Impact of farmer households’ livelihood assets on their options of economic compensation patterns for cultivated land protection简

With rapid urbanization and the socio-economic transformation, cultivated land protection has gradually become a major concern in China. The economic compensation plays a crucial role in promoting cultivated land protection and improving the utilization ratio of cultivated land. Farmer household＇s satisfaction has a great influence on the effectiveness of compensation. Therefore, households＇ willingness to select the economic compensation pattern for cultivated land protection has been considered and re-examined. By employing Participatory Rural Appraisal method （PRA）, 3 villages and 392 households were investigated and sampled in mesa and hilly areas of Chongqing. Then a quantitative analysis framework of household livelihood hexagon has been developed to quantify the livelihood assets of differ- ent farmer households. Finally, the Gray Relation Model and Probit Regression Model have been employed to explore the coupling relationship between the household livelihood assets and their compensation pattern options. The results show that there are both qualitative and spatial heterogeneity in household livelihood assets. We found that the inequality of livelihood assets is evident for five household types. There is a spatial trend that the higher the eleva- tion, the less livelihood assets are. In addition, their options of economic compensation pat- tern vary from Chengdu Pattern to Foshan Pattern due to their difference in livelihood assets and difference in location. In detail, there is a coupling relationship between household live- lihood assets and their compensation pattern; negative correlation is observed between natural assets value and household pattern options, while the other livelihood assets have positive impacts on compensation pattern in varying degrees, which from the top are psy- chological assets, human assets, physical assets, financial assets, and social assets respec- tively. A conceptual compensation pattern system has been designed to meet the demands for farmer households mainly according to their shortage in livelihood assets. In addition, compensation method, compensation standard, the basis of compensation and the source of compensation funds have been proposed accordingly.     

生计资产差异对农户耕地保护经济补偿模式选择的影响(英文)

With rapid urbanization and the socio-economic transformation, cultivated land protection has gradually become a major concern in China. The economic compensation plays a crucial role in promoting cultivated land protection and improving the utilization ratio of cultivated land. Farmer household's satisfaction has a great influence on the effectiveness of compensation. Therefore, households' willingness to select the economic compensation pattern for cultivated land protection has been considered and re-examined. By employing Participatory Rural Appraisal method(PRA), 3 villages and 392 households were investigated and sampled in mesa and hilly areas of Chongqing. Then a quantitative analysis framework of household livelihood hexagon has been developed to quantify the livelihood assets of different farmer households. Finally, the Gray Relation Model and Probit Regression Model have been employed to explore the coupling relationship between the household livelihood assets and their compensation pattern options. The results show that there are both qualitative and spatial heterogeneity in household livelihood assets. We found that the inequality of livelihood assets is evident for five household types. There is a spatial trend that the higher the elevation, the less livelihood assets are. In addition, their options of economic compensation pattern vary from Chengdu Pattern to Foshan Pattern due to their difference in livelihood assets and difference in location. In detail, there is a coupling relationship between household livelihood assets and their compensation pattern; negative correlation is observed between natural assets value and household pattern options, while the other livelihood assets have positive impacts on compensation pattern in varying degrees, which from the top are psychological assets, human assets, physical assets, financial assets, and social assets respectively. A conceptual compensation pattern system has been designed to meet the demands for farmer households mainly according to their shortage in livelihood assets. In addition, compensation method, compensation standard, the basis of compensation and the source of compensation funds have been proposed accordingly.     

Impact of farmer households’livelihood assets on their options of economic compensation patterns for cultivated land protection

