Do Local Residents Support the Development of a National Park? A Study from Nanling National Park Based on Social Impact Assessment (SIA)
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...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-09-01
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| Series: | Land |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/10/10/1019 |
| _version_ | 1797514086918914048 |
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| author | Qian Dong Bo Zhang Xiaomei Cai Alastair M. Morrison |
| author_facet | Qian Dong Bo Zhang Xiaomei Cai Alastair M. Morrison |
| author_sort | Qian Dong |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | 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. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T06:26:39Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1eb46fac07b54ffbb607c96de0134d7d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-445X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T06:26:39Z |
| publishDate | 2021-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Land |
| spelling | doaj.art-1eb46fac07b54ffbb607c96de0134d7d2023-11-22T18:50:22ZengMDPI AGLand2073-445X2021-09-011010101910.3390/land10101019Do Local Residents Support the Development of a National Park? A Study from Nanling National Park Based on Social Impact Assessment (SIA)Qian Dong0Bo Zhang1Xiaomei Cai2Alastair M. Morrison3School of Tourism and Hospitality Management, Hubei University of Economics, Wuhan 430205, ChinaSchool of Tourism Management, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, ChinaSchool of Tourism Management, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, ChinaDepartment of Marketing, Events and Tourism, Greenwich Business School, University of Greenwich, London SE10 9SL, UKOver 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.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/10/10/1019Nanling National Parksocial impact assessment (SIA)protected areasresident perceptionslivelihoods |
| spellingShingle | Qian Dong Bo Zhang Xiaomei Cai Alastair M. Morrison Do Local Residents Support the Development of a National Park? A Study from Nanling National Park Based on Social Impact Assessment (SIA) Land Nanling National Park social impact assessment (SIA) protected areas resident perceptions livelihoods |
| title | Do Local Residents Support the Development of a National Park? A Study from Nanling National Park Based on Social Impact Assessment (SIA) |
| title_full | Do Local Residents Support the Development of a National Park? A Study from Nanling National Park Based on Social Impact Assessment (SIA) |
| title_fullStr | Do Local Residents Support the Development of a National Park? A Study from Nanling National Park Based on Social Impact Assessment (SIA) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Do Local Residents Support the Development of a National Park? A Study from Nanling National Park Based on Social Impact Assessment (SIA) |
| title_short | Do Local Residents Support the Development of a National Park? A Study from Nanling National Park Based on Social Impact Assessment (SIA) |
| title_sort | do local residents support the development of a national park a study from nanling national park based on social impact assessment sia |
| topic | Nanling National Park social impact assessment (SIA) protected areas resident perceptions livelihoods |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/10/10/1019 |
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