Influencing factors of livelihood transformation among reservoir resettlers based on social-ecological systems theory

Abstract

[Objective] The livelihood issues of reservoir resettlers arising from the construction of water conservancy and hydropower projects have become an important global challenge. Researching the key factors and driving pathways of livelihood transformation helps formulate precise and targeted policies and promote the realization of common prosperity for reservoir resettlers. [Methods] Based on the social-ecological systems theory, an empirical analysis was conducted on survey data collected from 1 092 reservoir resettlers using a multivariate ordinal Logistic regression model and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis. [Results] (1) Among the samples, only 17.6 % of the resettlers had diversified livelihoods, and industrial development was the key influencing factor.(2) At the 1% significance level, policy frameworks, governance capacity, industrial development, production conditions, resource endowments, and the natural environment were all found to have significant positive effects on livelihood transformation, with regression coefficients of 1.573, 2.558, 3.822, 2.854, 0.613, and 2.043, respectively.(3) The necessity analysis result of each condition variable were below the critical threshold of 0.90, indicating that the effectiveness of livelihood transformation depended on the dynamic alignment of social, economic, and ecological systems. A single factor could not independently drive transformation, and the configuration pathways for livelihood transformation among reservoir resettlers could be divided into four types: governance-production integration, eco-economic synergy, social-production synergy and policy governance. [Conclusion] The findings empirically confirm the important role of social-ecological systems in the livelihood transformation of reservoir resettlers. Optimizing the combination of key elements is an effective pathway to achieve positive transformation outcomes. Based on this, in the process of achieving common prosperity for reservoir resettlers, it is recommended to strengthen support for livelihood transformation, adhere to tailored and targeted assistance, and match regional resource endowments with the needs of reservoir resettlers.

Keywords

livelihood transformation / reservoir resettlers / multivariate ordinal Logistic regression / fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis / social-ecological systems theory / influencing factors / driving path