Evaluation and Strategic Response of Sustainable Livelihood Level of Farmers in Ecological Resettlement Area of the Upper Yellow River-A Case Study of Liujiaxia Reservoir Area, Gansu Province

Zongxiang Wang; Wei Li; Jianwu Qi

doi:10.3390/ijerph192416718

Evaluation and Strategic Response of Sustainable Livelihood Level of Farmers in Ecological Resettlement Area of the Upper Yellow River-A Case Study of Liujiaxia Reservoir Area, Gansu Province

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Dec 13;19(24):16718. doi: 10.3390/ijerph192416718.

Authors

Zongxiang Wang^{1

2}, Wei Li^{1

2}, Jianwu Qi³

Affiliations

¹ College of Geography and Environmental Science, Northwest Normal University, Lanzhou 730070, China.
² Institute of Urban Planning and Tourism Landscape Design, Northwest Normal University, Lanzhou 730070, China.
³ Department of Tourism Management, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006, China.

Abstract

The level of sustainable livelihoods, as a yardstick for measuring the social development of migrants, is of great importance to the sustainable development of the region. Based on the analysis of the policy logic of ecological protection and high-quality development in the Yellow River basin, this paper constructs a "ternary" system model and evaluation index system for sustainable livelihoods of farm households in the ecological resettlement areas of the upper Yellow River, and proposes that the harmonious relationship between the three basic dimensions of economy, society and environment is the key to evaluate the sustainable livelihood level of farm households in ecological resettlement areas. Based on the comprehensive evaluation index to assess the comprehensive development level of ecological resettlement areas, we introduced the coupling coordination degree and constructed the coordinated development degree model of "economic-social-environmental" system to characterize the sustainable livelihood level. Through the data of 1116 questionnaires and in-depth interviews in the ecological migrant resettlement area of Liujiaxia reservoir in the upper reaches of the Yellow River basin, the sustainable livelihood status and spatial distribution differences of farm households in 14 townships in the region were evaluated, and the validity of the indicator system was empirically tested. Finally, sustainable livelihood strategies for farm households in the ecological resettlement areas of the upper Yellow River are proposed for the economic, social and environmental dimensions, and the indicator system is further revised. The evaluation system can not only advance the research paradigm of sustainable livelihood assessment for farmers in ecological migrant resettlement areas but can also be widely guided and applied to the sustainable development of ecological migrant practices in China.

Keywords: coupling coordination degree; ecological resettlement area; evaluation system; space differentiation; sustainable livelihoods.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

China
Conservation of Natural Resources
Family Characteristics
Farmers*
Farms
Humans
Rivers*

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the National Social Science Foundation of China (approval No.: 21bgl257) and the 2021 postgraduate research funding project of Northwest Normal University (approval No.: 2021kyzz02142).