With rapid urbanization and the socio-economic transformation,cultivated land protection has gradually become a major concern in China. The economic compensation plays a crucial role in promoting cultivated land protection and improving the utilization ratio of cultivated land. Farmer household's satisfaction has a great influence on the effectiveness of compensation. Therefore,households' willingness to select the economic compensation pattern for cultivated land protection has been considered and re-examined. By employing Participatory Rural Appraisal method (PRA),3 villages and 392 households were investigated and sampled in mesa and hilly areas of Chongqing. Then a quantitative analysis framework of household livelihood hexagon has been developed to quantify the livelihood assets of different farmer households. Finally,the Gray Relation Model and Probit Regression Model have been employed to explore the coupling relationship between the household livelihood assets and their compensation pattern options. The results show that there are both qualitative and spatial heterogeneity in household livelihood assets. We found that the inequality of livelihood assets is evident for five household types. There is a spatial trend that the higher the elevation,the less livelihood assets are. In addition,their options of economic compensation pattern vary from Chengdu Pattern to Foshan Pattern due to their difference in livelihood assets and difference in location. In detail,there is a coupling relationship between household livelihood assets and their compensation pattern;negative correlation is observed between natural assets value and household pattern options,while the other livelihood assets have positive impacts on compensation pattern in varying degrees,which from the top are psychological assets,human assets,physical assets,financial assets,and social assets respectively. A conceptual compensation pattern system has been designed to meet the demands for farmer households mainly according to their shortage in livelihood assets. In addition,compensation method,compensation standard,the basis of compensation and the source of compensation funds have been proposed accordingly.     

Comprehensive Evaluation of Farm Household Livelihood Assets in a Western Mountainous Area of China: A Case Study in Zunyi City

As the foundation of farm household structure, livelihood asset status is the basis for farmers to gain opportunities, adopt livelihood strategies, resist livelihood risk, and engage in positive livelihood achievements. Quantifying farm household assets identifies future development trends that are fundamentally necessary to predict farm household vulnerability and strategy, as well as understanding farmers’ current living situations. Using Zunyi City in China’s western mountainous area as a case study, we conducted stratified sampling and participatory rural investigation appraisal to collect data on the attributes of farm households’ livelihood assets and livelihood strategies to establish an index evaluation system and enable evaluation and analysis of farm households with different livelihood strategies. Our research indicates that due to structural differences, total livelihood assets of farm households with different livelihood strategies are similar. Rural households have an abundance of natural and material assets and deficiencies in human, financial and social assets. Non-rural households and part- time households are abundant in human, financial and social assets and deficient in natural and material assets.     

基于生计资产量化的农户分化研究——以重庆市沙坪坝区白林村471户农户为例

农户生计资产的配置结构及其空间分布特征决定着农户生计发展的资源优势和空间可能性,依据农户生计资产结构可以准确地识别其分化情景。研究采用"PRA+3S"相结合的方法,以地理坐标为标识码,建立农户属性与地块空间数据相链接的"农户-土地"数据库,对农户生计资产配置结构、农户类型划分、农户空间分布特征进行了研究。结果表明:(1)农户生计资产配置结构差异明显,113户农户自然资产产值高于平均值,趋于发展农业生产;108户农户各项资产处于平均水平,主要向兼业发展;250户农户自然资产小于0.1,趋于发展非农生产;(2)依据农户生计发展趋势将其划分为农业多样化发展型(16%)、农业专业化发展型(8%)、兼业化发展型(23%)、非农多样化发展型(31%)、非农专业化发展型(22%)。     

秦巴山特困区农户生计资本及生计策略研究——以商洛市为例

基于秦巴山商洛地区农户问卷调查数据,在可持续生计框架下,聚焦不同群体之间生计资本状况,并探讨其农户生计资本对生计策略选择的影响以及生计资本的耦合性。结果表明：（1） 山区农户生计策略出现明显分化,依据非农收入比重分为纯务工型、务工主导型、兼业型和纯农型4种类型。（2） 调研样本中农户生计资本有限和不均衡,呈现金融资本和社会资本相对较高,自然资本、人力资本偏低的特征。非贫困户中兼业型生计资本总值最高,务工主导型、纯务工型次之,纯农型最低;贫困户中务工主导型生计资本总值最高,纯务工型、兼业型次之,纯农型最低。（3） 非贫困户中人均耕地面积、人均林地面积、耕地质量、职业技能水平、政治资源、就业网络对纯务工型农户向务工主导型、兼业型转变有着积极影响,家庭人均收入、男性劳动力比例则具有负向影响;家庭人均收入和职业技能水平对于纯务工型向纯农型转变有负向影响。贫困户中人均耕地面积、人均林地面积、政治资源对纯务工型农户向务工主导型、兼业型和纯农型转变具有正向影响,家庭人均收入、劳动力教育水平、职业技能水平、联系成本则具有负向影响。（4） 非贫困农户生计资本耦合度依次为兼业型＞务工主导型＞纯务工型＞纯农型;贫困农户则为兼业型＞纯务工型＞务工主导型＞纯农型。因此,开展农户可持续性生计研究,对于农户减贫、促进乡村地区发展具有重要意义。     

