsidies. Drawing on survey data from 704 households in Yunnan Province, China collected in 2024, we employed the Heckman two-step model to examine how farmers’ perceptions influence their decisions to purchase HWC insurance. In addition, the Holt experimental method was used to measure risk aversion and evaluate its moderating effect. The results show that: (1) Each unit increase in perceived benefits raised farmers' willingness to enroll in grain and cash crop insurance by 15.5% and 17.2%, respectively, with corresponding increases in willingness to pay of 54.207 yuan and 67.602 yuan. Conversely, each unit increase in perceived risks reduced enrollment willingness by 7.8% and 8.9%, and lowered willingness to pay by 51.276 yuan and 59.726 yuan, respectively. (2) Heterogeneity analysis indicates that perceptions have stronger effects among older farmers, large-scale operators, and households located near nature reserves. (3) Mechanism analysis reveals that risk aversion intensifies the negative impact of perceived risks on farmers' participation in HWC insurance, with this effect being more significant for grain crop insurance. Based on these findings, we propose a four-dimensional policy framework encompassing targeted communication, diversified insurance products, risk education, and institutional coordination to enhance participation incentives and foster harmonious human–wildlife coexistence.