IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jlands/v14y2025i7p1413-d1695050.html

Resident Empowerment and National Park Governance: A Case Study of Three-River-Source National Park, China

Author

Listed:
  • Yulian Ma

    (School of Economics, Minzu University of China, Beijing 100081, China)

  • Yaolong Li

    (School of Economics, Minzu University of China, Beijing 100081, China)

  • Yonghuan Ma

    (Information Center of the Ministry of Natural Resources, Beijing 100830, China)

  • Yusong Liu

    (School of Economics, Minzu University of China, Beijing 100081, China)

  • Xuechun Li

    (School of Economics, Minzu University of China, Beijing 100081, China)

  • Fanglei Zhong

    (School of Economics, Minzu University of China, Beijing 100081, China
    Institute of Carbon Neutrality Development Research, Minzu University of China, Beijing 100081, China)

Abstract

The underlying tension between national park development and local community interests presents a significant challenge for contemporary ecological governance. Resident empowerment (RE) is increasingly recognized as a crucial pathway to mitigate this tension and achieve effective national park governance (NPG). However, the intrinsic mechanisms through which RE influences NPG have not been thoroughly explored in existing research. Drawing on the practice of government–resident interaction in China’s national parks, this paper investigates how the decentralization of power can balance the dual goals of environmental protection and social development. Using Three-River-Source National Park as a case study, we employ an ordered Logit regression model to examine the impact of RE on NPG. The study finds that RE is significantly and positively associated with NPG. Its influence is primarily mediated through three mechanisms: an identity effect (enhancing community belonging), an income effect (improving livelihood capabilities), and an environmental effect (strengthening participation in and perception of ecological conservation). Based on this empirical analysis, we recommend policies that further expand residents’ decision-making and management rights and broaden participation channels, thereby promoting the sustainable development and social equity of NPG.

