Impacts of China’s National Desert Park System on Local Livelihoods and Vegetation Restoration

A Case Study of Baogutu National Desert Park

Abstract

China launched a national desert park system in 2013, aiming not only to protect the precious flora, fauna, and landscapes of desert ecosystems, but also to utilize those flora, fauna, and landscapes as resources for education and tourism. However, ecological and socioeconomic effects of the national desert parks are not yet well understood. The objective of this study was to use the Baogutu National Desert Park as a case study to clarify impacts on the livelihoods of local people living in the vicinity (through interviews) and impacts on vegetation restoration (using time-series analysis with five Landsat images from 2010 through 2022). We found that establishment of the park had impacts on residents that were both positive (e.g., improving living convenience and diversifying their livelihoods), and negative (e.g., significantly reducing the income of people who were subject to land-use restrictions by the park). In particular, people suffering from land-use restrictions tended to look at the negative aspects of the park and complained about the lack of opportunities to discuss concerns with park authorities. Although the vegetation environment in the park improved at first, the effects were not sustained, and vegetation eventually deteriorated even in some protection zones of the park. Future park management issues include the creation of a mechanism to incorporate the voices of local residents into management, and stricter zoning management.