Interaction between ecosystem services and rural poverty reduction: Evidence from China

• Published in: Environmental science & policy Vol. 119; pp. 1 - 11
• Main Authors: Shuai, Jing, Liu, Jing, Cheng, Jinhua, Cheng, Xin, Wang, Jing
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01.05.2021
• Subjects: aesthetics; China; climate; Ecological environment; Ecosystem services value (ESV); ecosystems; genetic variation; Interaction; issues and policy; landscapes; Rural poverty; soil fertility; Three Gorges Reservoir region (TGRR); waste treatment; China; Rural poverty; Three Gorges Reservoir region (TGRR); Interaction; China; Ecosystem services value (ESV); Ecological environment
• ISSN: 1462-9011; 1873-6416
• DOI: 10.1016/j.envsci.2021.01.011

•We built a framework for ecosystem services and multi-poverty-index (MPRI).•We conducted a quantitative assessment of ecosystem services in rural China.•We revealed the interactive relationship between ecosystem services and MPRI. This paper firstly proposed an analytical framework for the relationship between ecosystem services value (ESV) and multidimensional poverty-reduction index; then, it conducted a quantitative assessment of ESV including ecosystem disservices in China’s Three Gorges Reservoir region; next, it explored the interactive relationship between ESV and multidimensional poverty-reduction index in an attempt to reveal the contribution of ecosystem services to poverty reduction in this special region. The results indicate that: (1) There is a long-term co-integration between ESV and multidimensional poverty-reduction index, and their coupling degree is on the rise; ESV plays an important role in improving social security and mitigating poverty; (2) There are high correlations between climate regulation, waste treatment, maintenance of genetic diversity, environment purification, landscape aesthetics, maintenance of soil fertility and multidimensional poverty-reduction index, making the greatest contribution to poverty reduction in the region; and (3) Contributions of different specific ecosystem services to poverty reduction are varied considerably among different categories of ESV. Finally, this paper proposed policy recommendations for the synergy between eco-environmental protection and poverty reduction based on the findings of this research.