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• Payment for wetland ecosystems services increased habitat values for Grus nigricollis. • High occurrence probability of cranes in farmland, indicating potential risk of relocation program. • Roost-centered distribution pattern was detected for wintering G. nigricollis. Understanding the ecological consequences of conservation policies on wildlife is critical for species conservation and policy implementation. China began to call for establishing a national park system in 2013 and used national parks as the predominant feature for its system of protected areas in 2019. Payment for ecosystem services (PES) and relocation constitute two important management strategies in new Chinese national parks and protected area system. To better understand the potential outcomes of such programs, we studied the winter foraging distribution of the threatened Black-necked Crane (Grus nigricollis), a flagship species of plateau wetlands, in Dashanbao Protected Area, SW China. Field survey data were combined with environmental variables and land use maps to model winter foraging habitat with respect to human settlements subject to PES and relocation. High suitability for foraging was mapped in the core zone around crane roosting sites, villages, and far from disturbance (e.g. main roads). Aiming at converting farmland to wetland, the payment for ecosystem services programs increased probability of occurrence of cranes by changing land cover in appropriate areas relative to crane roosts and other spatially distributed variables. Surprisingly, areas within 1 km of villages were recognized as highly suitable foraging habitats for cranes, which depend on waste grain in farmland in winter, revealing the potential risk of relocation-induced food shortage for wintering cranes. We argue that as an effective strategy in improving wildlife habitat, PES should be encouraged and relocation programs that change the existing long-term established human-wildlife interactions should be implemented only under full understanding of these relationships. As a pioneer study of the effects of conservation policy on wetland ecosystems in China, this study could shed light on conservation management for such ecosystem and species showing high dependence on a human modified environment. Future work should also focus on the social effects of these conservation strategies, especially relocation, during national park planning in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Resettlement of local people from protected areas (PAs) has been regarded as a preferred method to alleviate human disturbance and environmental pressure. Lack of knowledge about local communities' perceptions of resettlement, however, can lead to failed relocation projects and negative impacts on environmental sustainability and livelihoods. To better understand local communities' perception of relocation in PAs, we examine factors that affect local communities' willingness to relocate in Dashanbao Protected Area (DPA), an important location for conservation of the rare Black-necked Crane and the subject of a large-scale relocation policy in China. We surveyed 512 households in DPA and used multiple logistic regression to identify which factors predict local communities' willingness to relocate. Then, we examined how local communities' opinions of different payment for environmental services programs (PES) impacted their willingness to relocate. The results indicated that participation in a PES program for wetland conservation significantly decreases willingness, while distance from scenic spots and roads increases willingness. Furthermore, participants in the PES program for wetlands had a greater positive perception of the benefits from the DPA. Concern about a sustainable livelihood and loss of a sense of belonging represent the two main categories or 'clusters' of reasons explaining unwillingness to relocate. Our results suggest that prior experience with PES programs influences attitudes about relocation, and that integrating the perception of local communities into policy is important to the success of conservation programs relying on relocation. Managers and decision-makers could usefully consider the coupled relationships between sustainable livelihood strategies such as PES, attitudes toward relocation, and conservation benefits when working with communities in PAs toward enhanced livelihoods and conservation., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2020. Published by Elsevier B.V.)