Balancing Poverty Alleviation and Ecosystem Vulnerability Reduction: Implication from China’s Targeted Interventions

Wei Li, Zhenbang Ma (zbma@lzu.edu.cn), Ruisi Luo, Yiying Hong, Sijian Wang, Xing Ma and Qiong Bao
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Wei Li: Key Laboratory of Western China’s Environmental System (Ministry of Education), College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
Zhenbang Ma: Key Laboratory of Western China’s Environmental System (Ministry of Education), College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
Ruisi Luo: Key Laboratory of Western China’s Environmental System (Ministry of Education), College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
Yiying Hong: Key Laboratory of Western China’s Environmental System (Ministry of Education), College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
Sijian Wang: Key Laboratory of Western China’s Environmental System (Ministry of Education), College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
Xing Ma: Key Laboratory of Western China’s Environmental System (Ministry of Education), College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
Qiong Bao: Consolidation and Rehabilitation Center of Gansu Province, Lanzhou 730000, China

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 6, 1-29

Abstract: The coordination between poverty alleviation and ecological protection is both a crucial requirement and a long-standing challenge for sustainable development. China’s implementation of a targeted poverty alleviation strategy has completed the task of eliminating extreme poverty. However, the evaluation of the corresponding ecosystem changes in the entire poverty-alleviated areas is still insufficient. This study investigated the spatiotemporal changes in ecosystem vulnerability across China’s 832 national poverty-stricken counties from 2005 to 2020. A habitat–structure–function framework was applied to develop an evaluation index, along with a factor analysis of environmental and socio-economic indicators conducted through the Geodetector model. Finally, the implications of China’s practices to balance poverty alleviation and ecological protection were explored. The results show that ecosystem vulnerability decreased from 2005 to 2020, with an even greater decrease observed after 2013, which was twice the amount of the decrease seen before 2013. The post-2013 changes were mainly brought about by the enhancement of the ecosystem function in critical zones such as the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau Ecoregion, Yangtze River and Sichuan–Yunnan Key Ecoregion, and Yellow River Key Ecoregion. From 2013 to 2020, the influence of the gross domestic product (GDP) surpassed that of other factors, playing a significant positive role in diminishing ecosystem vulnerability in the three regions mentioned. The results suggest that China’s poverty-alleviated areas have found a “win–win” solution for poverty alleviation and ecological protection, that is, they have built a synergistic mechanism that combines government financial support with strict protection policies (e.g., more ecological compensation, eco-jobs, and ecological public welfare positions for poor areas or the poor). These findings elucidate the mechanisms behind China’s targeted poverty alleviation outcomes and their ecological implications, establishing a practical framework for coordinated development and environmental stewardship in comparable regions.

Keywords: ecosystem vulnerability; spatiotemporal pattern; China’s national poverty-stricken counties; habitat–structure–function; targeted interventions (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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