科学家报告说,中国政府的一个为应用可持续农业实践的农民提供财政激励的项目可能在增加环境保护的同时有助于减少贫困。该研究显示,正确设计的激励措施可能有助于人们脱离环境退化和贫困的循环——这被称为“贫困陷阱”。
北京林业大学Shixiong Cao及其同事利用中国政府的资助为森林被广泛砍伐的长汀县的农民提供将近140万美元的年度激励,从而促进中国福建省的可持续发展。农民因为保存树木、使用煤炭而不是木柴作为燃料、开发沼气生产、使用有机肥、种植果树以及养猪养鱼而获得了补贴。这组科学家报告说,在经过了8年后,这些地方的环境和社会经济状况——以生物多样性、植被覆盖、就业和收入衡量——比没有提供激励的可比乡镇有了更大的改善。这组作者说,当这些补贴结束的时候,农民应该有能力继续利用他们建立的基础设施和工业,而不会重新使用破坏性的方法。这组科学家说,该项目证明了设计用于保护受影响人口的生计的自然保护政策可以同时实现消除贫困和保存生态系统的目标。(生物谷Bioon.com)
生物谷推荐原始出处:
PNAS June 15, 2009, doi: 10.1073/pnas.0900197106
Development and testing of a sustainable environmental restoration policy on eradicating the poverty trap in China's Changting County
Shixiong Caoa,1, Binglin Zhongb, Hui Yueb, Heshui Zengb and Jinhua Zengb
aCollege of Water and Soil Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, 100083, China; and
bWater and Soil Conservation Bureau of Changting County, Fujian, 366300, China
It is widely accepted that environmental degradation and poverty are linked and that conservation and poverty reduction should be tackled together. However, success with integrated strategies has been elusive. Here, we present the results of a study that illustrates how development that combines environmental and economic perspectives and that provides appropriate compensation to affected populations can improve both nature and society, thereby eradicating the “poverty trap.” The results show that if we cannot improve the livelihood of local residents, we will be unable to restore degraded environments when state-owned property is transferred to private ownership to encourage better management by residents. In contrast, measures to eliminate poverty, combined with the development of green enterprises that improve the livelihoods of private land owners in the long term, is the precondition for successful ecological restoration.