Planning island sustainable development policy based on the theory of ecosystem services: A case study of Zhoushan Archipelago, East China

Abstract

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.

Psychological wellbeing and sustainable development of coastal community: a literature review

“…The role of gender [28] Sustaining Canadian marine biodiversity: Policy and statutory progress 2020 Marine biodiversity policy [29] Planning island sustainable development policy based on the theory of ecosystem services: A case study of Zhoushan Archipelago, East China 2020 Policy and planning [30] Stakeholder Perspectives on Opportunities and Challenges in Achieving Sustainable Growth of the Blue Economy in a Changing Climate 2020 stakeholder perspectives of opportunities, challenges and the impact of climate change [31] 'It's not just about fish': Assessing the social impacts of marine protected areas on the wellbeing of coastal communities in New South Wales 2020…”

Locating the interstitial island: Integration of Zhoushan Archipelago into the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration

“…Zhoushan's integration with the mainland has increased significantly in recent years, driven by 'strategic plans by the state and local governments' (Pan et al, 2016: 216 presents Zhoushan as an ecological, social, and economic island exemplar (Chen and Dong, 2019), suggest a municipal government eager to deploy national and provincial policy frameworks in the service of locally oriented and 'islanded' planning. National-and regional-level planning regarding Zhoushan has tended to enhance the local government's drive to conceive of Zhoushan as a cohesive archipelago rather than a loose assembly of islands, though such approaches risk overlooking the distinct needs and conditions of the various islands that comprise Zhoushan City (Zhang and Xiao, 2020 Bureau, 2015), dramatically shortening travel times between the two cities.…”

Ecological challenges on small tourist islands: A case from Chinese rural island

“…Islands face a strong constraint of trade-offs between economic development and environmental protection (Zhang & Xiao, 2020).…”