What factors influence the willingness of protected area communities to relocate? China's ecological relocation policy for Dashanbao Protected Area

Wanting Peng; David López-Carr; Chengzhao Wu; Xin Wang; Travis Longcore

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.138364

What factors influence the willingness of protected area communities to relocate? China's ecological relocation policy for Dashanbao Protected Area

Sci Total Environ. 2020 Jul 20:727:138364. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.138364. Epub 2020 Apr 3.

Authors

Wanting Peng¹, David López-Carr², Chengzhao Wu³, Xin Wang⁴, Travis Longcore⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Landscape Architecture, College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Tongji University, 200092 Shanghai, China; Spatial Sciences Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA; National Park and Natural Protected Area Planning Research Center, Key Laboratory of Ecology and Energy-saving Study of Dense Habitat, Ministry of Education, Tongji University, 200092 Shanghai, China. Electronic address: wantingpeng@hotmail.com.
² University of California, Santa Barbara, Department of Geography, 1832 Ellison Hall, Santa Barbara, CA 93106-4060, USA. Electronic address: davidlopezcarr@ucsb.edu.
³ Department of Landscape Architecture, College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Tongji University, 200092 Shanghai, China; National Park and Natural Protected Area Planning Research Center, Key Laboratory of Ecology and Energy-saving Study of Dense Habitat, Ministry of Education, Tongji University, 200092 Shanghai, China. Electronic address: 97017@tongji.com.cn.
⁴ Department of Landscape Architecture, College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Tongji University, 200092 Shanghai, China; National Park and Natural Protected Area Planning Research Center, Key Laboratory of Ecology and Energy-saving Study of Dense Habitat, Ministry of Education, Tongji University, 200092 Shanghai, China.
⁵ Spatial Sciences Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA; Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA. Electronic address: longcore@ucla.edu.

PMID: 32334205
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.138364

Abstract

Resettlement of local people from protected areas (PAs) has been regarded as a preferred method to alleviate human disturbance and environmental pressure. Lack of knowledge about local communities' perceptions of resettlement, however, can lead to failed relocation projects and negative impacts on environmental sustainability and livelihoods. To better understand local communities' perception of relocation in PAs, we examine factors that affect local communities' willingness to relocate in Dashanbao Protected Area (DPA), an important location for conservation of the rare Black-necked Crane and the subject of a large-scale relocation policy in China. We surveyed 512 households in DPA and used multiple logistic regression to identify which factors predict local communities' willingness to relocate. Then, we examined how local communities' opinions of different payment for environmental services programs (PES) impacted their willingness to relocate. The results indicated that participation in a PES program for wetland conservation significantly decreases willingness, while distance from scenic spots and roads increases willingness. Furthermore, participants in the PES program for wetlands had a greater positive perception of the benefits from the DPA. Concern about a sustainable livelihood and loss of a sense of belonging represent the two main categories or 'clusters' of reasons explaining unwillingness to relocate. Our results suggest that prior experience with PES programs influences attitudes about relocation, and that integrating the perception of local communities into policy is important to the success of conservation programs relying on relocation. Managers and decision-makers could usefully consider the coupled relationships between sustainable livelihood strategies such as PES, attitudes toward relocation, and conservation benefits when working with communities in PAs toward enhanced livelihoods and conservation.

Keywords: Conservation and park policy; Coupled human and natural system; Ecological relocation (ER); Environmental perception; Payment for environmental services (PES).

MeSH terms

Attitude
China
Conservation of Natural Resources*
Humans
Policy
Wetlands*