Recently, the international top-tier journalProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America(abbreviated as PNAS) published an article titled "Poverty Alleviation Resettlement in China Reduces Deforestation". This research is a collaborative effort by Teacher Chen Feifei from our School of Management, Associate Professor Chen Wei from Renmin University of China, and Professor Qiu Huanguang from Liaoning University, with Chen Feifei serving as the first author.

There exists a vicious cycle between "poverty and deforestation". Excessive deforestation by the poor population leads to forest degradation, which is difficult to recover in a short period. In turn, the loss of forest resources, which they rely on for subsistence, further exacerbates poverty. During the 13^thFive-Year Plan period, China implemented a massive "Precision Poverty Alleviation Strategy," which involved relocating over 9.6 million registered poor people from areas where "the land cannot support the people" and providing follow-up assistance for their quality of life and employment after relocation. This is a great feat in the history of poverty reduction worldwide. However, existing impacts mainly analyzed the socio-economic effects of the precision poverty alleviation strategy, and its ecological and environmental effects have not been thoroughly evaluated.

This study utilizes multiple sets of macro data, including county-level geographic remote sensing, climate monitoring, resettlement situations, and socio-economic data, as well as micro-level field research data collected from three periods in 16 counties across eight provinces, to assess the impact of the poverty alleviation resettlement project on county-level forest quality and to test its micro-impact mechanisms. The main conclusions are: poverty alleviation resettlement not only achieves poverty reduction but also has significant positive ecological and environmental effects. Deforestation in the relocated areas has decreased, and vegetation cover has significantly improved. After relocation, the energy consumption structure of poor households has transitioned towards cleaner sources, with a significant reduction in firewood cutting. Relocation has also effectively mitigated ecological degradation by improving market accessibility, increasing non-agricultural employment opportunities, and raising incomes.

This study provides new empirical evidence for the ecological and environmental effects of poverty alleviation resettlement and reveals multiple mechanisms through which poverty alleviation resettlement projects mitigate deforestation by reducing poverty. The relevant research findings can provide experience and reference for other developing countries to achieve poverty reduction and ecological protection simultaneously.