Vol20 No.12:3450-3463

【Title】A long way to go: impacts of urbanization on migrants’ livelihoods and rural ecology in less industrialized regions

【Author】ZHANG Zhi-qi; LI Ming-jing; LI Wen-jun*; WEI Yi-ran; SHI Yi-lu

【Addresses】Department of Environmental Management, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China

【Corresponding author】LI Wen-jun

【Citation】Zhang ZQ, Li MJ, Li WJ,et al.(2023)A long way to go: impacts of urbanization on migrants’ livelihoods and rural ecology in less industrialized regions . Journal of Mountain Science 20(12). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11629-023-8319-8

【DOI】https://doi.org/10.1007/s11629-023-8319-8

【Abstract】Urbanization, often coupled with industrialization, is generally considered as a boost for improving livelihood as well as alleviating ecological pressures of the rural areas. However, this experience needs to be tested in less industrialized areas, particularly where the urbanization is driven by non-economic factors such as urban public services and relevant government policies rather than employment opportunities. Taking two villages on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau as examples, through the field investigation by using semi-structured questionnaires and in-depth interviews, and statistical data analysis, we explored the impacts of urbanization on migrants’ livelihoods and the ecological conditions of their original village rangeland. We found that the disposable income and savings of emigrant households were less than the stay households, which might be correlated to the limited employment due to the lagged industrialization in the local township, and the mismatch between their traditional labor skills and the demands of urban services. Their home-village rangeland overuse was not alleviated since the increasing grazing pressure caused by the stay households, though the emigrant households intended to decrease the number of livestock on their home pasture. We concluded that the urbanization misaligned with local industrialization may fail to improve migrant livelihoods and local ecological conditions in less industrialized areas. Our research supplements the previous urbanization theory by highlighting the non-industrialization driven urbanization, and is particularly pertinent for the transitional countries worldwide.

【Keywords】Urbanization; Industrialization; Livelihoods; Ecological conditions; Pastoral areas; Qinghai-Tibet Plateau