Understanding livelihood vulnerability:a perspective from Western Sichuan’s ethnic rural settings

To explore the livelihood status and key influencing factors of rural households in the minority areas,we collected flat data from 284 rural households in 32 villages across 12 counties of Western Sichuan from 2021 to 2022.We conducted participatory household survey on the livelihood status of the rural households and try to identify the key factors to influence their livelihood vulnerability using multiple linear regression.The results showed that:the livelihood situation of the rural households is relatively vulnerable.The vulnerability varies significantly with the income levels,education levels,and income sources.The vulnerability of farm households,categorized from low to high livelihood types,follows the sequence:non-agricultural dominant households,non-agricultural households,agricultural dominant households,and pure agricultural households.The degree of damage to the natural environment,education costs,loan opportunities,the proportion of agricultural income to annual household income,and the presence of sick people in the household have significant positive effects on the livelihood vulnerability index(LVI)of rural households;while help from relatives and friends,net income per capita,household size,household education,agricultural land area,participation in industrial organizations,number of livestock,purchase of commercial houses,drinking water source,and self-supply of food have significant negative effects.Based on the findings,we believe that local rural households operate in a complex livelihood system and recommend continuous interventions targeting key influences to provide empirical research support for areas facing similar situations.

The Changes in the Chinese Rural Residents' Residential Structure:Can People's Livelihood be Really Improved?

People's livelihood improvement is the prerequisite of social harmony.Food,clothing shelter and transportation are the direct manifestation of the people's livelihood.In China's vast rural areas,the most significant manifestation of people's livelihood improvement is the improvement of living conditions.Based on the data on two censuses,this paper analyzes the degree of improvement of rural residents'living conditions from the changes in the rural residents'residential structure.Finally this paper puts forth the following recommendations for improving the rural residents'residential structure:continuing to put farmers in the first place;taking truly improving the residential structure as a starting point,and prohibiting the"vanity project";taking preferential policies for the improvement of living conditions.

Impact of livelihood diversification of rural households on their ecological footprint in agro-pastoral areas of northern China

Human-environment relationship is a focus of academic researches and an understanding of the rela- tionship is important for making effective policies and decisions. In this study, based on rural household survey data of Taibus Banner, Duolun county and Zhengxiangbai Banner in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region of China, we identified the impact of livelihood diversification on ecosystems in these agro-pastoral areas by using the ecological footprint theory and methodology together with the one-way analysis of variance （ANOVA） and correlation analysis methods. In 2011, the total ecological footprint of consumption （EFC） was 0.665 g hm2, and the total ecological footprint of production （EFP） was 2.045 g hm2, which was more than three times the EFC. The ecological footprint of arable land consumption （EFAC） accounted for a large proportion of the EFC, and the ecological footprint of grassland production （EFGP） occupied a large proportion of the EFP. Both the ecological footprint of grassland consumption （EFGC） and EFGP had a significant positive correlation with the income, indicating that income was mainly depended on livestock production and the households with higher incomes consumed more livestock prod- ucts. The full-time farming households （FTFHs） had the highest EFP, ecological footprint of arable land production （EFAP）, EFGP and EFGC, followed by the part-time farming households （PTFHs） and non-farming households （NFHs）, which indicated that part-time farming and non-farming employment reduced the occupancy and con- sumption of rural households on local ecosystems and natural resources to some extent. When farming households engaged in livestock rearing, both the EFAP and EFAC became smaller, while the EFP, EFC, EFGC and EFGP increased significantly. The differences in ecological footprints among different household groups should be taken into account when making ecosystem conservation policies. Encouraging the laborers who have the advantages of participating in non-farming employment to move out of the rural areas and increasing the diversification of liveli- hoods of rural households are important in reducing the environmental pressures and improving the welfare of households in the study area. Moreover, grassland should be utilized more effectively in the future.

