What Affects the Level of Rural Human Settlement? A Case Study of Tibet, China
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Study Area
2.2. Sampling and Data Collection
2.3. Indicator Selection of Rural Human Settlement
2.4. Model Formulation and Data Processing
3. Results
3.1. Natural Subsystem Level
3.2. Human Subsystem Level
3.3. Residential Subsystem Level
3.4. Supporting Subsystem Level
3.5. Social Subsystem Level
3.6. Comprehensive System Level
4. Discussion
- (1)
- From the basic dimension, the natural subsystem in Tibet is extremely vulnerable [48]. In recent years, the anti-interference ability and natural restoration ability of the ecosystem have gradually increased. Although the sown area increased, since the land type in Tibet was mainly alpine and arid land with low production capacities [49], the impacts of natural disasters and biological hazards on rural Tibet have been alleviated. Changes in population size, structure, and scale made the level of the human subsystem lower. Although Tibet shows a slowdown in rural population growth, a contraction in household size and an increase in the labor burden population, the indicators are still better than the national average [50]. From the perspective of drinking water, communication, and housing, the human settlement level of the residential subsystem was gradually improving [51,52]. From 2000 to 2020, the per capita housing area in Tibet grew rapidly, but it was still lower than the national rural per capita housing area. Because the three systems in the basic dimension have been improved to a certain extent, the social subsystem and supporting subsystem in the dominant dimension have also made progress. The construction of rural infrastructure was increasingly improving, driving the level of the supporting subsystem to improve. Income and livelihood diversity were the key to improving the social subsystem. Livelihood diversity and off-farm livelihoods are two important livelihood strategies in developing countries, helping to improve rural settlements, ensure food security and reduce the threat of famine [53,54].
- (2)
- From the perspective of the comprehensive index, the level of rural human settlement in Tibet showed a trend of significant improvement, which is inconsistent with earlier studies [55,56], possibly because the government has launched a series of ecological restoration projects and improvement of human settlements policies [57]. The government work report also confirms this view. During the 13th Five Year Plan period, a total of 270,000 rural household sanitary toilets were renovated in Tibet, more than 90% of the domestic garbage in villages was treated, more than 30% of the domestic sewage in villages was controlled, 40% of the villages basically realized the separation of human beings and livestock, and farmers and herdsmen gradually developed good hygienic living habits.
- (3)
- In terms of the explanatory power, the explanatory power of the five subsystems were quite different. The basic dimensions (natural subsystem, human subsystem, residential subsystem) lagged behind the development of the dominant dimensions (supporting subsystem, social subsystem). There were inconsistencies and mismatches. In other words, rural human settlements depend on the basic dimensions that they have, which is consistent with previous studies showing that residents in Tibet focus more on meeting the basic needs of life, and they are not able to improve their dominant dimensions [47]. Under the premise of obtaining the development of the social subsystem and supporting subsystem, rural residents develop dominant dimensions, especially the natural subsystem, human subsystem and residential subsystem, which have a significant positive impact on rural human settlements. The balanced system combination is one of the main goals of rural human settlements.
