A survey on the perception of China private antidesertification afforestation support project and evaluation

This study is to evaluate the ‘Private antidesertification afforestation support project’ in the Kubuqi Desert through a survey of local residents and interviews with relevant personnel. Based on this survey, gender, age, and occupational differences in perception of the project were analyzed. In addition, the project was evaluated based on the OECD/DAC criteria using survey results and in-depth interviews with the relevant personnel. The survey analysis results show that the participants answered most of the questions positively, claiming that they were receiving social, economic, and environmental benefits through the project. However, most of the participants answered negatively to questions regarding the understanding of the project and relevant information. Gender differences in perception of the project were not found, whereas, age and occupational differences in perception were found. Older age groups showed higher levels of perception. Participants in the agro-livestock industry and office workers showed higher levels of perception compared to middle/high school students, the unemployed and college students. Teenagers, in particular, showed the lowest level of perception of the project, and thus, promotional activities targeting teenagers should be conducted in the future. Results of this evaluation of the project based on the OECD/DAC’s five criteria (relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, impact, and sustainability) showed that the project operated effectively for the most part.