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The contribution of Fintech to sustainable development in the digital age: Ant forest and land restoration in China

Author

Listed:
  • Zhang, Yufei
  • Chen, Jiayin
  • Han, Yi
  • Qian, Mengxi
  • Guo, Xiaona
  • Chen, Ruishan
  • Xu, Di
  • Chen, Yi

Abstract

Land degradation is a global issue that affects the livelihood of billions of people worldwide. Various responses have emerged to achieve the land degradation neutrality target, including the UN one billion tree campaign and Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. Ant Forest, a land restoration approach initiated by China's largest Fintech company Alibaba, has made substantial progress on land restoration in degraded areas in China, especially in desert areas. It represents a new model of transforming environmental protection intentions and activities of users into actual environmental benefits by planting trees. The lessons and implications of Ant Forest can contribute to ecosystem restoration globally. However, the effects and effectiveness of Ant Forest are not fully understood. Here we use the data from official reports from Alibaba’s ant financial, as well as remote sensing data, to examine how the Ant Forest contributes to land restoration and its socio-economic effects. We found that Ant Forest has many potential roles for achieving sustainable development goals, ranging from land restoration, carbon emission reduction, poverty reduction, human health improvement and many more. While its innovation has brought its international reputation at home and abroad, whether the project itself can sustain is still a question that needs to be concerned. The Fintech facilitated restoration has the potential to be scaled up, but it still needs to continue updating its platform, keep the intentions of the existed users and encouraging more new users to join in the effort.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhang, Yufei & Chen, Jiayin & Han, Yi & Qian, Mengxi & Guo, Xiaona & Chen, Ruishan & Xu, Di & Chen, Yi, 2021. "The contribution of Fintech to sustainable development in the digital age: Ant forest and land restoration in China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:lauspo:v:103:y:2021:i:c:s0264837721000296
    DOI: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2021.105306
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    Cited by:

    1. Juan Li & Xunzhou Chunyu & Feng Huang, 2022. "Land Use Pattern Changes and the Driving Forces in the Shiyang River Basin from 2000 to 2018," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-27, December.
    2. Jiaxing Chen & Yuze Bao & Guangling Zhang & Xiaoqi Huang, 2022. "A Study of the Impact of Social Responsibility Cues on the Long-Term Effectiveness of Gamification Strategies: Insights from the Adverse Effects of Game Strategies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(22), pages 1-18, November.
    3. Popkova, Elena G. & De Bernardi, Paola & Tyurina, Yuliya G. & Sergi, Bruno S., 2022. "A theory of digital technology advancement to address the grand challenges of sustainable development," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    4. Liang Chun Lu & Yung-ho Chiu & Shih-Yung Chiu & Tzu-Han Chang, 2022. "Do Forests help environmental development of Cities in China?," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(5), pages 6602-6629, May.
    5. Miao Huang & Mohamad Saifudin Mohamad Saleh & Izzal Asnira Zolkepli, 2023. "The Moderating Effect of Green Advertising on the Relationship between Gamification and Sustainable Consumption Behavior: A Case Study of the Ant Forest Social Media App," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-15, February.
    6. Jiaxing Chen & Guangling Zhang & Qinfang Hu, 2022. "Research on the Impact of Pro-Environment Game and Guilt on Environmentally Sustainable Behaviour," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(20), pages 1-14, October.
    7. Qin, Xiaodi & Wu, Haitao & Li, Rongrong, 2022. "Digital finance and household carbon emissions in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    8. Haiyang Qiu & Xin Li & Long Zhang, 2023. "Influential Effect and Mechanism of Digital Finance on Urban Land Use Efficiency in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(20), pages 1-21, October.

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