生计资产差异对农户耕地保护补偿模式选择的影响——渝西方山丘陵不同地带样点村的实证分析

耕地比较效益低下引致耕地保护经济补偿成为破解耕地保护问题的客观选择,而影响经济补偿成败的关键因素之一在于补偿模式设计是否符合农户诉求,因此定量刻画农户生计资产差异对其补偿模式选择的影响便是补偿模式设计的核心.运用参与式农村评价法(PRA)对渝西方山丘陵3 个样点村392 户农户进行了实地调查,构建了农户生计资产六边形计量分析框架,运用灰色关联分析模型和Probit 回归分析法对农户生计资产差异与补偿模式选择意愿间耦合关系的存在性和影响度进行了分析,并设计了差别化耕地保护经济补偿模式.研究结果表明：① 农户生计资产存在属性差异和空间分异.农户生计总资产呈现由自给型纯农户到非农户递增的总体趋势,空间上存在海拔越高生计资产越低的趋势.② 农户对耕地保护经济补偿模式的选择意愿存在随农户生计资产差异由“成都模式”向“佛山模式”过渡的趋势,不同地带农户模式选择意愿存在空间分异.③ 农户生计资产差异与耕地保护补偿模式选择间存在耦合关系,自然资产与农户模式选择意愿呈负相关,社会资产对农户的模式选择影响最小,金融资产对农户模式选择的影响较弱,人力资产和物质资产对农户决策均产生较显著影响,心理资产对农户的决策影响最为显著.④ 根据农户生计资产缺乏情况为7 种类型农户设计了概念性的补偿模式体系,并就补偿方法、补偿依据、补偿标准和补偿资金来源问题进行了探讨.     

Livelihoods in transition: transnational gold mining operations and local change in Cajamarca, Peru

This paper examines how transnational gold mining operations are transforming rural household livelihoods in the Cajamarca region of Peru. In particular, this paper evaluates how Newmont Mining Corporation's Minera Yanacocha (MYSA) mining operations are altering access to the produced, human, natural and social capital resources that households utilize to produce their livelihoods. The paper argues that while access to produced and human capital resources has increased in the past decade, albeit unevenly, access to natural and social capital resources has declined. The paper begins with a discussion of new frameworks for evaluating local livelihood change and household access to resources. Subsequently, the paper describes Peru's new transnational mining sector, livelihoods and livelihood change in the Cajamarca region. The paper then presents the results of case study field research evaluating the impacts of MYSA on household access to resources in three communities. Finally, the paper concludes with a critical discussion of livelihoods frameworks and how they can contribute to geographic studies.     

内蒙古半农半牧区农户生计资产与生计方式研究——以科右中旗双榆树嘎查为例

基于可持续生计框架,采用统计分析和深度访谈法,将研究区293户农户按生计活动类型划为牧户（牛户、羊户、牛羊户和马户）、种植户和非农户,并按农户生计资产总值进一步划为高、中、低3个等级类型,进而分析了不同类型和不同等级农户的生计资产与生计活动及方式的依存关系。研究发现：各类农户的生计资产均值差距明显,牧户最高,为0.37,种植户为0.25,非农户为0.21;牧户的劳动力、草场、牲畜、现金、贷款等资产均值最高,种植户的农机和耕地资产均值最高,非农户的社会资产均值最高。目前,半农半牧区的农户仍然以旱作种植业和草地畜牧业为主要生计,但农牧业生产均面临较大的资源环境压力;非农户只占15.3%,且面临非农就业机会不足、个人技能缺失、语言障碍和务农时间与用工季节的冲突。最后,提出了提高农户收入和改善农户生计的对策建议。     

Livelihood diversification of farmers and nomads of eastern transect in Tibetan Plateau

