Study on Rural Poverty in Ecologically Fragile Areas——A Case Study of the Tibetan Areas in Sichuan Province

This article offers an overview of natural environment, economic development, and social development in the Tibetan areas in Sichuan Province. The major manifestations of the status quo of poverty in the Tibetan areas are as follows: there is a wide range of poverty and a large poor population; the poverty degree is high and it is difficult to alleviate poverty; the natural disasters are frequent and the phenomenon of poverty arising from disasters is serious. We analyze the factors responsible for poverty of farmers and herdsmen in Sichuan Province as follows: first, the natural conditions are inclement and the ecological environment is fragile; second, the social attitudes are stale and the religious influence is deep; third, the development of education lags behind, the human capital inputs are short and the self-development capacity is weak; fourth, the state poverty alleviation and development policy is weakly directed at region; fifth, the Tibetan areas are facing the dilemma of choosing resources endowments or ecological protection. Following proposals are put forward to resolve the poverty issue in the Tibetan areas of Sichuan Province: strengthen infrastructure construction, and underpin self-development capacity of the Tibetan areas in Sichuan Province; reinforce organic connection of social security and poverty alleviation and development, and promote self-development capacity of impoverished farmers and herdsmen in the Tibetan areas; strengthen policy support, and improve self-development policy and mechanism of the Tibetan areas in Sichuan Province; drive the popularization of technology and culture in the Tibetan areas, and update the development concept of farmers and herdsmen in the Tibetan areas; accelerate the development of competitive industries in Tibetan areas, and promote economic development capacity of the Tibetan areas.