Productive functional evolution of rural settlements:analysis of livelihood strategy and land use transition in eastern China

In China, rural settlements are usually multifunctional complex of natural societies and they also play important productive function. This study explored the spatiotemporal evolution of the productive function of three rural settlements, i.e.,Hetaoyuan, Dawengshan, and Gaoqiao, in the Yimeng Mountain in Shandong province of eastern China.Residents lived in this three types of rural settlements were all involved in agricultural production(i.e., grain threshing, drying and storage), which had remained dominant in Hetaoyuan. Dawengshan became an industrial-oriented settlement, while Gaoqiao became a commercial-oriented settlement. This evolution was reflected in the livelihood strategy changes of rural households and the transition of rural settlements changes. The choice of livelihood strategy was affected by the livelihood assets and policies, which resulted in the spatiotemporal evolution of the productive function of rural settlements. This study can provide references for the implementation and adjustment of rural residential land consolidation policies and the improvement of production and the quality of rural life in future.

Influence of social capital on the livelihood strategies of farmers under China's rural revitalization strategy in poor mountain areas: A case study of the Liangshan Yi autonomous prefecture

Social capital in the form of social resources or social networks is one of the most important livelihood capital of farmers, which can increase the labor productivity of poor households and increase income. It is important to explore the reasons underlying the livelihood strategy choices of farmers from the perspective of social capital under China’s rural revitalization strategy. In this study, the Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, a povertystricken mountainous area in southwestern China, was selected as the case study area, and multivariable linear regression models were constructed to analyze the influence of social capital on livelihood strategies.The results are as follows:(1) Individual social capital had a positive effect on non-agricultural livelihood strategies. On average, with a one-unit increase in individual social capital, the ratio of farmers’ nonagricultural income to total productive income(Income_Rto) increased by 0.002% and 0.062%,respectively. Collective social capital, with the Peasant Economic Cooperation Organization(PECO) as the carrier, had a negative effect on the non-agricultural livelihood strategies of farmers;on average, with a oneunit increase in PECO, Income_Rto decreased by approximately 0.053%. However, this effect was only significant in the river valley area.(2) The income differences among the different livelihood strategy types were explained by the livelihood strategy choices of farmers. As non-agricultural work can bring more benefits, the labor force exhibited one-way migration from villages to cities, resulting in a lack of the subject of rural revitalization. It is necessary to implement effective measures to highlight the role of PECO in increasing agricultural income for farmers. Finally,based on the above conclusions,policy recommendations with respect to livelihood transformation of farmers and rural sustainable development are discussed.

Climate Change, Adaptive Strategies and Rural Livelihoods in Semiarid Tanzania

Climate change is a global challenge to both sustainable livelihoods and economic development. In Tanzania as in most African countries, farming depends almost entirely on rainfall, a situation that makes agriculture and thus rural livelihoods especially in semiarid environments particularly vulnerable to climate change. This study analyses the impacts of climate change and variability on rural livelihoods with particular focus on agricultural production, food security and adaptive capacities in semiarid areas of Tanzania. The methods used in this study included focus group discussions, key informant interviews, household surveys and field observations. Results from the study indicate that communities understood climate change in terms of variability in rainfall patterns and amount, temperature patterns, wind, water availability, increased incidences of drought and decreased agricultural productivity. Communities in the study area acknowledged that while rainfall amounts have decreased over the last thirty years, temperatures have increased;an experience is also supported by meteorological data. Such changes were claimed to have reduced agricultural productivity particularly due to prolonged drought, inadequate and uneven distribution of rainfall as well as unpredictable onset and ending of rains. Stressors such as crop diseases and pests, low soil fertility and inadequate extension services were also reported to contribute to the decline in agricultural productivity and re-occurrence of food insecurity. In response, communities have developed multiple adaptation strategies, including growing of drought tolerant and early maturing crop varieties, increasing wetlands cultivation, water harvesting for small-scale irrigation and livestock keeping. However, households with limited livelihood assets are more vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and food insecurity. The study argues that diversification of adaptive strategies, such as water harvesting for small-scale irrigation, integration of livestock and crop production are crucial to ensuring sustainable livelihood in a changing climate.