Livelihoods of farmers and nomads in Tibetan Plateau are severely affected by grassland and herbal resources degeneration. How to help them achieve livelihood diversification is a key sustainable development issue. This paper examines livelihood assets, livelihood diversification level and livelihood strategies of farmers and nomads in 3 regions of eastern transect in Tibetan Plateau. The results show that livelihood diversification is a popular strategy. From high mountain gorge region to mountain plateau region and plateau region, livelihood diversification level is reduced, and livelihood activities and proportion of extended livelihood also decrease. Livelihood assets and livelihood diversification level decrease with the increase of elevation, mainly shown in human assets and natural assets. Livelihood diversification level is highly correlative with livelihood assets, mainly shown in natural assets, human assets and social assets. Livelihood improvement strategies of farmers and nomads are still based on existing livelihood assets, mainly raising livestock and digging herbs, and less farmers and nomads consider off-farm employment or doing business. Nomads in plateau region should learn much from experiences of extended livelihoods of people in high mountain gorge region and mountain plateau region. Therefore, aids of governments should focus on relieving restricted factors of livelihood diversification and help them improve their abilities to build up extended type livelihoods.     

Livelihood diversification of farmers and nomads of eastern transect in Tibetan Plateau

Livelihoods of farmers and nomads in Tibetan Plateau are severely affected by grassland and herbal resources degeneration. How to help them achieve livelihood diversification is a key sustainable development issue. This paper examines livelihood assets, livelihood diversification level and livelihood strategies of farmers and nomads in 3 regions of eastern transect in Tibetan Plateau. The results show that livelihood diversification is a popular strategy. From high mountain gorge region to mountain plateau region and plateau region, livelihood diversification level is reduced, and livelihood activities and proportion of extended livelihood also decrease. Livelihood assets and livelihood diversification level decrease with the increase of elevation, mainly shown in human assets and natural assets. Livelihood diversification level is highly correlative with livelihood assets, mainly shown in natural assets, human assets and social assets. Livelihood improvement strategies of farmers and nomads are still based on existing livelihood assets, mainly raising livestock and digging herbs, and less farmers and nomads consider off-farm employment or doing business. Nomads in plateau region should learn much from experiences of extended livelihoods of people in high mountain gorge region and mountain plateau region. Therefore, aids of governments should focus on relieving restricted factors of livelihood diversification and help them improve their abilities to build up extended type livelihoods.     

青藏高原东部样带农牧民生计的多样化(英文)

Livelihoods of farmers and nomads in Tibetan Plateau are severely affected by grassland and herbal resources degeneration.How to help them achieve livelihood diversification is a key sustainable development issue.This paper examines livelihood assets,livelihood diversification level and livelihood strategies of farmers and nomads in 3 regions of eastern transect in Tibetan Plateau.The results show that livelihood diversification is a popular strategy.From high mountain gorge region to mountain plateau region and plateau region,livelihood diversification level is reduced,and livelihood activities and proportion of extended livelihood also decrease.Livelihood assets and livelihood diversification level decrease with the increase of elevation,mainly shown in human assets and natural assets.Livelihood diversification level is highly correlative with livelihood assets,mainly shown in natural assets,human assets and social assets.Livelihood improvement strategies of farmers and nomads are still based on existing livelihood assets,mainly raising livestock and digging herbs,and less farmers and nomads consider off-farm employment or doing business.Nomads in plateau region should learn much from experiences of extended livelihoods of people in high mountain gorge region and mountain plateau region.Therefore,aids of governments should focus on relieving restricted factors of livelihood diversification and help them improve their abilities to build up extended type livelihoods.     

Resource Development and the Perpetuation of Poverty in Rural Laos

ABSTRACT

Government efforts to industrialise and modernise the Lao economy through intensive resource development are having adverse effects on rural livelihoods as resources are degraded and access to limited land and natural resources has intensified. In one of the country's key river basins, Nam Ngum, a series of resource developments including hydropower, mining and agricultural plantations have modified the landscape over the last four decades. Uncoordinated resource developments are putting intense pressure on increasingly scarce natural resources and affecting the lives of people who are dependent on them. Economic diversification of rural households in Feuang District in the Nam Ngum River Basin has created significant discrepancies between the rich and the poor, yet all households remain primarily dependent on agriculture. Land is of enduring importance to rural livelihoods. National development intervention has failed to secure basic livelihoods for rural households.     

