Promoting the development of eco-industries plays a significant role in achieving the harmonious symbiosis between economic growth and environmental protection as well as enhancing the comprehensive effectiveness of ecological and economic benefits. Due to their unique nature, cooperatives may play a crucial role in facilitating the integration between farmers and the development of eco-industries. To investigate whether cooperatives possess the capacity to enhance the income-generating effects for farmers involved in eco-industries, this study selected the Crested Ibis National Nature Reserve (CINNR), a representative area for eco-industry development, as the research site. Data were gathered through face-to-face interviews, and this research empirically analyzed the impact of cooperatives on the income-generating effect of farmers using endogenous switching regression (ESR). The findings are threefold. First, cooperatives indeed enhance the income-generating effects for farmers engaged in eco-industries. Second, variables such as the distribution of agroforestry materials, premium capacity, soil quality, and status of village cadres have a positive impact on farmers joining cooperatives, whereas punishment initiatives discourage their participation. Third, for farmers who have joined cooperatives, factors such as the distribution of agroforestry materials, premium capacity, low-cost conservation initiatives, land area, status of village cadres, the proportion of labor force, technical training, soil quality, and land area positively affect their income from eco-industries. Conversely, punishment initiatives, age, and land location negatively impact their income. The results of this study provide new ideas for farmers to participate in the development of eco-industries, new evidence showing co-operatives can improve farmers’ income, and new directions for coordinating conflicts between conservation and development in protected areas.

Facilitating the sustained and stable growth of farmers’ income is crucial for achieving sustainable development in forest regions. As an emerging driving force, the digital economy has demonstrated substantial potential in enhancing farmers’ income and promoting regional economic prosperity in forest areas. Based on survey data from 1043 households across 10 counties in Guizhou Province, China, this study empirically examined the direct and indirect effects of digital economy participation on income growth among farmers in forest regions. The findings revealed that, first, participation in the digital economy significantly contributed to income growth for these households. This effect remained robust across various estimation methods, restricted sample tests, and when replacing dependent variables. Second, forestry management and its diversification played a mediating role in the relationship between digital economy participation and farmers’ income. Participation in the digital economy indirectly influenced income growth by fostering forestry management activities and their diversification. Third, the heterogeneity analysis indicated that digital economy participation had a significant positive impact on the income growth of pure farming households, part-time farming households, and households that had previously escaped poverty. This discovery underscored the unique role of the digital economy in alleviating poverty and preventing its recurrence. The conclusions of this study provide essential theoretical and practical guidance for empowering forestry development through the digital economy and advancing the digital transformation of the forestry industry. More critically, this research presents a novel pathway for the deep integration of the digital economy with forestry, jointly fostering income growth for farmers in forest regions, which holds significant implications for achieving rural sustainable development.

This study measures farmers' needs for organic farming development policies from the perspective of the main policy recipients, farmers, and then analyzes the direction of policy optimization based on 816 farmer questionnaire research data from the ibis habitat in Yangxian county, using the choice experiment method. The results found that: (1) Four policies, namely, financial subsidies, technical training, brand recognition and e-commerce support, can significantly increase farmers' willingness to participate in organic agriculture development programs, but restrictions on the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides have a negative inhibitory effect. (2) There is heterogeneity in the preferences of farmers with different socioeconomic characteristics for organic farming development policies. (3) There are differences in farmers' preferences for different organic farming development policy combinations, with the highest preference for e-commerce support, followed by brand recognition, technical training, financial subsidies, and a negative preference for fertilizer and pesticide restrictions. This means that in the future, development of organic farming policy should not be limited to conventional financial subsidies and technical training, should be in line with the development of the times, break the inherent thinking, from the electric business support, brand recognition, etc., to help farmers build a bridge from production to marketing, to enhance the effectiveness of the policy. At the same time, it should fully consider the heterogeneity of farmers' location and endowment, closely follow the needs of farmers, and guarantee the fairness and effectiveness of the policy.

This study investigates the impact of organic agriculture on farmers’ conservation behaviors, focusing on a sample of 816 households in the Chinese Crested Ibis habitats of Yang County, Shaanxi Province, China. Employing partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), we analyzed the ecological feedback mechanisms bridging agricultural practices and species protection outcomes. The results identify two primary pathways through which organic agriculture fosters conservation: (1) Enhanced perceived benefits directly drive conservation behaviors, with significant path coefficients for ecological benefits (0.105, p < 0.05) and overall benefits (0.290, p < 0.001). (2) Government regulations fortify ecological cognition and conservation efforts (0.123, p < 0.001). Notably, while ecological cognition alone exhibited no direct behavioral impact, ecological emotions emerged as a critical mediator (0.153, p < 0.001). These mechanisms align with the remarkable recovery of the Crested Ibis population—from near extinction to over 7000 individuals—since the reserve’s establishment in 1981. Ultimately, this study highlights organic agriculture’s capacity to generate a positive ecological feedback loop, wherein economic viability and emotional connections to conservation mutually reinforce sustainable behaviors. The findings underscore that personal emotional investment in environmental stewardship is a stronger behavioral catalyst than cognitive understanding alone. This research offers robust empirical evidence to inform policy designs that harmonize agricultural livelihoods with biodiversity goals through targeted organic agriculture incentives and emotionally engaging ecological education programs.