Tea cultivation is a cornerstone of the livelihoods of millions of rural households worldwide. To mitigate the threat posed by tea plantation expansion to global biodiversity, land-sharing practices have been proposed as a promising approach to balancing tea production with biodiversity conservation. While many studies have evaluated the effects of land sharing on agricultural production and ecosystems, few have explored its broader impacts on sustainable development goals (SDGs), particularly in the context of tea plantations. In this study, we examined the effects of land-sharing practices implemented by tea plantations in Wuyishan National Park, China, on four sustainable development goals and their interrelationships: SDG 1 (income), SDG 3 (well-being), SDG 15 (willingness for wildlife conservation), and SDG 16 (support for the national park). Our findings show that conventional tea plantations contributed to SDG 1 and SDG 3 but had a significant negative impact on SDG 15. In contrast, the adoption of land-sharing practices in tea plantations enhanced SDG 1, but adversely affected SDG 16, and contributed little to SDG 3 and SDG 15. These results suggest that eco-friendly land-sharing practices in tea plantations enhanced economic benefits, but they unintentionally weakened community support for the national park, generating complex impacts on the interrelationships among the sustainability goals. The approach and findings from this study provide valuable tools and insights for designing targeted strategies that can effectively leverage land-sharing for sustainable tea productions in China and beyond. • Land-sharing practices in tea plantations were assessed for their SDG impacts. • Traditional plantation managements advanced SDG 1 and 3 but compromised SDG 15. • Land-sharing practices in tea plantations improved SDG 1 but hindered SDG 16. • Promoting local awareness of the benefits of land-sharing is vital for SDG synergy.
Ma et al. (Thu,) studied this question.