IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jlands/v13y2024i12p2144-d1540368.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Study on Pro-Environmental Behavior to Enhance Rural Social-Ecological Resilience: The Role of Place Identity and Social Cohesion as Mediating Mechanisms

Author

Listed:
  • Yilin Sun

    (Research Center of Chinese Village Culture, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China)

  • Li Zhu

    (School of Architecture and Art, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China)

  • Ni Zhang

    (School of Architecture and Art, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China)

  • Honglin Wu

    (School of Architecture and Art, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China)

  • Quhan Chen

    (School of Architecture and Art, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China)

  • Haolong Wang

    (School of Architecture and Art, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China)

Abstract

Villagers’ pro-environment behaviors profoundly impact the sustainable development of the rural eco-environment. Based on a survey of three traditional Chinese villages dealing with the challenges posed by modern development, we use structural equation models to analyze the contribution of villagers’ pro-environmental behaviors to rural social-ecological resilience (identification of disturbances, internal stability, absorption and transformation, and system innovation). The results show that the former positively impacts the latter. Strengthening public participation at the behavioral level and reusing traditional local knowledge at the cultural level are prominent factors. Place identity and social cohesion are the mediating factors and social mechanisms of the process. Additionally, the degree of ecological environment dependence, age, residence time, and other factors positively correlate with the perception of social-ecological resilience. Therefore, this paper proposes four strategies to strengthen multi-level environmental management, cultivate the local ecological memory, increase the diversity of management forces, and encourage villagers to develop the self-organizing ability of eco-environmental management, which are crucial to the sustainable development of the rural eco-environment. It also provides a promising reference for developing villages facing the same challenge.

