Classification of the Relationship between Household Welfare and Ecosystem Reliance in the Miyun Reservoir Watershed, China

Fengchun Wang,Xiaoke Wang,Dongchun Ma,Hua Zheng,Cong Li,Wenjia Peng

doi:10.3390/su9122290

Abstract

Household welfare is inseparable from the environment because of its dependence on ecosystems and their services. However, linking household welfare and ecosystems in order to inform differentiated household livelihood development in spatially heterogeneous regions is still a great challenge. Based on a field survey of 1754 households, we grouped the relationships between household welfare (defined by total income) and ecosystem reliance (expressed by an index of dependence on ecosystem services) in the Watershed of Miyun Reservoir, the only source of surface water for domestic use in Beijing, China. The relationships can be grouped into four types: high welfare and high dependency; low welfare and low dependency; high welfare and low dependence; and low welfare and high dependency. Family structure, households’ education and skill level, and the proximity to Beijing have significant impacts on household welfare, while the quantity of natural capital and eco-compensation fund significantly contribute to the ecosystem dependence. Maintaining suitable family size and age structure, improving education and skill levels, and strengthening payment for ecosystem services within low welfare households would be effective approaches to their welfare improvement. The above classification can help design tailored policy and management options to promote sustainable livelihoods based on different household subgroups.

Highlights

The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment has tried to evaluate the relationship between ecosystems and human well-being [1]
The third relationship was represented by high welfare and low dependence (H-L) households (n = 588), which are shown in the fourth quadrant of Figure 3 and which had a total income >19,791.25 yuan and index of dependence on ecosystem services (IDES)
The relationships between households and the ecosystem were divided into four types: high welfare and high dependency (H-H), low welfare and low dependence (L-L), high welfare and low dependence (H-L), and low welfare and high dependency (L-H) (Table 1 and Figure 3)

Summary

Introduction

The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment has tried to evaluate the relationship between ecosystems and human well-being [1]. The process of a household’s efforts to improve its own welfare reflects “livelihood”, which involves “ability, capital (material and social resources) and activities to survive” [12]. The different forms of livelihood capital include natural capital (e.g., land), physical capital (e.g., durable goods), human capital (e.g., household size), financial capital (e.g., deposit), and social capital (communication cost), which are widely used in previous research [13,14]. Households in different natural environments and social systems have different livelihood strategies that depend on their own livelihood capital. These households deal with risks and their impacts by combining different capitals, and maintain their livelihood security by converting flexibly between various livelihood strategies, in order to achieve a sustainable livelihood [16]

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Results

Discussion

Conclusion