Planning Island Sustainable Development Policy Based on the Theory of Ecosystem Services: A Case Study of Zhoushan Archipelago, East China

Island ecosystems and living conditions are undergoing rapid change as human populations are increasingly concentrated in coastal regions. Many island economies have transitioned from an emphasis on primary sector production to reliance on tourism, port, and shipping industries. This has driven proc...

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Main Authors: Huan Zhang, Yang Xiao
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Island Studies Journal 2020-05-01
Series:Island Studies Journal
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.24043/isj.105
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author Huan Zhang
Yang Xiao
author_facet Huan Zhang
Yang Xiao
author_sort Huan Zhang
collection DOAJ
description Island ecosystems and living conditions are undergoing rapid change as human populations are increasingly concentrated in coastal regions. Many island economies have transitioned from an emphasis on primary sector production to reliance on tourism, port, and shipping industries. This has driven processes of large-scale construction and urbanization, occasioning drastic changes in island ecosystems and enhancing the importance of understanding ecosystem service mechanisms on islands. This paper explores the spatial distribution and interactions of ecosystem services in East China’s Zhoushan Archipelago and how these should affect the island’s sustainable development policy. The results show that the archipelago’s total ecosystem services hold great potential but that there are significant trade-offs and synergy relations, which vary on different islands in the archipelago. Cultural services are mainly distributed across the northeastern and southeastern regions, with plentiful natural scenery and Buddhist cultural heritage, which are attractive to tourists. Provisioning services show a negative correlation between cultural services and regulating services, indicating strong trade-offs between them. However, the synergy areas between cultural and regulating services might become priorities for future policies. These are mostly situated in the rural eastern part of the archipelago. The island planning policy proposed in this paper, based on the ecosystem services theory and sensitive to intra-archipelagic differences, contributes to efforts at island sustainable development by seeking to resolve tensions between economic development and environmental protection.
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spelling doaj.art-64b9351278a9489e889c1fb2db467d762023-07-27T13:46:18ZengIsland Studies JournalIsland Studies Journal1715-25932020-05-01151Planning Island Sustainable Development Policy Based on the Theory of Ecosystem Services: A Case Study of Zhoushan Archipelago, East ChinaHuan ZhangYang XiaoIsland ecosystems and living conditions are undergoing rapid change as human populations are increasingly concentrated in coastal regions. Many island economies have transitioned from an emphasis on primary sector production to reliance on tourism, port, and shipping industries. This has driven processes of large-scale construction and urbanization, occasioning drastic changes in island ecosystems and enhancing the importance of understanding ecosystem service mechanisms on islands. This paper explores the spatial distribution and interactions of ecosystem services in East China’s Zhoushan Archipelago and how these should affect the island’s sustainable development policy. The results show that the archipelago’s total ecosystem services hold great potential but that there are significant trade-offs and synergy relations, which vary on different islands in the archipelago. Cultural services are mainly distributed across the northeastern and southeastern regions, with plentiful natural scenery and Buddhist cultural heritage, which are attractive to tourists. Provisioning services show a negative correlation between cultural services and regulating services, indicating strong trade-offs between them. However, the synergy areas between cultural and regulating services might become priorities for future policies. These are mostly situated in the rural eastern part of the archipelago. The island planning policy proposed in this paper, based on the ecosystem services theory and sensitive to intra-archipelagic differences, contributes to efforts at island sustainable development by seeking to resolve tensions between economic development and environmental protection.https://doi.org/10.24043/isj.105
spellingShingle Huan Zhang
Yang Xiao
Planning Island Sustainable Development Policy Based on the Theory of Ecosystem Services: A Case Study of Zhoushan Archipelago, East China
Island Studies Journal
title Planning Island Sustainable Development Policy Based on the Theory of Ecosystem Services: A Case Study of Zhoushan Archipelago, East China
title_full Planning Island Sustainable Development Policy Based on the Theory of Ecosystem Services: A Case Study of Zhoushan Archipelago, East China
title_fullStr Planning Island Sustainable Development Policy Based on the Theory of Ecosystem Services: A Case Study of Zhoushan Archipelago, East China
title_full_unstemmed Planning Island Sustainable Development Policy Based on the Theory of Ecosystem Services: A Case Study of Zhoushan Archipelago, East China
title_short Planning Island Sustainable Development Policy Based on the Theory of Ecosystem Services: A Case Study of Zhoushan Archipelago, East China
title_sort planning island sustainable development policy based on the theory of ecosystem services a case study of zhoushan archipelago east china
url https://doi.org/10.24043/isj.105
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AT yangxiao planningislandsustainabledevelopmentpolicybasedonthetheoryofecosystemservicesacasestudyofzhoushanarchipelagoeastchina