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In this study, we analyzed the accidents associated with the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus Linnaeus) and issues pertaining to compensation in Xishuangbanna Nature Reserve from 2011 to 2018. We conducted interviews and a questionnaire survey with 217 villagers. The results show that: (1) the main Asian elephants damage is crop loss (more than 95% of the total damage), and the villagers suffer economic losses; (2) through the influence of traditional culture and natural education, the majority of local villagers still have a favorable impression of Asian elephants; (3) female respondents, those engaged in agricultural production, those who had experienced crop loss and those who had never seen Asian elephants had more negative attitudes toward Asian elephants; (4) most villagers believe that the Asian elephant population has increased in the past decade; and (5) the villagers are quite passive in the human–elephant conflict, and most of them do not take action. Finally, based on the research results, this paper discusses the causes of human elephant conflict and proposes targeted mitigation measures.

There is growing interest in evaluating the effects of establishing protected areas (PAs). However, the mechanisms through which the establishment of PAs achieved significant positive effects remain unclear, and how different conservation mechanisms have achieved significant positive social and ecological benefits has also not been sufficiently studied. In this study, we systematically reviewed exemplary cases from Asia, Africa, and South America, using panel data to assess the conservation effectiveness of nature reserves and national parks. By surveying 629 literature samples reported in 31 studies, we found that the establishment of PAs has positive influences on poverty reduction, family incomes, household expenditure, employment, forest cover, biodiversity, carbon sequestration, and a reduction in forest fragmentation. Furthermore, we analyzed the specific aspects that influence the publication of a paper in a high-impact journal. We found that publication is more likely when the research uses panel data, matching methods of data analysis, large samples, and plots or PAs as research units and has significant evaluation results. Our results suggest that future studies should use panel data and matching method analysis to assess the impacts of PAs from multiple perspectives and focus on the effectiveness of specific conservation mechanisms in achieving positive effects.