Conservation effects of transboundary protected areas on mitigating anthropogenic pressure across China's borders

The escalating anthropogenic pressure in terrestrial borderlands is one of the major threats to transboundary ecosystems. To realize effective transboundary conservation efforts, neighboring countries need to clarify the spatial patterns and variation trends of anthropogenic pressure, as well as effects of the transboundary protected area (TBPA) on resisting anthropogenic pressure. This study investigated TBPAs across China's borders with diversified socioeconomic and natural backgrounds based on nighttime light, population density, impervious surface data and causal inference methods. We found both TBPAs and surrounding unprotected areas experienced significant increase of anthropogenic pressure, and the proportion of very high pressure in TBPAs expanded from 0.43 % in 2000 to 1.19 % in 2020. TBPAs effectively mitigated the growth trend of anthropogenic pressure by 23.91 %, however there's discrepancy in conservation effects among different TBPAs and countries. These results highlight the necessity to enhance international collaboration to address anthropogenic pressure and promote sustainable livelihoods in transboundary areas.