Research on factors affecting sustainable development in ecologically fragile areas based on a social-ecological system framework

Since modern rural development results from a complex interaction between various exogenous forces, the sustainable development of rural communities in ecologically fragile areas is inherently a systemic endeavor. This study, guided by the social-ecological system theory, examines the impact of social, economic, political, natural, and other external factors on the sustainable development of rural communities in these areas. The goal is to gain a deeper understanding of the underlying causes of delayed development in these communities. The results are as follows: First, labor outflow, ecological fragility, and informal institutions significantly hinder the sustainable development of rural communities, while regional economic development demonstrates a strong positive relationship with the sustainability of rural communities. Second, regional economic development primarily influences the sustainability of communities through its impact on locational conditions. Communities closer to the county and town experience a more pronounced positive effect from regional economic development. Thirdly, informal institutions inhibit the sustainable development of rural communities by obstructing the land rights reform process. Finally, for small-scale communities, the inhibitory effect of ecological fragility and the facilitating effects of regional economic development are more substantial, while labor outflow and informal institutions exert a pronounced inhibitory effect primarily on large-scale communities. For low-poverty communities, labor outflow exerts a more significant inhibitory effect on community sustainability. In contrast, for high-poverty communities, the regional economic development contributes more significantly to sustainability, while ecological fragility and informal institutions have a stronger inhibitory effect.