The Influence of Nontimber Forest Products Development on the Economic–Ecological Coordination—Evidence from Lin’an District, Zhejiang Province, China

Guiyan Ao,Qiang Liu,Lichun Xiong,Weiguang Wu,Fengting Wang,Qianqian Xu

doi:10.3390/su13020904

Abstract

The influence of the nontimber forest products (NTFPs) on the coordinated economic and ecological development has received considerable attention, where the results are mixed. This study took Lin’an District in Zhejiang Province of China as an example for analysis. Using long-term (more than 40 years) data, system coupling and autoregressive distributed lag models were combined to analyze the effect of NTFP development on coordinated economic–ecological development. The results show that large-scale commercial NTFP development positively affected coordinated economic–ecological development, and a long-term stable equilibrium relationship between them existed. The degree of regional economic–ecological coupling increased from 0.05 in 1978 to 0.98 in 2019, and both area and value of NTFP had a significant effect on the coupling degree at the 5% level. These findings indicate that NTFP development is an effective method to promote the coordinated development of the economy and ecological environment especially in mountain areas, and the government should encourage NTFP development by ecological management, strengthening policy guidance, and providing technological innovation support, etc.

Highlights

How to achieve sustainable, coordinated economic–ecological development is a topic of interest among researchers and governments alike [1]
It was proposed that nontimber forest products (NTFPs) should be developed to support the livelihoods of farmers in poor areas and to achieve coordinated economic–ecological development [3]
Further testing is needed to check the reliability of previous research conclusions. In light of these limitations, the present study aimed to examine whether large-scale commercial NTFP development can promote sustainable, coordinated economic–ecological development

Summary

Introduction

How to achieve sustainable, coordinated economic–ecological development is a topic of interest among researchers and governments alike [1]. Nations World Commission on Environment and Development, noted that nontimber forest products (NTFPs) have multiple economic–ecological effects and can increase the incomes of local residents. It was proposed that NTFPs should be developed to support the livelihoods of farmers in poor areas and to achieve coordinated economic–ecological development [3]. The international community has paid increasing attention to NTFP development [4,5], viewing it as an important means of improving the livelihoods of people in poor areas, such as South America, Southeast Asia, and Africa, where NTFPs have been extensively implemented [6]

Objectives

Results

Conclusion