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Time | Place | Main Object | |
---|---|---|---|
first round of interviews | August 2019 | Lhasa City | Tibet Autonomous Region Development and Reform Comission, Department of Industry and Information Technology, Lhasa Natural Resources Bureau, Development and Reform Comission, Agricultural and Sideline Products Company in Lhasa, etc. |
second round of interviews | August 2020 | Jilong County, Yadong County, Dingjie County, Nyalam County, Shigatse City; Duilong Deqing District and Dazi District, Lhasa City; Milin County, Nyingchi City | Shigatse Development and Reform Comission, Science and Technology Bureau, Agriculture and Rural Affairs Bureau, Tourism Development Bureau, Statistics Bureau, Poverty Alleviation Bureau, Education Bureau, and Transportation Bureau; Jilong County Development and Reform Comission, Human Resources and Social Security Bureau, Poverty Alleviation Office; Jilong Town, Zongga Town, Zheba Township in Jilong County, Chaina Township, Gongdang Township Government; Dingjie County Chentang Town Government; Nyalam County Government, villagers of Zongta Village, Nyalam Town; Tibet Autonomous Region Planning Office, Energy Bureau, Industry Office, Regional Office, Agricultural Economics Office, Resource Research Center, Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Service Center, Science and Technology Department, Natural Resources Department, Ecological Environment Department, Agriculture and Rural Affairs Department, Poverty Alleviation Office, Commerce Department, Tourism Development Department; Baga Village and Qionglin Village, Milin County, Nyingchi City Villager, etc. |
third round of interviews | July and August 2021 | Chaya County, Batang County, Qamdo City; Bomi County, Nyingchi City; Shannan City | Qamdo Science and Technology Bureau, Economic and Information Bureau, Development and Reform Comission, Natural Resources Bureau, Statistics Bureau, Tourism Development Bureau, Agriculture and Rural Affairs Bureau, Rural Revitalization Bureau; Publicity Comittee of Jitang Characteristic Town in Chaya County; Head of Copper Company a; Hydropower Station b Person in charge; Person in charge of C Village Agricultural Ecological Experience Park; Bomi County Rural Revitalization Bureau, Agriculture and Rural Affairs Bureau, Culture and Tourism Bureau, Housing and Urban-rural Development Bureau; Tibet Autonomous Region Regional Office, Planning Office, System Reform Office, Railway Shipping Office, Investment Promotion Office, Department of Agricultural Economics, Statistics Bureau, Department of Commerce, Department of Economic and Information Technology, Department of Industry, and Department of Basic Affairs; Shannan Agriculture and Rural Bureau, Rural Revitalization Bureau, etc. |
Layers | Subsystem Level | Index | Indicators | Meaning (in Units) | Expected Direction |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Basic dimensions | Natural Subsystems | Forest cover | Forest cover (%) | + | |
Water resources | Total water resources (billion cubic meters) | + | |||
Natural disasters | Area of crops affected (thousands of hectares) | − | |||
Fertilizer application | Fertilizer application per unit area for agricultural use (kg/ha) | − | |||
Protection measures | Area of national-level nature reserves (million hectares) | + | |||
Agricultural development | Total crop area sown (thousands of hectares) | + | |||
Human Subsystems | Gender Balance | Gender balance of rural practitioners | + | ||
Population growth | Rural population growth rate (%) | + | |||
Family size | Household size (persons/households) | + | |||
Population burden | Average population per workforce | − | |||
Residential subsystems | Drinking water safety | Drinking water safety | + | ||
Communication conditions | Telephone penetration rate (units per 100 people) | + | |||
Home appliances | TV ownership among rural residents (units per 100 people) | + | |||
Housing area | Housing area per capita in rural areas (m2) | + | |||
Dominant dimensions | Supporting subsystems | Education input | Education expenses (RMB million) | + | |
Medical Services | Number of township health personnel (persons) | + | |||
Electricity supply | Rural electricity consumption (billion kWh) | + | |||
Culture building | Township cultural stations (pcs) | + | |||
Road network construction | Road mileage (million km) | + | |||
Express delivery | Rural delivery routes (km) | + | |||
Social subsystems level | Agricultural mechanization | Agricultural machinery power per unit area (kW/hm2) | + | ||
Social Security | Number of participants in unemployment insurance (10,000) | + | |||
Urban-rural gap | Urban-rural income disparity ratio | − | |||
Livelihood diversity | Share of non-agricultural output (%) | + | |||
Resident income | Disposable income per rural resident (yuan) | + | |||
Wealth building | Savings balance per rural resident (yuan) | + |
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Gao, B.; Hu, Z. What Affects the Level of Rural Human Settlement? A Case Study of Tibet, China. Sustainability 2022, 14, 10445. https://doi.org/10.3390/su141610445
Gao B, Hu Z. What Affects the Level of Rural Human Settlement? A Case Study of Tibet, China. Sustainability. 2022; 14(16):10445. https://doi.org/10.3390/su141610445
Chicago/Turabian StyleGao, Boyang, and Zhenpei Hu. 2022. "What Affects the Level of Rural Human Settlement? A Case Study of Tibet, China" Sustainability 14, no. 16: 10445. https://doi.org/10.3390/su141610445