title: Entangling the complexity of protected area management: the case of Wolong Biosphere Reserve, southwestern China.
abstract: Protected Area (PA) management is a complex issue that requires the consideration of many factors and relationships. A conceptual framework for the analysis of biodiversity change, local human communities, and PA management was put forward, accordingly. Under the framework, we investigated the economic status, livelihood activities, biodiversity use and perceptions of local communities, and the land use history in Wolong Biosphere Reserve, southwestern China through household survey and document review in order to gain a better understanding of the complexity of PA management. According to the land use history, the preservation of agro-biodiversity, and the raising of productivity, ecological rehabilitation and the regulation of the human pressures are indispensable in the management of the reserve. Livelihood activities and the perceptions of local communities were largely determined by the socioeconomic background, which has important implications in solving the conflicts or incompatibilities in the reserve. In Wolong Biosphere Reserve, it is beneficial to support local farmers in solving their socioeconomic problems such as the overabundance of labor force and the lack of livelihood alternatives. Without this, there will be scarcely any effective biodiversity conservation and successful reserve management in the long term.
authors.affiliation: Key Lab of Systems Ecology Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 2871, Beijing 100085, PR China. bfu@mail.rcees.ac.cn
authors.forename: Bojie
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.forename: Kelin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Yihe
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Shiliang
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Ma
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Keming
authors.forename: Liding
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Guohua
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D000383:Agriculture; D000818:Animals; D002681:China; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources / Q000191:economics; D017753:Ecosystem; D004777:Environment; D006801:Humans; D012924:Social Conditions