The purpose of this study is to assess the effects of natural capital on overall subjective well-being and forest-related subjective well-being. A questionnaire survey of 1698 urban and rural residents living in a watershed of Japan was conducted in February and March of 2016. Multiple regression and moderation effect analyses are conducted to statistically estimate the respective influences of natural capital, human-made capital, social capital, human capital, and other demographic factors on the above-mentioned two types of subjective well-being. Forest-related activities, human engagement with forests, are supposed to be of great societal and political importance for Japanese society, where past management practices have, at least quantitatively, restored forests from past deforestation. Our statistical analysis tests whether specific engagement with natural capital (forest-related activities) is positively related to subjective well-being. Following the capability approach developed by Amartya Sen, forest-related activities are interpreted as functionings, and the analysis highlights the importance of functionings as links between natural capital and subjective well-being. The results show several forest-related activities have statistically significant effects on overall and forest-related well-being. For respondents living in less forested areas and with less social capital, forest-related activities have stronger effects on their subjective well-being, suggesting that the individual subjective well-being of urban residents and those with less social capital can be enhanced through engagement with forests.

本研究的目的是评估自然资本对整体主观幸福感和与森林相关的主观幸福感的影响。2016 年 2 月和 3 月对居住在日本某流域的 1698 名城乡居民进行了问卷调查，通过多元回归和调节效应分析，统计估计了自然资本、人力资本、社会资本、人力资本和其他人口因素对上述两类主观幸福感的影响。与森林相关的活动，即人类与森林的接触，对于日本社会来说应该具有重大的社会和政治意义，日本过去的管理实践至少在数量上已经从过去的森林砍伐中恢复了森林。我们的统计分析测试了与自然资本（森林相关活动）的具体参与是否与主观幸福感正相关。遵循 Amartya Sen 开发的能力方法，与森林相关的活动被解释为功能，分析强调了功能作为自然资本和主观幸福感之间联系的重要性。结果表明，一些与森林有关的活动对整体和与森林有关的福祉具有统计学上的显着影响。对于居住在森林较少地区和社会资本较少的受访者，与森林相关的活动对其主观幸福感的影响更大，这表明城市居民和社会资本较少的人的个体主观幸福感可以通过参与森林。