Suggested Citation

  • Yulian Ma & Yaolong Li & Yonghuan Ma & Yusong Liu & Xuechun Li & Fanglei Zhong, 2025. "Resident Empowerment and National Park Governance: A Case Study of Three-River-Source National Park, China," Land, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-16, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:14:y:2025:i:7:p:1413-:d:1695050
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/14/7/1413/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/14/7/1413/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Bingsheng Liu & Jingjing Xiao & Ling Li & Guangdong Wu, 2022. "Do citizen participation programs help citizens feel satisfied with urban redevelopment policy in China?," Journal of Chinese Governance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 7(3), pages 341-371, July.
    2. Najmun Nahar & Zakaria Hossain & Sanjia Mahiuddin, 2023. "Assessment of the environmental perceptions, attitudes, and awareness of city dwellers regarding sustainable urban environmental management: a case study of Dhaka, Bangladesh," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 25(8), pages 7503-7531, August.
    3. Healy, Hali, 2023. "Pulp and participation: Assessing the legitimacy of participatory environmental governance in Umkomaas, South Africa," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 208(C).
    4. Grzegorz Kwiatkowski & Anne-Mette Hjalager & Janne Liburd & Peter Saabye Simonsen, 2020. "Volunteering and collaborative governance innovation in the Wadden Sea National Park," Current Issues in Tourism, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(8), pages 971-989, April.
    5. Wang, Ju-Han Zoe, 2019. "National parks in China: Parks for people or for the nation?," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 825-833.
    6. Fan Yang & Zhihan Zhang & Shizong Wang, 2022. "Enlisting citizens: forging the effectiveness of policy implementation in local China," Journal of Chinese Governance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 7(3), pages 400-417, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Tian Wang & Jinhe Zhang & Zhangrui Qian & Yingjia Dong & Xiaobin Ma, 2025. "Conservation Effectiveness and Heterogeneity of the National Park in Promoting Ecosystem Health: Causal Evidence from Huangshan, China," Land, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-22, September.
    2. Ting Ma & Kun Xu & Yiming Xing & Hang Shu & Weiguo Sang, 2020. "Tendencies of Residents in Sanjiangyuan National Park to the Optimization of Livelihoods and Conservation of the Natural Reserves," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(12), pages 1-17, June.
    3. Luo, Heng & Ye, Yanmei & Zhou, Chongwu & Zhao, Jinghui, 2024. "Collective participation in conservation easements in rural China: Evidence from the Qianjiangyuan National Park," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 163(C).
    4. Ting Ma & Lizhi Jia & Linsheng Zhong & Xinyu Gong & Yu Wei, 2023. "Governance of China’s Potatso National Park Influenced by Local Community Participation," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(1), pages 1-19, January.
    5. Qiaoqiao Zhan & Katsunori Furuya & Xiaolan Tang & Zhehui Li, 2024. "Policy Development in China’s Protected Scenic and Historic Areas," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-24, February.
    6. Wei Fu & Bin Zhou, 2024. "Theme Exploration and Sentiment Analysis of Online Reviews of Wuyishan National Park," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-17, May.
    7. Lee, Karen M.Y. & Lee, John C.K. & Ma, Anson T.H. & Cheung, Lewis T.O., 2019. "Does human rights awareness spur environmental activism? Hong Kong’s ‘country park’ controversy," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    8. Emmanuel Kwaku Manu & George S. Chen & Nam Hoang & Shawn Leu, 2024. "Natural resource extraction and environmental sustainability in Africa: The role of voice and accountability," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(6), pages 6104-6119, December.
    9. Tian, Fengjun & Wen, Zhihong & Yang, Yang, 2025. "Spatial spillovers in tourism performance," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).
    10. Zhanwen Que & Md. Ziaul Islam, 2024. "How to Conserve the Biodiversity on Collective Land in National Park: Conservation Easements in China," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-17, July.
    11. Gonghan Sheng & Heyuan Chen & Kalifi Ferretti-Gallon & John L. Innes & Zhongjun Wang & Yujun Zhang & Guangyu Wang, 2020. "Moving toward a Greener China: Is China’s National Park Pilot Program a Solution?," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(12), pages 1-23, December.
    12. Rumin Zheng & Shuo Zhen & Lin Mei & Hongqiang Jiang, 2021. "Ecotourism Practices in Potatso National Park from the Perspective of Tourists: Assessment and Developing Contradictions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-14, November.
    13. Chenyang Xue & Chaofeng Shao & Junli Gao, 2020. "Ecological Compensation Strategy for SDG-Based Basin-Type National Parks: A Case Study of the Baoxing Giant Panda National Park," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(11), pages 1-16, May.
    14. Zhang, Yuqi & Vanclay, Frank & Hanna, Philippe, 2025. "How communities and social impacts are considered in policies for protected areas in China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 148(C).
    15. Mingxin Lin & Zuomin Wen, 2024. "Contractual Mechanisms in National Park Management: A Multi-Task Principal–Agent Model," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-27, June.
    16. Hang Shu & Chunwang Xiao & Ting Ma & Weiguo Sang, 2021. "Ecological Health Assessment of Chinese National Parks Based on Landscape Pattern: A Case Study in Shennongjia National Park," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(21), pages 1-15, October.
    17. Hellen Lillian Atieno Dawo & Thomas B. Long & Gjalt de Jong, 2023. "Sustainable entrepreneurship and legitimacy building in protected areas: Overcoming distinctive barriers through activism," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(1), pages 72-95, January.
    18. Francesco Tajani & Pierluigi Morano & Felicia Di Liddo & Ivana La Spina, 2025. "An evaluation methodological approach to support the definition of effective urban projects: A case study in the city of Rome (Italy)," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(1), pages 771-793, February.
    19. Jianying Xu & Feifei Fan & Yanxu Liu & Jianquan Dong & Jixing Chen, 2019. "Construction of Ecological Security Patterns in Nature Reserves Based on Ecosystem Services and Circuit Theory: A Case Study in Wenchuan, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(17), pages 1-15, September.
    20. Ionuț-Adrian Drăguleasa & Amalia Niță & Mirela Mazilu, 2023. "Capitalization of Tourist Resources in the Post-COVID-19 Period—Developing the Chorematic Method for Oltenia Tourist Destination, Romania," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-31, January.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:14:y:2025:i:7:p:1413-:d:1695050. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.