Understanding the relationships between poverty alleviation and ecosystem conservation: empirical evidence from western China

Despite growing interest in the use of Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) for both social and ecological benefits, few studies have investigated the feedback and interaction between poverty alleviation and ecosystem protection outcomes. In this study, the poverty reduction effects of PES policies and their subsequent influence on environmental protection outcomes are investigated. To address these questions, 222 local rural households who were involved in PES programs from the Habahu National Nature Reserve in western China were interviewed. The results showed that the social and ecological outcomes of PES policies are neither two separate entities nor a trade-off. While rural households are the key participants in PES programs, the social and ecological outcomes of PES policies are closely related to each other. In addition, poverty reduction results could greatly influence ecosystem conservation effects. Livelihood assets, as well as the attitudes of rural households, play important roles in both of the outcomes. This research provides a new perspective that considers the social and ecological benefits of PES policies, and it also calls for an integrated consideration of social and ecological components in the design of PES policies to achieve enhanced results both for poverty alleviation and ecosystem conservation.