Details
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 317-330 |
| Number of pages | 14 |
| Journal | Ecosystems and People |
| Volume | 15 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| Early online date | 16 Oct 2019 |
| Publication status | Published - 2019 |
Abstract
As the world’s largest payments for ecosystem services (PES) program, China’s Sloping Land Conversion Program (SLCP) is designed to combat soil erosion and land degradation by converting cropland on steep slopes into forests. Operating through an incentive-based approach, the SLCP involved 32 million rural households as core agents. This paper aims to fill a research gap regarding how socioeconomic and institutional conditions influence rural households to reach the primary environmental goals. Using fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA), we conclude that at the household level, the different pathways to environmental success or failure have been shaped by socioeconomic and institutional conditions in a combinatory manner rather than single conditions alone. Specifically, the combination of household involvement and effective monitoring plays a fundamental role in capacity-building between government and households. We found that financial incentives have a trade-off effect, as they could not only create a positive interaction but also trigger failure in situations with different conditions. Finally, the potential and limits of QCA were discussed, and we call for a more serious reflection on the added value of QCA as an alternative or complementary method to conventional approaches in environmental governance research.
Keywords
- China, ecological restoration, governance, PES, QCA, qualitative comparative analysis, reforestation, sloping land conversion program, Suneetha Subramanian
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Agricultural and Biological Sciences(all)
- Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
- Engineering(all)
- Automotive Engineering
- Environmental Science(all)
- Nature and Landscape Conservation
- Environmental Science(all)
- Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law
Sustainable Development Goals
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In: Ecosystems and People, Vol. 15, No. 1, 2019, p. 317-330.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - How socioeconomic and institutional conditions at the household level shape the environmental effectiveness of governmental payments for ecosystem services program
AU - Chen, Cheng
AU - Matzdorf, Bettina
AU - Meyer, Claas
AU - König, Hannes J.
AU - Zhen, Lin
PY - 2019
Y1 - 2019
N2 - As the world’s largest payments for ecosystem services (PES) program, China’s Sloping Land Conversion Program (SLCP) is designed to combat soil erosion and land degradation by converting cropland on steep slopes into forests. Operating through an incentive-based approach, the SLCP involved 32 million rural households as core agents. This paper aims to fill a research gap regarding how socioeconomic and institutional conditions influence rural households to reach the primary environmental goals. Using fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA), we conclude that at the household level, the different pathways to environmental success or failure have been shaped by socioeconomic and institutional conditions in a combinatory manner rather than single conditions alone. Specifically, the combination of household involvement and effective monitoring plays a fundamental role in capacity-building between government and households. We found that financial incentives have a trade-off effect, as they could not only create a positive interaction but also trigger failure in situations with different conditions. Finally, the potential and limits of QCA were discussed, and we call for a more serious reflection on the added value of QCA as an alternative or complementary method to conventional approaches in environmental governance research.
AB - As the world’s largest payments for ecosystem services (PES) program, China’s Sloping Land Conversion Program (SLCP) is designed to combat soil erosion and land degradation by converting cropland on steep slopes into forests. Operating through an incentive-based approach, the SLCP involved 32 million rural households as core agents. This paper aims to fill a research gap regarding how socioeconomic and institutional conditions influence rural households to reach the primary environmental goals. Using fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA), we conclude that at the household level, the different pathways to environmental success or failure have been shaped by socioeconomic and institutional conditions in a combinatory manner rather than single conditions alone. Specifically, the combination of household involvement and effective monitoring plays a fundamental role in capacity-building between government and households. We found that financial incentives have a trade-off effect, as they could not only create a positive interaction but also trigger failure in situations with different conditions. Finally, the potential and limits of QCA were discussed, and we call for a more serious reflection on the added value of QCA as an alternative or complementary method to conventional approaches in environmental governance research.
KW - China
KW - ecological restoration
KW - governance
KW - PES
KW - QCA
KW - qualitative comparative analysis
KW - reforestation
KW - sloping land conversion program
KW - Suneetha Subramanian
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85073599297&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/26395916.2019.1676311
DO - 10.1080/26395916.2019.1676311
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85073599297
VL - 15
SP - 317
EP - 330
JO - Ecosystems and People
JF - Ecosystems and People
SN - 2639-5908
IS - 1
ER -