Research Progress on Farmers’ Livelihood Transformation and Its Ecological Effects—A Review

Farmers’ livelihoods and their impacts on the ecosystem are important indicators of human-land relationships. Appropriate livelihood strategies for farmers can meet the needs of human well-being and promote the sustainable use of natural resources, thereby maintaining the health and stability of natural ecosystems. Scholars have carried out a great deal of research on the changes in farmers’ livelihoods, as well as the driving mechanisms and ecological effects, but there are still many controversial issues about the ecological effects of farmers’ livelihood transformation. On the basis of collecting and sorting out the relevant literature, this paper analyzes the previous research results on the transformation mechanism and ecological effects of farmers’ livelihoods, and further explores the coupling relationship. Through the analysis and summary, we find that the choice of farmers’ livelihoods is affected by natural factors, subjective willingness and social policies. The transformation of farmers’ livelihood changes the ways of production, consumption and resource utilization, which in turn profoundly affects the evolutionary process of the natural ecosystems. This paper establishes a research framework for the livelihood transformation mechanism of farmers and its ecological effect, and finally summarizes two directions that need to be studied further in the future: (1) Exploring the interactions between the driving factors of farmers’ livelihood transformation; and (2) Exploring a win-win sustainable mechanism for farmers’ livelihood needs and natural resource utilization.     

Households’ Resilience to Hurricanes in Coastal Communities of Oaxaca,Mexico

Hurricanes represent a common threat to coastal communities, affecting livelihood strategies and assets. Households are resilient if they can recover from a stress or shock while maintaining and arranging assets to secure a sustainable livelihood. The objective of this research is to measure the degree of resilience in the coastal households of Oaxaca, Mexico, following a hurricane using the asset approach and describing diversity, connectivity, and slow variables. The results show different degrees of resilience among the households and that social, natural, and financial capital are relevant to resilience. The diversification of income, savings, community help, natural resource use, and government transfers is among the most important assets. In particular, social capital and natural capital determine the structure and dynamics of the system.     

The Dominant Livelihood Types of Farm Households and Their Determinants in Key Ecological Function Areas

The dominant livelihood types of farm households have become increasingly differentiated in recent years, which has attracted the attention of researchers. Identifying the characteristics and driving factors of household livelihood differentiation is of great significance for revealing man-land relationship and policy making. Based on the interview data of farm households in typical villages in key ecological function areas of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region in China, we analyzed the pattern of the dominant diversified livelihood types and the livelihood characteristics among different farm households. Then we assessed the driving forces of livelihood diversification by optimal scaling regression. The results indicated that: (1) In the study area, the dominant livelihood types show two trends of agriculturally dominant livelihood (accounting for 53.07%) and non-agriculturally dominant livelihood (accounting for 46.93%). Moreover, farm households in the agro-pastoral areas are mainly agriculturally dominated (accounting for 75.68%), while farm households in the mountainous areas are mainly non-agriculturally dominated (accounting for 66.93%). (2) The labor allocation and income source of different types of farm households are consistent with their dominant livelihood types. The farm households with agriculturally dominant livelihoods have more natural resources than those with non-agriculturally dominant livelihoods. In terms of housing conditions, farm households with agriculturally dominant livelihoods are inferior to those with non-agriculturally dominant livelihoods. (3) The farm labor, dependency ratio, agricultural income, supplemental income and locational conditions have negative impacts on the non-agricultural trend of farm household livelihood decisions, while off-farm labor, non-farm income, education level and the per capita amount of compensation have significant positive impacts on it.     

