Conflict resolution in the zoning of eco-protected areas in fast-growing regions based on game theory

The stakeholder game mechanisms in land use change of Caohai National Nature Reserve

Understanding the decision-making mechanisms of stakeholders in land use changes within wetland areas is critical for managing land resources effectively and mitigating conflicts. This study applies a game-theoretic approach to examine the strategic interactions among key stakeholders-managers, developers, and residents-within the Caohai National Nature Reserve (CNNR) in China. By integrating real data on land use changes, ecological quality indices, and economic incentives, this study identifies the driving forces behind stakeholder behavior and land use evolution from 2000 to 2020. The land use changes and ecological effects in the CNNR can be divided into two main stages: From 2000 to 2010, the primary direction of land use change was the conversion of grassland into construction land and farmland, resulting in the deterioration of ecological environment quality. From 2010 to 2020, the main direction of land use change shifted to the conversion of farmland into grassland and forest land, leading to an improvement in ecological environment quality. Game-theoretic analysis demonstrates that managers play a decisive role in shaping stakeholder strategies through regulatory mechanisms, such as land rent adjustments, penalties, subsidies, and ecological compensation. Stronger enforcement of penalties and incentives significantly enhances cooperative behavior among stakeholders, reducing land use conflicts and promoting ecological recovery. These findings emphasize the necessity of targeted governance strategies to align stakeholder interests and balance ecological conservation with socio-economic development. The insights from this study provide valuable guidance for policymakers and land managers in designing effective land use policies and improving conservation efforts in wetland-protected areas.

Scenario Simulation of the Relationship between Land-Use Changes and Ecosystem Carbon Storage: A Case Study in Dongting Lake Basin, China

High-frequency land-use changes caused by rapid economic development have become a key factor in the imbalance of carbon sequestration within regions. How to balance economic development and ecological protection is a difficult issue for regional planning. Studying the relationship between future land-use changes and ecosystem carbon storage (CS) is of important significance for the optimization of regional land-use patterns. The research used the gray prediction model and coupled the patch-generating land-use simulation (PLUS) model and the integrated valuation of ecosystem services and trade-offs (InVEST) model. On this basis, the evolution characteristics and spatial coordination between land-use changes and CS in the Dongting Lake Basin (DLB) in different scenarios in 2030 were simulated. The results show that: (1) The spatial distribution of CS remains stable in different scenarios, while land-use types with high carbon density in the periphery of cities are constantly invaded by construction land, which results in the greatest carbon loss in the urban areas. (2) Compared with the natural evolution scenario (NES), only 195.19 km² of land-use types with high carbon density are transformed into construction land in the ecological protection scenario (EPS), generating a carbon sink gain of 182.47 × 10⁴ Mg. Conversely, in the economic development scenario (EDS), a total of over 1400 km² of farmland and ecological land are transformed into construction land, which weakens the carbon sequestration capacity of ecosystems, and more than 147 × 10⁴ Mg of carbon loss occurs in the urban areas. (3) The planned development scenario (PDS) takes ecological protection and economic development both into consideration, which not only generates a carbon sink gain of 121.33 × 10⁴ Mg but also reduces the carbon loss in urban areas by more than 50%. The PDS performs well in both land use and CS growth and can better motivate the effect of land-use changes in increasing the carbon sink, which is also proved by analysis of the coordination between land-use intensity (LUI) and CS. Therefore, the PDS better satisfies the future development demand of DLB and can provide a reference for sustainable land use in the basin.

Deconstructing Ecosystem Service Conflicts through the Prisms of Political Ecology and Game Theory in a North-Western Mediterranean River Basin

Power relationships, access and control, (in)equity, and (in)justice are key modulators of conflicts arising from ecosystem services between multiple stakeholders. A greater knowledge of stakeholder value systems and behaviors is crucial for understanding socioecological dynamics. We propose an analytical framework that combines political ecology and game theory to analyze water ecosystem services. This integrated framework was used to reinterpret concepts such as common goods, (a)symmetric flows, and (un)fair trade-offs in the context of ecosystem services. The purpose was to gain a better understanding of behaviors and (a)symmetries in power relationships between multiple stakeholders. We studied the case of a north-western Mediterranean river basin using data obtained from stakeholder interviews and newspaper articles. Our findings uncovered different types of stakeholder relationships, ranging from mutual support and cooperation to conflict. The proposed analytical framework shows how social mechanisms can affect ecosystem services flows, potentially facilitating or hindering the development of more equitable management models for natural resources.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10745-022-00325-5.

