Do Local Residents Support the Development of a National Park? A Study from Nanling National Park Based on Social Impact Assessment (SIA)

Qian Dong, Bo Zhang, Xiaomei Cai and Alastair M. Morrison
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Qian Dong: School of Tourism and Hospitality Management, Hubei University of Economics, Wuhan 430205, China
Bo Zhang: School of Tourism Management, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China
Xiaomei Cai: School of Tourism Management, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China
Alastair M. Morrison: Department of Marketing, Events and Tourism, Greenwich Business School, University of Greenwich, London SE10 9SL, UK

Land, 2021, vol. 10, issue 10, 1-16

Abstract: Over the past five years, the pilot establishment of national parks in China has been a major event in global biodiversity conservation. The national parks under construction and proposed account for nearly 1% of the land area, and their social impacts have attracted the attention of researchers and managers. However, most of the research has a focus on the effects of protection, and national parks do not have a sufficient understanding of the social impacts and perceptions of the local residents. This research, taking Nanling National Park in Guangdong Province as the case, used the social impact assessment research framework to explore the perceptions and support of local people for the creation of national parks. Through questionnaires and in-depth interviews, the findings were first that most residents expressed a low awareness of Nanling National Park’s development, but they still expressed conditional support. Second, ethnic minorities and less educated residents did not support the creation of national parks. Perceptions of ecological, economic, political, and cultural impacts affected whether residents supported the construction of national parks. In the initial stages of national park development, governmental administrative departments should reduce the negative impacts of national park construction by strengthening the publicity and awareness building, formulating appropriate policy guidance for different needs, and giving local residents the right to express their views, so as to enhance resident support for national park projects.

Keywords: Nanling National Park; social impact assessment (SIA); protected areas; resident perceptions; livelihoods (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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