An Ecosystem Services Approach to Sustainable Livelihoods in the Homegardens of Kandy,Sri Lanka

ABSTRACT

The Kandyan homegardens, or forest gardens, of central Sri Lanka are diverse, smallholder agroforestry ecosystems that for 2000 years have reflected evolving environmental, economic, and social livelihood needs. An ecosystem services approach interrogated homegarden changes over the last 10 years in 31 Kandyan households. Livelihood strategies favouring homegardens were found to have broader benefits across household, national, and global scales than those favouring commercial simplification or those abandoning cultivation for alternative incomes. Livelihood benefits beyond income included resilience to economic and environmental shocks; food security; and higher stocks of biological and agricultural diversity. This revealed overlooked socio-ecological feedbacks between drivers that frustrated interventions to sustain homegarden livelihoods, including increased wild animal incursions thwarting household climate adaptation and disaster recovery; global organic and fair trade incentives reducing food security and livelihood resilience; and national seed and animal regulations counteracting homegarden sustainability programs. Despite these pressures, households maintained homegarden systems for their cultural, aesthetic and eating preferences. An ecosystem services approach can complement sustainable livelihood approaches by identifying overlooked environmental and cultural benefits; reveal livelihood feedbacks from drivers of ecosystem change; avoid unintended consequences from interventions; and capitalise on synergies between stakeholder priorities.     

Institutional environments and the livelihood impacts of voluntary sustainability standards: A Village‐based analysis from southern Sumatra's coffee sector

Lead roasting firms are operating through Indonesia's coffee exporters to introduce voluntary sustainability standards (VSS) in an attempt to secure supply, and to simultaneously meet corporate social responsibility requirements, even as empirical studies continue to show uncertain benefits for producer livelihoods. Value chain interventions like VSS, however, are not rolled out over a blank canvas, and many contributing factors determine their overall impact on livelihoods, particularly the local institutional environment. This study assesses the extent to which variability of empirical outcomes is determined by the institutional environment, by identifying specific processes through which VSS interact with pre‐existing social, political and economic institutions to influence livelihood outcomes. These include: firm‐specific corporate strategies (including producer training); livelihood strategies of households (including access to assets); government programs; and local political economy, as manifest particularly through patronage between traders and suppliers. VSS have thereby become an additional institutional layer shaping livelihood strategies and regional development outcomes, best viewed as providing access to a new social network that may be exploited by producers. The interaction between VSS programs, livelihood strategies and pre‐existing institutional environments in a particular place often dictates the variable outcomes for producers, making attribution of impact causation to VSS enrolment problematic.     

Diversification of Livelihoods in a Society in Transition: A Case Study of Tibetan Communities in Southwest China

In recent years, large development and market integration programs have altered the socioeconomic structures and cultural identity of rural communities and ethnic minorities in Southwest China and influenced the management of natural resources. This article analyzes livelihood strategies in the Shuiluo Valley, a remote area of the Sino-Tibetan borderlands. Agricultural activities and the management of natural resources were studied in five villages of Muli Tibetan Autonomous County, Sichuan Province. Characteristic for rural societies in transition, livelihoods were found to be flexible, combining subsistence agriculture, off-farm employment, and the exploitation of both renewable and nonrenewable natural resources. Accessibility of villages did not influence household income and livelihood activities, and poorer households were not found to depend more on natural resources or on income from agriculture than wealthier households. The option of gold prospecting constitutes a major difference compared to more nontimber forest product-based livelihoods in adjacent areas of Southwest China.     

Responses of rural households to the impacts of population and land-use changes along the Eastern Escarpment of Wello,Ethiopia

The article analyses the effects of changes in land cover and land use changes together with population changes on the livelihood of rural households, and also farming households' responses to these changes, in typical rural settings of north-eastern Ethiopia. The study shows that the immediate impact of shrubland and forest increase since the late 1970s, coupled with population increase, is an exponential fall of per capita cropland and grazing land, which are the principal physical assets of livelihoods of the rural farming community in the area. Furthermore, the study reveals that the scarcity of cultivated land in the area neither brings about agricultural intensification nor leads to diversification into non-farm activities, and farmers did not respond to the scarcity of cultivated land through large out-migration. In general, the Boserupian assumption of land-use intensification through improved labour and land productivity did not happen in the region. Rather, the Malthusian thesis seems appropriate. The majority of farming households are destitute, unable to satisfy their own food demands, and live in absolute poverty. This situation has been brought about not only due to population pressure but also as a result of the policies that have been applied in all systems since the 1950s.