Research progress and new perspectives on the interaction between protected areas and community livelihoods

In the process of developing a protected area system centered around national parks in China, it is crucial to foster positive interaction between these protected areas and community livelihoods, and achieve harmony between livelihood development and ecological conservation. However, the current governance model has not yet brought long-term comprehensive benefits to the community or fully engaged them as key participants. To achieve the protection and utilization goals of the "Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework", concepts such as conservation-compatible livelihoods, conservation-compatible land, and inclusive management are developed to complement and enhance the existing protected area system. These concepts encourage in-depth consideration of the interactive relationships between regional protection measures and community livelihoods. This study offers a comprehensive exploration of the interaction mechanisms between protected areas and community livelihoods through a narrative review, analyzes the primary interactions between the two, and proposes a new direction from the governance perspective from the research context, aiming to provide scientific support for forming inclusive protection policies and improving governance capabilities. The findings indicate that the current research on the interaction mechanism between protected areas and community livelihoods mainly relies on empirical analysis. There is a lack of a solid theoretical foundation and systematic summary, with a focus on the identification and evaluation of cost-benefit and its impacts on community attitudes and behaviors. However, there is insufficient analysis on the formation of management measures under the interaction of stakeholders, the impact of implementation on livelihoods, and the role of non-economic factors in community decision-making. It is urgent to further investigate the complex relationship between the construction and management of protected areas and community agencies. In view of this, this study combines governance theory with the sustainable livelihood analysis framework and proposes a conceptual framework for studying the interaction mechanism between protected areas and community livelihoods. It is recommended that researchers select appropriate parameters that can reflect the underlying governance logic to assess specific management measures, implementation processes, and the community and households′ evaluation of governance outcomes beyond economic gains, so as to deeply analyze the relationship between protected areas and community livelihoods.