Conservation, ecotourism, poverty, and income inequality – A case study of nature reserves in Qinling, China

Ma, Ben; Cai, Zhen; Zheng, Jie; Wen, Yali

doi:10.1016/j.worlddev.2018.11.017

Cited by 100 publications

(63 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…The poverty reduction and welfare enhancement effects brought about by ecotourism are significant and result in improvements in the living environment and transportation facilities, as well as increased non-agricultural employment opportunities. The effect of ecotourism on community livelihoods is obvious, although it may also have negative impacts such as environmental pollution and income inequality [29]. Therefore, ecotourism development is an important means of community-based natural resource management and an important mechanism to enhance community participation in conservation.…”

Section: Impact Of Different Policies On Household Participation In Cmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Community Participation and Preferences Regarding Conservation and Development Policies in China’s Giant Panda Nature Reserves

Wen

2019

Sustainability

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Community participation in conservation activities is an important mechanism to coordinate the conflicts between conservation and local development. Hence, it is necessary to understand farmers’ preferences for different conservation and development policies. By surveying households residing inside and outside the four giant panda nature reserves in the Qinling Mountains, China, in 2018, this study uses a choice experiment model to evaluate participation willingness and stated preferences regarding the establishment of national parks (NPs), ecotourism development, ecological public welfare forest compensation, and provision of ecological jobs. Our results suggest that these conservation and development policies all have a positive impact on community participation in conservation. Among the different conservation and development policies, farmers seem to prefer the government developing ecotourism most, followed by providing ecological jobs, establishing NPs, and finally the compensation amount and period of ecological public welfare forests. Moreover, farmers with different characteristics have different preferences regarding conservation and development policies. Age, education level, whether the respondent is a village cadre, family forestland area, family income, and whether the respondent lives in a nature reserve are relevant socio-economic characteristics of the affected farmers.

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Section: Impact Of Different Policies On Household Participation In Cmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, ecotourism is not a panacea, while many success stories exist, there are also failures [24][25][26][27]. Community-based ecotourism was found to increase income inequality in Colombia and Qinling, China [28,29].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Community Participation and Preferences Regarding Conservation and Development Policies in China’s Giant Panda Nature Reserves

Wen

2019

Sustainability

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“…Mechanisms for achieving positive social outcomes have been identified, such as ecotourism, infrastructure construction, and community engagement [ 34 ]. Ecotourism in nature reserves has also been widely discussed in the literature regarding its capacity to alleviate poverty in local communities [ 35 ]. Ferraro and Hanauer [ 34 ] found that ecotourism activities in nature reserves account for approximately two-thirds of the poverty alleviation effect, based on a poverty index that captured residents’ employment status, household appliance ownership, and utility use.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Do Protected Areas Matter? A Systematic Review of the Social and Ecological Impacts of the Establishment of Protected Areas

Zhang

Hou

et al. 2020

IJERPH

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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.

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“…Moreover, overpopulated tourist areas can transitionally turn from ecotourism into conventional tourism, which then varies from the eco-objectives established [39][40][41][42]. Ecotourism may also worsen income inequality in the local community, even though it may increase the income of those working within it [9,43,44]. As such, their still remains the challenge of employing ecotourism to achieve poverty reduction and livelihood improvement in the community [9].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustainable Transformative Economy: Community-Based Ecotourism

2019

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Ecotourism has a high potential impact on remote communities, by improving economic opportunity and natural resources conservation, and is increasingly accepted as an alternative livelihood for rural people. This study examines ecotourism development from the perspective of participation and economic impact for the Bousra people in Cambodia. A total of 237 households were selected as the sample size. Data collection was carried out with face-to-face interviews and analyzed using logistic regression and ordinary least square methods. Results revealed that local households depend mostly on agriculture (i.e., crop plantation and farming) and utilize ecotourism as a secondary source of income. Most households acknowledged ecotourism had a positive impact on environmental, social, and economic perspectives, while some signaled negative backlash due to depleted natural resources and impact on local culture. Household participation in ecotourism was not significantly affected from assistance issued by government or non-governmental organizations. However, causal relationships were found based on household demographic factors, attitude to environmental conservation, and village life. It was shown that the percentage of people involvement in ecotourism is high, but their income percentage is low due to education, skill, and capacity to expand. As a low-impact alternative to standard commercial tourism, community-based ecotourism has potential in becoming a transformative form of economics for local communities.

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Conservation, ecotourism, poverty, and income inequality – A case study of nature reserves in Qinling, China

Cited by 100 publications

References 40 publications

Community Participation and Preferences Regarding Conservation and Development Policies in China’s Giant Panda Nature Reserves

Community Participation and Preferences Regarding Conservation and Development Policies in China’s Giant Panda Nature Reserves

Do Protected Areas Matter? A Systematic Review of the Social and Ecological Impacts of the Establishment of Protected Areas

Sustainable Transformative Economy: Community-Based Ecotourism

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