How does ecological poverty alleviation contribute to improving residents' sustainable livelihoods? — Evidence from Zhejiang Province, China

Ecological poverty alleviation (EPA) constitutes an important approach to achieving both the utilization of sustainable ecosystem services and an improved well-being for local residents. Based on the sustainable livelihood framework, this study assessed how the EPA industry contributes to enhancing residents' sustainable livelihoods and examined the factors that distinguish the resulting outcomes. Using the text analysis method and ANOVA tests, we analyzed and compared the contributions to the livelihood of 120 EPA projects across 26 mountainous counties in Zhejiang Province, China. The research identified three components that enhance our understanding of the mechanisms linking ecosystem services and poverty alleviation. First, development strategy plays an important role in differentiating the outcomes of poverty reduction. Tourism-driven projects are relatively more effective in improving natural and economic capital, whereas agriculture-driven projects contribute more to improving human, social, and physical capital. Second, institutional arrangements also shape the outcomes of EPA projects. Of the four governance modes analyzed in this study, village-led projects are the most efficient, whereas company-led projects are the least efficient. Third, residents' level of participation is an essential factor that differentiates the outcomes of EPA projects. Participation by local residents provides effective mechanisms to ensure accountability of the various stakeholders, thus guaranteeing a minimum trade-off between environmental and socioeconomic sustainability. Stakeholders with different perspectives need to engage more in debates about the factors that affect livelihoods and the ways in which they interact with poverty-alleviation measures.