The Livelihood Resilience Measurement and its Influencing Factors of Community Residents in National Parks -- Taking Patatson National Park under the COVID-19 Pandemic for Example.

(1) Background-Ecotourism is one of the important ways to improve the livelihood of community residents in national parks. Patatson National Park is a representative eco-tourism scenic spot in China. In the post-pandemic era, concerns about unpredictable livelihood risks remain among the community residents in Patatson National Park. The key to the sustainable development of the communities in Patatson National Park is to help the residents effectively cope with livelihood risks, recover and even improve their livelihoods. (2) Methods-The research data was derived from the questionnaire survey of community residents in Patatson National Park in July 2023 (a total of 206 valid questionnaires were obtained) and semi-structured interviews with the managers and key residents in Patatson National Park. On the basis of theoretical analysis, this paper constructed an evaluation index system for the livelihood resilience of community residents in Patatson National Park, and used the entropy method to explore the temporal changes of the livelihood resilience of community residents in Patatson National Park before and after the COVID-19 outbreak. Based on the "pressure-state -response" (PSR) theory, an analytical framework was constructed and the influencing factors of livelihood resilience were selected, and multiple stepwise regression analysis was used to explore the livelihood recovery paths of community residents in Patatson National Park. (3) Results-First, the livelihood resilience of residents in Patatson National Park in 2022 decreased by 1.94%. The community residents had a strong sense of learning and self-protection, but their buffering ability and self-organization ability were poor. Second, the livelihood resilience of community residents with different livelihood adaptation types showed significant differences: expansion type (0.2264) > replacement type (0.2029) > upgrading type (0.1950) > maintenance type (0.1641). Third, a stable source of income, rich household assets, and the health of family members all contributed to improve the livelihood resilience of community residents. Fourth, the health status and job opportunities of the family labor force were the most critical factors affecting the livelihood resilience of the maintenance-type families. The diversification and richness of the livelihood structure could help the replacement-type and expansion-type families to improve their self-transformation ability and maintain the stability of the family livelihood structure. (4) Conclusions and Discussions-Based on the above research conclusions, the followng policy suggestions are put forward: First, expand the residents' alternative livelihood choices and steadily promote the residents' employment through reemployment. Government departments should explore new business forms such as rural tourism and rural e-commerce and the national parks should explore new, effective and integrated franchise schemes. Second, improve the community-level governance mechanism and build a strong sense of community solidarity and mutual assistance. Enhance the management ability of village cadres and the residents' self-learning ability, and improve the infrastructure of the community. Third, strengthen the construction of the medical and health system to ensure the health of community residents. The organizations at all levels should establish emergency handling measures, supervise the implementation of the social security system. Fourth, accurately help different types of residents and reasonably formulate livelihood recovery strategies. Focus on the livelihood of the sick and disabled families, provide employment guidance for the maintenance-type and upgrading-type families, and increase policy support to encourage employment and entrepreneurship of the replacement-type and expansion-type families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]