Hydropower resettlement reshapes human–nature relationships: Insights from Southwestern China

Abstract Understanding how hydropower migrants perceive nature's contributions to people (NCP) and how these perceptions relate to their subjective well‐being (SWB) is essential for informing resettlement policies that promote a good quality of life. How hydropower migrants' perceived NCP affects SWB remains poorly understood. To fill this gap, this study conducted an empirical investigation of migrants relocated by the Wudongde and Baihetan hydropower stations in Southwestern China, collecting a total of 682 survey responses capturing migrants' perceived NCP and SWB before and after resettlement. The results indicate that perceived material NCP declined by over 50% across all migrants, whereas perceived regulating and non‐material NCP decreased moderately, with larger reductions observed among ethnic minority migrants. Resettlement enhanced migrants' SWB in terms of basic materials but reduced social relations. Furthermore, the association between perceived regulating NCP and SWB strengthened after resettlement, particularly among younger migrants, while perceived non‐material NCP remained consistently linked to SWB before and after resettlement. The findings demonstrate that perceived regulating and non‐material NCP play a key role in migrants' SWB after resettlement, underscoring the significance of nature's relational values. This calls for resettlement policies that transcend material compensation and integrate migrants' perceptions and relationships with nature into decision‐making, recognizing the plural and culturally grounded ways in which people value and connect with nature, thus enhancing migrants' well‐being and fostering sustainable and equitable human–nature relationships. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.