The Transformation of Means of Livelihood of Peasant Households Against the Background of Rural Tourism Development: A Case Study of Jiaju Tibetan Village in Danba County, Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province

Tourism impact research from a sustainable livelihood perspective is of great significance for improving peasant households’ livelihood, reducing the livelihood vulnerability of peasant households and promoting the sustainable development of rural tourist destinations. Jiaju Tibetan Village is a typical rural tourist destination relying on natural and humanistic tourism resources. Based on field investigation, this paper systematically analyzes the impact of tourism development on local peasant households’ livelihood. The research shows that:① after tourism development, the means of livelihood of peasant households there are more diversified, the structure of livelihoods changes, the number of peasant households engaged in tourism-related livelihood activities has increased significantly, and the number of peasant households engaged in traditional livelihood activities has been greatly reduced;② driven by the external development of rural tourism, peasant households choose reasonable means of livelihood based on their own attributes, and there are four types of peasant households with different combinations of livelihood activities and household characteristics, namely, labor-oriented peasant households, tourism-labor peasant households, tourism-specialized peasant households, and mixed peasant households. Under the influence of rural tourism development, peasant households’ livelihood has increased, and peasant’s livelihood vulnerability has decreased, especially the sustainability of the livelihood of rural tourism operators has increased.

Biological Diversity, Land Degradation and Sustainable Rural Livelihoods

The 1998 Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity asked national governments to demonstrate the importance of biological diversity in supporting rural communities. This paper introduces‘agrodiversity’as the primary way in which farmers use biological diversity and, more generally, the natural diversity of the environment for production, including their choice of crops, and management of land, water and biota as a whole. Promoting agrodiversity and understanding how it functions in tropical smallholder farming systems is the best way that importance may be shown. A win-win scenario is presented which links agrodiversity to land degradation control and sustainable rural livelihoods as evidenced by food security. It is argued that policies that encourage biological diversity in areas of land use will not only meet countries’ responsibilities under the Convention but will also address land degradation problems and support to rural livelihoods. The human significance of various types of biological diversity is shown. Sustainable rural livelihoods are presented in the new capital assets framework to demonstrate how rural households may use various components to control land degradation. To enable agrodiversity to be implemented practically, it has been codified into core elements of: biophysical diversity, the diversity of the natural environment that controls the resource base for food production; management diversity that embraces the practices (many of them indigenous) of farmers such as live hedges, soil amendments and ridge tillage techniques; agro-biodiversity which is the diversity of crop, plant and animal combinations; and organisational diversity, the way that farms are owned and operated, and the way that capital assets are allocated. Each element is then systematically related to show how agrodiversity controls land degradation and how it promotes food security. The example of the maize-Mucuna system in South America is cited as an evident demonstration of the value of agrodiversity to both soil conservation and to smallholder farmers’ livelihoods.

An Analysis of the Effectiveness Farmer Field School (FFS) Approach in Sustainable Rural Livelihood (SRL): The Experience of Punjab-Pakistan

Farmer Field School (FFS) is a capacity building approach in the Agricultural Extension Approaches (AEA), which provides opportunities to farmers of improving various skills through practicing various techniques by themselves. The review paper is in 2015 to analyze FFS as a strategy for benefiting resource poor farmers from agricultural technologies in Pakistan. Keeping in view the importance of exchange of information, FFS approach is the only approach to agriculture extension in which communication is an integral component because after trained by FFS program and to be expected to become a local agent to deliver the information and techniques of agriculture to other farmers for enhancing the agricultural production, income and improved livelihood. It can be concluded from the study that FFS proves highly beneficial to the farming community due to its capacity building functions.

