Impact of humanitarian assistance on the ecological carrying capacity of recipient countries: evidence from sub-Saharan African countries

This paper focuses on the ecological compensatory effect of humanitarian assistance. A series of econometric methods are used to explore the impact of humanitarian assistance on alleviating the tension between survival imperatives and environmental sustainability in sub-Saharan Africa, and to analyse the synergistic effect of humanitarian assistance and project assistance and the role of institutional transparency. The results suggest that humanitarian assistance is positively associated with ecological carrying capacity, and this association is more pronounced in countries with higher institutional transparency. However, we find evidence of negative synergy between humanitarian and project assistance. These findings highlight the need for coordinated aid planning. Based on this, it is necessary to make full use of the positive role of humanitarian assistance, carry out continuous and stable assistance work and build a special channel for approving assistance funds to curb the expansion of ecological crisis.