Open AccessAlleviating human poverty: A successful model promoting wildlife conservation in China
Author(s) -
Zhao Xumao,
Garber Paul A.,
Li Ming
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
conservation science and practice
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2578-4854
DOI - 10.1111/csp2.511
Subject(s) - poverty , wildlife , reforestation , biodiversity , china , population , geography , habitat destruction , wildlife conservation , ecotourism , restoration ecology , habitat , environmental planning , ecology , environmental resource management , natural resource economics , tourism , economic growth , economics , biology , archaeology , sociology , demography
Protecting biodiversity and reducing human poverty is a global challenge to all countries, including China, which has high biodiversity, large urban centers, and a large human population. Here, we discussed the effects of policies designed to alleviate poverty (Ecological Emigration, Ecological Restoration and Ecotourism) on the conservation status of primates in China. We present evidence that improving human well‐being and increasing the income of poor people in rural areas of China over the past two decades has had a positive effect on the population persistence of several species of nonhuman primates. However, we also identify inadequacies in the implementation of this policy which include the construction of infrastructures that fragment remaining forests and disrupt opportunities for gene flow, as well as practices associated with reforestation and the planting of monocultures rather than restoring natural habitat. Accordingly, we suggest that prioritizing biodiversity protection and habitat restoration in the implementation of China's current economic policies to alleviate poverty represents a successful model for wildlife conservation.