A Study on"Fengqiao Experience"from the Perspective of People's Livelihood

The"Fengqiao Experience"has risen from the"local experience"in the early days to the"national experience"now.Although it has gone through twists and turns,it is full of exuberant and strong vitality.Fengqiao Experience is the experience of grass-roots mass governance based on people's livelihood and other factors,so this paper studies the challenges faced by the application of"Fengqiao Experience"and the internal relationship between the experience and people's livelihood from the perspective of people's livelihood and summarizes the realization path of carrying forward the"Fengqiao Experience"from the perspective of people's livelihood.Strengthening the construction of grass-roots Party organizations,taking the mass line and implementing autonomy,rule by virtue and rule by law are the ways to carry forward the"Fengqiao Experience"in the new era,which has certain guiding significance for reality.

乡村文化振兴视角下脱贫户可持续生计能力提升路径探析

乡村振兴面临着满足人民日益增长的美好生活需要的新挑战,同时也肩负着确保不发生规模性返贫的底线任务。乡村振兴战略实施以来,脱贫群众精神风貌有了很大改观,生活水平显著提升。但目前一些农户仍面临生计脆弱、内生动力不足等问题,需要注重提升其自主、自助、自为的可持续生计能力。文化振兴是乡村振兴的精神内核,也是提升脱贫户可持续生计能力的有效途径。从乡村文化振兴的视角看,提升农户自身抗逆能力和发展能力,一要激发其内生发展动力,为可持续生计提供动力源泉;二要提升其科学文化素质,为可持续生计提供智力源泉;三要加大乡村文化的供给力度,为可持续性生计提供政策保障。

中国山区旅游地农户生计韧性评价指标体系的构建与实证——以湖北省恩施州为例

山区旅游地兼具旅游资源丰富、生态环境脆弱、贫困人口集聚等多重特性,对中国山区旅游地农户生计韧性的科学评价有助于守护脱贫攻坚成果.本研究在农户生计韧性理论认知的基础上,结合区域特征构建了中国山区旅游地农户生计韧性评价指标体系,采用均值法对恩施州18个旅游村进行实证分析.研究结果表明:①以Speranza为代表的生计韧性评价指标体系较好地表达了农户应对冲击、实现更好结果的特性,但存在评价对象不明晰、指标选取不够严谨、评价体系构建不完整及本土适应性不够等问题;②结合中国山区旅游地特性对Speranza的评价指标进行了在地优化,通过Ω系数检验发现优化后的评价指标体系具有合理性;③恩施州旅游地农户的生计韧性总体处于低水平.从3大维度来看,除缓冲能力处于中等水平之外,学习能力和自组织能力均处于低水平,自组织能力水平最低.从地域分布来看,农户的生计韧性水平在不同地区或者同一地区的不同村落间都存在较大差异,其中宣恩县的农户生计韧性水平整体最低.

风险认知、生计资本与农户宅基地退出意愿研究——以兰州市八里镇移民安置区农户为例

农户自愿有偿退出宅基地对深化农村改革影响深远。研究风险认知对农户宅基地退出意愿的影响,以及生计资本在风险认知影响农户宅基地退出意愿中的调节作用,引导农户自愿有偿退出宅基地,提高农村土地资源利用效率,对促进城乡融合发展、推动乡村振兴战略实施具有重要现实意义。本研究基于兰州市八里镇移民安置区农户调研数据,利用二元Logit模型和调节效应模型,理论分析并实证检验了风险认知与生计资本对农户宅基地退出意愿的影响,进而分析生计资本在其中发挥的调节作用。研究结果表明,农户在宅基地退出决策中具有显著的规避风险的意识,农户在宅基地退出中产生的风险认知对退出意愿有负向作用,而生计资本则对农户宅基地退出意愿有正向作用;此外,生计资本还可以缓解农户宅基地退出意愿中的风险认知。基于此,加快推进农户宅基地自愿有偿退出,应完善农户宅基地退出后的各项保障政策、引导农户树立正确科学的风险意识以及构建差别化的宅基地退出机制。

