In recent decades, China has achieved a comprehensive victory in poverty alleviation through a number of measures, especially the targeted poverty alleviation policy since 2013. In Southwest China, a large number of poverty people live in poor mountainous areas prone to geological hazards. The relationship between economic development level and geological disaster risk, specifically its change driven by poverty alleviation policies, remain unclear.
Hengxing Lan, Naiman Tian from IGSNRR, CAS and their collaborators, aiming at clarifying the impacts and affecting mechanisms of poverty alleviation policies on the distribution of geological disaster risk in poor areas, analyzed the changes of geological disaster risk in Southwest China during 2009-2017. It is found that: the policy has affected the distribution characteristics and rollover emerging mechanism of geological disaster risk. During the implementation of the poverty alleviation policy, the direct economic losses from geological disasters in southwest China, especially in poverty-stricken areas, have been effectively reduced.
The change of human social behaviors is regarded as an important factor for the change of the relationship between economic development level and natural disaster risk. Policies drive the change of human social behaviors. This study suggests that: the poverty alleviation policy has effectively reduced the risk of geological disasters in Southwest China, especially in poor areas, by reducing the exposure and vulnerability and improving the resilience of the society.
The findings of this study are of certain scientific reference value for consolidating the achievements of poverty alleviation. Poverty alleviation policies, especially the targeted poverty alleviation, have positive effects on reducing the risk of geological disasters. Meanwhile, in order to consolidate the achievements of poverty alleviation, we still need to pay attention to the changes in disaster risk.
This work has been published with the title “Poverty control policy may affect the transition of geological disaster risk in China” in Humanities and Social Sciences Communications.
Reference: Lan, H., Tian, N., Li, L. et al. Poverty control policy may affect the transition of geological disaster risk in China. Humanit Soc Sci Commun 9, 80 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-022-01096-6
Link: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41599-022-01096-6