Land-Use Conflict Identification from the Perspective of Construction Space Expansion: An Evaluation Method Based on ‘Likelihood-Exposure-Consequence’

Land-use conflict (LUC) is a major problem of land management in the context of rapid urbanization. Conflict identification plays an important role in the development and protection of land space. Considering the possibility of, exposure to, and negative impacts of LUC, we explore the probability of land-use cover change (LUCC), policy constraints, and ecosystem service value (ESV) and build a conflict identification model based on the LEC concept of risk assessment. Taking Daye City as an example, we classify the conflict intensity and delimit the key conflict areas. At the same time, a composite classification system is constructed to analyze the spatial characteristics and internal mechanism of conflict. We find that the conflict between construction and ecological space is the main conflict in Daye City (P.R. China), which is widely distributed. However, the conflict between construction and agricultural space, which is mainly distributed near the center of Daye City, cannot be ignored.

Integrating Spatial Valuation of Ecosystem Services into Protected Area Management: A Case Study of the Cangshan Nature Reserve in Dali, China

Given the importance of protected areas (PAs) in promoting the balance between conservation and sustainable development, it is crucial for planners and decision-makers to focus attention on the core areas that are of priority to PAs. However, few studies have addressed the balance between ecosystem service provision in PAs and regional development demands based on spatial valuation data. Herein, we present an integrated approach using the Cangshan Nature Reserve as a case study with the aim of identifying the core conservation areas of the reserve—the only national nature reserve in the 18-creek watershed of Cangshan—under different urbanization scenarios. The results show that the overall farmland in the watershed decreased and the architectural area increased, but the land use in the nature reserve remained stable from 1995 to 2035. With the increase in demand for water in the watershed, at least 24.3% of the Cangshan Nature Reserve should be designated as core conservation area to ensure the maintenance of sufficient water quantity and quality. This study can be used as a reference for the sustainable management of PAs based on our example of balancing ecosystem service provision and demand in a single watershed.

Study of ecological compensation in complex river networks based on a mathematical model

Transboundary water pollution has resulted in increasing conflicts between upstream and downstream administrative districts. Ecological compensation is an efficient means of restricting pollutant discharge and achieving sustainable utilization of water resources. The tri-provincial region of Taihu Basin is a typical river networks area. Pollutant flux across provincial boundaries in the Taihu Basin is hard to determine due to complex hydrologic and hydrodynamic conditions. In this study, ecological compensation estimation for the tri-provincial area based on a mathematical model is investigated for better environmental management. River discharge and water quality are predicted with the one-dimensional mathematical model and validated with field measurements. Different ecological compensation criteria are identified considering the notable regional discrepancy in sewage treatment costs. Finally, the total compensation payment is estimated. Our study indicates that Shanghai should be the receiver of payment from both Jiangsu and Zhenjiang in 2013, with 305 million and 300 million CNY, respectively. Zhejiang also contributes more pollutants to Jiangsu, and the compensation to Jiangsu is estimated as 9.3 million CNY. The proposed ecological compensation method provides an efficient way for solving the transboundary conflicts in a complex river networks area and is instructive for future policy-making.

A regional strategy for ecological sustainability: A case study in Southwest China

Partitioning, a method considering environmental protection and development potential, is an effective way to provide regional management strategies to maintain ecological sustainability. In this study, we provide a large-scale regional division approach and present a strategy for Southwest China, which also has extremely high development potential because of the "Western development" policy. Based on the superposition of 15 factors, including species diversity, pattern restriction, agricultural potential, accessibility, urbanization potential, and topographical limitations, the environmental value and development benefit in the region were quantified spatially by weighting the sum of indicators within environmental and development categories. By comparing the scores with their respective median values, the study area was divided into four different strategy zones: Conserve zones (34.94%), Construction zones (32.95%), Conflict zones (16.96%), and Low-tension zones (15.16%). The Conflict zones in which environmental value and development benefit were both higher than the respective medians were separated further into the following 5 levels: Extreme conflict (36.20%), Serious conflict (28.07%), Moderate conflict (12.28%), Minor conflict (6.55%), and Slight conflict (16.91%). We found that 9.04% of nature reserves were in Conflict zones, and thus should be given more attention. This study provides a simple and feasible method for regional partitioning, as well as comprehensive support that weighs both the environmental value and development benefit for China's current Ecological Red Line and space planning and for regional management in similar situations.