转移就业对农户生计脆弱性的影响——基于新疆县域数据的证据

降低农户生计脆弱性是实现乡村振兴的基础和前提,转移就业是降低农户生计脆弱性的重要手段。基于新疆农户微观数据,使用双重差分倾向得分匹配法(PSM-DID)实证检验转移就业政策对农户生计脆弱性的影响。结果表明:转移就业可以显著降低农户生计脆弱性。这一结论在采用更改标准线及更改匹配方法两种方式进行稳健性检验后仍然稳健。异质性检验表明,转移就业政策对南疆地区农户生计脆弱性的削弱作用更强,对生计脆弱性水平越高的农户作用效果越强。在进一步的影响机制检验中发现,转移就业可以通过提高农户技能水平和拓宽农户社会网络关系降低农户生计脆弱性。当前是脱贫攻坚与乡村振兴进行有效衔接时期,依据分析结果提出了相关政策建议。

复杂视角下乡村旅游地农户可持续生计组态影响研究——以成都市幸福村为例

乡村旅游地农户可持续生计是一个多元因素共同作用的复杂系统,其组态影响研究对于转变当前研究的简单线性思维、深化推动农户生计可持续发展和全面推进乡村振兴具有重要意义。文章基于社会-生态系统理论构建组态影响理论模型,以成都市典型乡村旅游地幸福村的农户为案例,应用模糊集定性比较分析法探究复杂视角下乡村旅游地农户可持续生计组态影响,以揭示农户可持续生计发展背后更为深刻的效应机理。研究发现:1)乡村旅游地农户可持续生计受经济、社会、生态等外因与内因的组态影响,单一因素难以构成影响乡村旅游地农户可持续生计的必要条件,内生动力、旅游产业、土地利用、政策制度、社区治理和自然环境是组态路径中的6大核心影响因素;2)乡村旅游地农户可持续生计组态路径包括4类正向驱动路径和3类负向抑制路径,同向组态路径彼此等价且条件之间具有互补和替代关系,异向组态路径间具有因果关系的非对称性;3)乡村旅游地农户可持续生计多重并发路径的形成受旅游区位和主客观条件的影响。最后基于研究发现提出管理启示,旨在为乡村旅游地农户可持续生计影响机制研究提供复杂组态思路和借鉴。

易地搬迁后续扶持政策效果评价与影响因素--基于西部10省1297户的实地调查数据

易地搬迁后续扶持工作既是助力搬迁群众稳定增收、加速社会融合、化解致贫返贫风险的关键,更是巩固拓展脱贫攻坚成果同乡村振兴有效衔接、推进实现共同富裕的核心要义。基于西部10省1297户农户的微观调查数据,采用主成分分析法和工具变量分位数回归模型,综合评估后续扶持政策成效并进行区域优先序评价,进而剖析后续扶持政策效果的影响因素,并立足情景化的个体生存状态,从多维视角探寻政策实施效果的异质性及其成因。研究发现:第一,后续扶持政策效益存在显著地区差异,大致呈现“西北高西南低”的空间分布特征;第二,非农生计、社会资本和内生动力是政策效果得以跃升的关键;第三,进一步讨论得知,农户收入层级与政策效益呈正相关关系,且安置区类型、社会资本差异和性别差异均会影响后续扶持政策效益的稳定性。为此,各地后续扶持工作应完善升级安置区配套基础和公共服务设施;多管齐下加快发展主导产业,加快推进群众经济社会融入步伐;激活群众自我发展内生动力;出台和优化差异化的后续扶持政策,增加搬迁群众的主观福利。

《乡村振兴促进法》是实现全体人民共同富裕的根本法

《乡村振兴促进法》是全面推进和实施乡村振兴,实现全体人民共同富裕目标的行动规范,共同富裕的本质特征是全体人民共享美好生活。中国式现代化是实现共同富裕的目标指引,农业强国建设是实现共同富裕的稳固根基,推进共同富裕成为诠释执政党治国理政奋斗历程的最佳注解。劳动创造幸福是实现共同富裕的内生动力,绿色生活是实现共同富裕的发展模式,医养结合是实现共同富裕的民生保障,在共同富裕中推进人的全面发展是最佳的人权表达。提升公共安全治理水平是实现共同富裕目标的重要遵循,扩大社会公众参与范围是实现共同富裕目标的基本路径,完善政府绩效评估方式是实现共同富裕目标的有效监督。

