Exploring the mechanisms of community participation based on social-ecological systems: a case study of Wuyishan national park

Taking Wuyishan national park as a case, this study developed a community participation in social-ecological systems (CP-SES) framework to identify the key factors and mechanisms influencing community participation. The aim is to promote effective community engagement and achieve harmony between humans and nature.

Based on Ostrom's social-ecological system (SES) framework, this study constructed a tailored CP-SES analytical framework. A questionnaire survey and semi-structured interviews were conducted in the townships within and surrounding Wuyishan national park to collect data. An ordered multinomial logistic regression model was employed to identify significant influencing factors.

Four key factors were identified as significantly impacting community participation in Wuyishan national park: 1) “Community empowerment” within the governance system (OR is 2.325, P<0.05); 2) “Willingness to insure” (OR is 1.430, P<0.05) and “skills training” (OR is 1.850, P<0.05) within the actor system; 3) “Human-wildlife conflict” under interactions and outcomes (OR is 0.641, P<0.01). Community empowerment, willingness to insure, and skills training were found to be primary drivers promoting participation, whereas human-wildlife conflict was a significant impeding factor. The analysis of mechanisms revealed that community empowerment enhances residents' motivation by granting decision-making power and broadening participation channels. Residents' willingness to insure, driven by the benefits of commercial insurance, positively alters their attitudes and strategies towards the national park. Skills training overcomes the limitations of low educational attainment, thereby enhancing livelihood security and participatory impetus. Conversely, human-wildlife conflict undermines livelihoods, leading to negative attitudes towards the park and hindering community participation.

Based on the CP-SES framework adapted from Ostrom's social-ecological systems (SES) framework—comprising subsystems of resource systems, resource units, governance systems, and actors—this study provides a panoramic characterization of the logical interplays among various elements within the action situation of community participation in national parks. Addressing the critical issues diagnosed and the influencing factors identified through this framework, it is imperative to secure community empowerment, strengthen skills training, and refine human-wildlife conflict compensation mechanisms. Such measures are essential to facilitate robust community participation and achieve the sustainable development of both national parks and local communities.