Suggested Citation

  • Yilin Sun & Li Zhu & Ni Zhang & Honglin Wu & Quhan Chen & Haolong Wang, 2024. "Study on Pro-Environmental Behavior to Enhance Rural Social-Ecological Resilience: The Role of Place Identity and Social Cohesion as Mediating Mechanisms," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-26, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:13:y:2024:i:12:p:2144-:d:1540368
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/13/12/2144/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/13/12/2144/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Babalola, Taiwo Oladapo, 2023. "Adopting Importance-Performance Analysis (IPA) model to assess land governance in the peri-urban areas of Ibadan, Nigeria," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    2. Yilin Sun & Li Zhu & Jiang Li & Ni Zhang & Yue Tang & Xiaokang Wang & Honglin Wu, 2023. "Study on the Influence and Optimization of Neighborhood Space on the Perceived Restoration of Rural Left-Behind Older People: The Case of Changsha, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(18), pages 1-22, September.
    3. Jinchen Xie & Chuntian Lu, 2022. "Relations among Pro-Environmental Behavior, Environmental Knowledge, Environmental Perception, and Post-Materialistic Values in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(1), pages 1-11, January.
    4. Chandima Dilhani Daskon, 2010. "Cultural Resilience—The Roles of Cultural Traditions in Sustaining Rural Livelihoods: A Case Study from Rural Kandyan Villages in Central Sri Lanka," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 2(4), pages 1-21, April.
    5. Xi Ouyang & Wen’e Qi & Donghui Song & Jianjun Zhou, 2022. "Does Subjective Well-Being Promote Pro-Environmental Behaviors? Evidence from Rural Residents in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(10), pages 1-19, May.
    6. Liu, Runqiu & Zhang, Lie & Tang, Yudi & Jiang, Yongmu, 2024. "Understanding and evaluating the resilience of rural human settlements with a social-ecological system framework: The case of Chongqing Municipality, China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 136(C).
    7. Debolina Saha & Shradha Agarwalla, 2021. "People’s Forest Dependence: A Case Study of Similipal Biosphere Reserve, India," Review of Development and Change, , vol. 26(1), pages 63-82, June.
    8. Hong Tian & Xinyu Liu, 2022. "Pro-Environmental Behavior Research: Theoretical Progress and Future Directions," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(11), pages 1-16, May.
    9. Gillian Rice, 2006. "Pro-environmental Behavior in Egypt: Is there a Role for Islamic Environmental Ethics?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 65(4), pages 373-390, June.
    10. Marko Sarstedt & Christian M. Ringle & Joseph F. Hair, 2022. "Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling," Springer Books, in: Christian Homburg & Martin Klarmann & Arnd Vomberg (ed.), Handbook of Market Research, pages 587-632, Springer.
    11. Wang, Rongyu & Tan, Rong, 2020. "Patterns of revenue distribution in rural residential land consolidation in contemporary China: The perspective of property rights delineation," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    12. Yanqiang Du & Pingyang Liu & Shipeng Su & Linyi Zhou, 2022. "The Sharing of Costs and Benefits of Rural Environmental Pollution Governance in China: A Qualitative Analysis through Guanxi Networks Perspective," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(11), pages 1-15, May.
    13. Yang, Chaoxian & Chen, Rongrong & Zhong, Shouqin & Liu, Weiping & Xin, Guixin, 2023. "How social solidarity affects the outcomes of rural residential land consolidation: Evidence from Yujiang County, South China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 130(C).
    14. Qinyuan Wan & Wencui Du, 2022. "Social Capital, Environmental Knowledge, and Pro-Environmental Behavior," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(3), pages 1-17, January.
    15. Jiangchi Zhang & Chaowu Xie & Alastair M. Morrison & Kun Zhang, 2020. "Fostering Resident Pro-Environmental Behavior: The Roles of Destination Image and Confucian Culture," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-17, January.
    16. Jingjing Zeng & Meiquan Jiang & Meng Yuan, 2020. "Environmental Risk Perception, Risk Culture, and Pro-Environmental Behavior," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(5), pages 1-18, March.
    17. Joseph Chan & Ho-Pong To & Elaine Chan, 2006. "Reconsidering Social Cohesion: Developing a Definition and Analytical Framework for Empirical Research," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 75(2), pages 273-302, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Yongliang Yang & Yuting Zhu & Xiaopeng Wang & Yi Li, 2022. "The Perception of Environmental Information Disclosure on Rural Residents’ Pro-Environmental Behavior," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(13), pages 1-22, June.
    2. Qinyuan Wan & Wencui Du, 2022. "Social Capital, Environmental Knowledge, and Pro-Environmental Behavior," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(3), pages 1-17, January.
    3. Xuemei Zhou & Chuanyu Tong & Sifeng Nian & Jia Yan, 2024. "Realization Mechanism of Farmers’ Rights and Interests Protection in the Paid Withdrawal of Rural Homesteads in China—Empirical Analysis Based on Judicial Verdicts," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-29, July.
    4. John D. Ditekemena & Christophe Luhata & Hypolite M. Mavoko & Joseph Nelson Siewe Fodjo & Dalau M. Nkamba & Wim Van Damme & Shahul H. Ebrahim & Christiana Noestlinger & Robert Colebunders, 2021. "Intimate Partners Violence against Women during a COVID-19 Lockdown Period: Results of an Online Survey in 7 Provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(10), pages 1-10, May.
    5. AJ Golio, 2024. "Whose Neighborhood Now? Gentrification and Community Life in Low-Income Urban Neighborhoods," Working Papers 24-29, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.
    6. Sylvain Dessy & Luca Tiberti & Marco Tiberti & David Zoundi, 2024. "Coping with Drought in Village Economies: The Role of Polygyny," Working Papers - Economics wp2024_13.rdf, Universita' degli Studi di Firenze, Dipartimento di Scienze per l'Economia e l'Impresa.
    7. Dafna Kariv & Carlo Giglio & Vincenzo Corvello, 2025. "Fostering Entrepreneurial intentions: exploring the interplay of education and endogenous factors," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 21(1), pages 1-27, December.
    8. Ghassan Baliki & Tilman Brück & Neil T. N. Ferguson & Sindu Workneh Kebede, 2022. "Fragility exposure index: Concepts, measurement, and application," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(2), pages 639-660, May.
    9. Zhiqiang Liu & Ji Li & Hong Zhu & Zhenyao Cai & Luning Wang, 2014. "Chinese firms’ sustainable development—The role of future orientation, environmental commitment, and employee training," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 31(1), pages 195-213, March.
    10. Satish Kumar & Filomena Maggino & Raj V. Mahto & Riya Sureka & Leonardo Salvatore Alaimo & Weng Marc Lim, 2022. "Social Indicators Research: A Retrospective Using Bibliometric Analysis," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 162(1), pages 413-448, July.
    11. Snower, Dennis J., 2019. "Toward global paradigm change: Beyond the crisis of the liberal world order," Economics - The Open-Access, Open-Assessment E-Journal (2007-2020), Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel), vol. 13, pages 1-19.
    12. Rana Essam Shazly & Abeer A. Mahrous, 2020. "Capture the hearts to win the minds: cause-related marketing in Egypt," International Review on Public and Nonprofit Marketing, Springer;International Association of Public and Non-Profit Marketing, vol. 17(3), pages 255-276, September.
    13. Hui Cheng & Chunmei Mao, 2024. "Disparities in Environmental Behavior from Urban–Rural Perspectives: How Socioeconomic Status Structures Influence Residents’ Environmental Actions—Based on the 2021 China General Social Survey Data," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(18), pages 1-27, September.
    14. Luo, Xi & Cheah, Jun-Hwa & Hollebeek, Linda D. & Lim, Xin-Jean, 2024. "Boosting customers’ impulsive buying tendency in live-streaming commerce: The role of customer engagement and deal proneness," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    15. Clément Fontan & François Claveau & Peter Dietsch, 2016. "Central banking and inequalities," Politics, Philosophy & Economics, , vol. 15(4), pages 319-357, November.
    16. Cosimo Talò, 2024. "Modelling and Measuring Local Community Engagement (LCE)," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 173(2), pages 475-498, June.
    17. Mohammad Nurul Alam & Osarodion Ogiemwonyi & Ibrahim. E. Hago & Noor Azlinna Azizan & Fariza Hashim & Md Sazzad Hossain, 2023. "Understanding Consumer Environmental Ethics and the Willingness to Use Green Products," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(1), pages 21582440221, January.
    18. Mubariz Mammadli, 2022. "Environmentally Responsible Business Approaches in Azerbaijan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-25, May.
    19. Anna Jasińska-Biliczak, 2022. "Smart-City Citizen Engagement: The Answer to Energy Savings in an Economic Crisis?," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(23), pages 1-15, November.
    20. Jieying Yang & Li Yu & Jingxiang Zhang, 2024. "Impacts on Rural Community Development and Governance by Different Land Ownership: A Comparative Study Based on Two Villages in China," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 36(6), pages 1616-1635, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:13:y:2024:i:12:p:2144-:d:1540368. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.