Feng Qi, Miao Zheng, Li Zongxing, Li Jianguo, Si Jianhua, S Yonghong, Chang Zongqiang
Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Donggang West Road 320, Lanzhou 730000, Gansu Province, China; The College of Tourism and Environment, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi'an 710062, Shaan Xi Province, China.
Organization Department of Gansu provincial party committee, Communist Party of China, China.
Environ Res. 2015 May;139:20-30. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2014.12.030. Epub 2015 Feb 14.
The need for environmental protection challenges societies to deal with difficult problems because strategies designed by scientists to protect the environment often create negative effects on impoverished local residents. We investigated the effects of China's national and regional policies related to environmental protection and rehabilitation projects in inland river basins, by studying the effect of projects in the Heihe and Shiyang river basins, in northwest China. Interviews and surveys were conducted at 30 sites in the lower reaches of these two arid basins, an area that has experienced severe ecological degradation. The survey results show the ecological rehabilitation projects adversely affected the livelihoods of 70.35% of foresters, 64.89% of farmers and 62.24% of herders in the Minqing region in the lower Shiyang River Basin; also, the projects negatively affected 51.9% of residents in the Ejin Qi in the lower Heihe River Basin. This caused 16.33% of foresters, 39.90% of farmers and 45.32% of herders in the Minqing region to not support the project and 37.5% of residents in the Ejin Qi region said they will deforest and graze again after the project ends. The negative impacts of the policies connected to the projects cause these attitudes. The projects prohibit felling and grazing and require residents to give up groundwater mining; this results in a great amount of uncompensated economic loss to them. Extensive survey data document the concerns of local residents, concerns that are supported by the calculation of actual incomes. In addition, the surveys results show poorer interviewees believe the projects greatly affected their livelihoods. While citizens in this region support environment protection work, the poor require considerable assistance if one expects them to support this type of work. Governmental assistance can greatly improve their living conditions, and hence encourage them to participate in and support the implementation of the projects within and outside the districts where they live.
环境保护的需求促使社会去应对难题,因为科学家设计的保护环境的策略往往会给贫困的当地居民带来负面影响。我们通过研究中国西北部黑河和石羊河流域的项目效果,调查了中国内陆河流域与环境保护及生态修复项目相关的国家和地区政策的影响。在这两个干旱流域下游的30个地点进行了访谈和调查,该地区经历了严重的生态退化。调查结果显示,生态修复项目对石羊河流域下游民勤地区70.35%的林业人员、64.89%的农民和62.24%的牧民的生计产生了不利影响;此外,这些项目对黑河流域下游额济纳旗51.9%的居民也产生了负面影响。这导致民勤地区16.33%的林业人员、39.90%的农民和45.32%的牧民不支持该项目,额济纳旗地区37.5%的居民表示项目结束后他们将再次砍伐森林和放牧。与项目相关的政策所带来的负面影响导致了这些态度的产生。这些项目禁止砍伐和放牧,并要求居民放弃地下水开采;这给他们造成了大量未得到补偿的经济损失。大量的调查数据记录了当地居民的担忧,这些担忧通过实际收入的计算得到了证实。此外,调查结果显示较贫困的受访者认为这些项目极大地影响了他们的生计。虽然该地区的公民支持环境保护工作,但如果期望贫困居民支持这类工作,他们需要得到相当多的援助。政府援助可以大大改善他们的生活条件,从而鼓励他们参与并支持其居住地区内外项目的实施。