Dong, Qian, Zhang, Bo, Cai, Xiaomei and Morrison, Alastair ORCID: 0000-0002-0754-1083 (2021) Do local residents support the development of a national park? A study from Nanling National Park based on social impact assessment. Land, 10 (10):1019. pp. 1-16. ISSN 2073-445X (Online) (doi:https://doi.org/10.3390/land10101019)

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Abstract

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.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	This article belongs to the Special Issue Land Issues and Their Impact on Tourism Development.
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Nanling National Park; social impact assessment (SIA); protected areas; resident perceptions; livelihoods
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General)
Faculty / School / Research Centre / Research Group:	Faculty of Business
Last Modified:	03 May 2024 11:07
URI:	http://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/46957

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