Evaluation of the Social Effects of Wetland Ecological Restoration in China: From the Perspective of the Satisfaction and Perception of Residents Around Poyang Lake in Jiangxi Province

This paper focuses on the social effect assessment of the ecological governance of Poyang Lake wetland in Jiangxi Province. By distributing 1098 valid questionnaires to the surrounding residents and collecting them, this paper deeply explores the feedback on residents’ satisfaction and recognition regarding the effectiveness of wetland governance measures. Through the comprehensive use of the Order Logit model and descriptive statistical methods such as the mean and standard deviation, this paper deeply discusses the impact of the ecological management measures of Poyang Lake wetland on residents’ life quality, environmental protection awareness, and community well-being. The study found that the wetland ecological management project was widely praised, and the overall satisfaction of residents was as high as 87.5%, reflecting a significant social effect. Further analysis revealed that satisfaction was affected by multiple factors, including age, education, quality of life (including increased leisure and recreational space and enhanced regional identity), and improvement in environmental quality (including increased bird species diversity, improved water and air quality, and improved infrastructure). Residents’ cognition of wetland function is multi-dimensional and profound, but they still need to strengthen standard science education in deep-level ecological functions such as species protection. Based on the research conclusion, three policy suggestions are proposed: first, the government should strengthen ecological education and enhance the public awareness of environmental protection; second, the government should pay attention to the win–win of ecology and people’s livelihoods and promote the harmonious coexistence of wetland protection and community development; and third, the government should improve the relevant infrastructure, strengthen environmental protection facilities, scientific research monitoring and legal construction, and lay a solid foundation for the sustainable protection and utilization of wetland resources.