Coordinating habitat protection and local development in Giant panda national park: an ecological carrying capacity perspective

Résumé fourni par la source

Coordinating nature conservation with local socioeconomic development is a global challenge, particularly in developing countries. In this study, we used the ecological carrying capacity (ECC), defined as the maximum level of human disturbance that an ecosystem can sustain without compromising its integrity, as an indicator of the coordination between habitat protection and local socioeconomic development within Giant Panda National Park (GPNP), China. An ECC assessment system was constructed on the basis of the pressure-state-response (PSR) framework and the spatiotemporal changes in the GPNP (Sichuan area) since 2000. The results revealed that (1) the ECC of the GPNP was predominantly moderate throughout the study period and increased slowly over time, indicating an improvement in the coordination between panda habitat protection and socioeconomic development; (2) the ECC presented obvious spatial heterogeneity, with high-level ECC distributed mainly in the southern Minshan Mountains (Dujiangyan City), the Qionglai Mountains (Wenchuan and Yingjing counties) and the Xiaoxiangling Mountains (Shimian County) and low-level ECC distributed mainly in the relatively less developed northern Minshan Mountains (Pingwu and Songpan counties); (3) geodetector model analysis revealed that the urbanization rate, average years of schooling and per capita GDP were the main limiting factors of the ECC, which highlights the significant influence of external policy factors and economic conditions on the ECC; and (4) the priority area for ECC improvement was identified as consisting of 2185.2 km 2 distributed mainly in Pingwu County and Songpan County. We recommend prioritizing the development of nature education and high-value-added alternative livelihoods or industries (e.g., ecological tourism) and improving ecological compensation mechanisms as key strategies for maintaining and increasing the ECC in the GPNP.

Ce résumé expose les affirmations des auteurs. BNTIC ne l’interprète pas comme une validation indépendante des résultats.