Impacts of protected areas establishment on pastoralists’ livelihoods in the Three-River-Source Region on the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau

Proclaiming a protected area (PA) is an effective strategy for establishing a perdurable ecosystem, exerting trenchant socioeconomic impacts on local communities. Determining PAs’ effect on the household livelihoods of the residents is essential for harmonizing ecological protection measures and human livelihood development. Yet few studies concerning the socioeconomic effects of PAs on indigenous household livelihoods have been conducted in China’s protected areas. Therefore, household surveys were conducted in Three-River-Source Region (TRSR) to examine livelihood changes occurring before and after the establishment of the Three-River-Source National Park (TRSNP) and to limn the factors responsible for the changes of household livelihoods in the PA and the nearby non-protected area (NPA). Results showed that in TRSR, grazing activities were restricted in the PAs after the implementation of the TRSNP, yet the restrictions did not result in a significant decrease in grazing income. Subsidies from the PA were a large portion of total household income, partly resulting in higher total income in the PA than in the NPA. Once subsidies cease, household incomes in the PA may substantially decrease. The number of income sources increased in both the PA and NPA, but the PA stimulated households to find alternative income sources to secure livelihoods. The number of the labor force and livestock and the areas of farmland and grassland were the primary factors affecting total household income. Our results suggest that the policy of PAs’ establishment should be implemented continuing in TRSR to protect the environment. Prudent consideration and multifaceted guidance are still required to strengthen local livelihoods in TRSR. Balanced ecological and economic development is possible when appropriate management approaches such as franchising are adopted.