数字素养的农户收入增长效应研究

作为数字时代重要的新型人力资本,数字素养成为农户生计资本的重要组成部分。数字素养的提升使农户能够更好地应用先进技术、获取市场信息、拓展销售渠道、增加非农就业创业机会,从而产生显著的收入增长效应。采用“中国乡村振兴综合调查”(CRRS)2020年的数据,从数字设备操作、数字资源获取、数字技术应用、数字意识4个维度选取18项指标评价样本数字素养,实证检验数字素养对农户收入的影响,结果发现:农户数字素养提升能够显著增加其人均农业收入、人均非农收入和人均总收入,该收入增长效应对流动性约束较强的农户和非城郊村的农户更为显著;数字素养可以通过提高农业劳动生产率的路径增加农户农业收入,也可以通过促进家庭生计多样化的路径增加农户非农收入。因此,数字素养不仅具有显著的农户增收效应,而且有助于长尾群体共享数字红利,应在加强和普及数字素养教育的同时,重点帮扶数字弱势群体以缩小数字鸿沟,并切实提高农业劳动生产率和促进农户生计多样化,充分发挥数字素养的农户增收效应。

城乡二元差异视角下横断山区县域尺度居民生计水平测度

城市化导致城乡居民生计差异凸显,区域尺度的居民生计研究需充分考虑该差异。采用可持续生计方法(SLA),基于县域尺度建立城乡差异化的居民生计测度体系,引入城乡差异因子测度了横断山区县域的居民生计水平。结果表明:(1)引入城乡差异因子能一定程度消除居民生计水平测度研究中城镇居民生计优势对区域整体生计水平的放大作用;(2)2000—2015年横断山区城乡二元性结构特征显著,期间城乡居民生计关键驱动因子差异明显,乡村居民生计发展逐步由自然资本驱动转变为物质资本驱动,城镇规模超过产业发展状况成为影响城镇居民生计发展的关键影响因子,城乡统筹来看,投资规模和信息获取能力开始愈发的显现其对于居民生计发展的积极作用;(3)横断山区县域居民生计水平总体偏低,发展动能总体不足,两极化发展趋势日益明显;(4)区域居民生计水平总体呈南高北低的空间分布格局,同海拔、坡度呈显著的负相关关系,区域内越是生计脆弱的县域,其居民生计发展越易受到自然环境的制约,同时县域居民生计水平同区域劳动力数量、经济规模显著正相关,劳动力充足、经济发展水平较高的县域其居民生计对自然环境扰动具有更强的韧性。总体来看引入城乡差异因子的可持续生计方法能较好的适用于区域尺度的居民生计水平测度研究,能一定程度消除城乡二元结构差异对居民生计整体水平产生的影响。

生计资本对农户宅基地退出意愿的影响——基于水平和结构的双重视角

研究目的:基于中国土地经济调查1839份农户数据,从水平和结构的双重视角分析生计资本对农户宅基地退出意愿的影响,以期为制定差异性的宅基地退出政策提供科学依据。研究方法:熵值法和Logistic模型。研究结果:(1)农户宅基地退出意愿会受到生计资本水平与结构的双重影响;(2)在水平分析中,生计资本总量的提高会促进农户退出宅基地,分维水平的物质资本和社会资本会促进农户退出宅基地;(3)在结构分析中,人力资本占优、自然资本占优、物质资本占优和社会资本占优会促进农户退出宅基地;(4)相较于纯农户和非农户,生计资本对兼业农户宅基地退出意愿的影响更为显著。相较于较发达地区和次发达地区,生计资本对欠发达地区农户宅基地退出意愿的影响更为显著。研究结论:提升农户宅基地退出意愿可在充分考虑农户差异性和区域差异性的基础上,通过制定差异性的宅基地退出政策实现农户生计资本的合理配置,促进宅基地退出。