Search Results (21)

Yellow River Delta National Nature Reserve plays a critical role in ecological conservation, and assessing its ecosystem service value (ESV) is essential for guiding sustainable management strategies that harmonize development and preservation. This study was motivated by the need to generate actionable insights for adaptive conservation planning in this vulnerable coastal region. We evaluated the spatiotemporal dynamics of ESV from 2000 to 2020 using a combination of remote sensing, geographic information system analyses, and statistical modeling. Primary drivers influencing the spatial heterogeneity of ecosystem service value were identified through geographical detector analysis, and future trends were projected based on historical patterns. The results revealed that (1) ESV showed a clear spatial gradient, with higher values in coastal zones, moderate values along river channels, and lower values inland, and exhibited an overall significant increase over the two decades, primarily driven by improvements in regulating services; (2) wetland area and precipitation were the most influential factors, though socio-economic elements and environmental conditions also contributed to ESV distribution; and (3) future ESV is expected to follow current trends, reinforcing the importance of current management practices. Given that the continuous increase in ESV from 2000 to 2020 was predominantly attributed to water body expansion, future conservation strategies should prioritize the protection and restoration of these water resources. Full article

Both water and sediment resource allocation are critical for achieving sustainable development in sediment-laden river basins. However, current understanding lacks a holistic perspective and fails to capture the inseparability of water and sediment. The Yellow River Basin (YRB) is the world’s most sediment-laden river, characterized by pronounced ecological fragility and uneven socio-economic development. This study introduces integrated water-sediment allocation frameworks for the YRB based on the perspective of the water-sediment nexus, aiming to regulate their impacts on socio-economic and ecological systems. The frameworks were established for both artificial units (e.g., irrigation zones and reservoirs) and geological units (e.g., the Jiziwan region, lower channels, and estuarine deltas) within the YRB. The common feature of the joint allocation of water and sediment across the five units lies in shaping a coordinated water–sediment relationship, though their focuses differ, including in-stream water-sediment processes and combinations, the utilization of water and sediment resources, and the constraints imposed by socio-economic and ecological systems on water-sediment distribution. In irrigation zones, the primary challenge lies in engineering-based control of inflow magnitude and spatiotemporal distribution for both water and sediment. In reservoir systems, effective management requires dynamic regulation through density current flushing and coordinated operations to achieve water-sediment balance. In the Jiziwan region, reconciling socio-economic development with ecological integrity requires establishing science-based thresholds for water and sediment use while ensuring a balance between utilization and protection. Along the lower channel, sustainable management depends on delineating zones for human activities and ecological preservation within floodplains. For deltaic systems, key strategies involve adjusting upstream sediment and refining depositional processes. Full article

The sustainable development of urban agglomerations depends on the effective coordination of water, energy, food, and ecology (WEFE) systems. However, disparities in resource endowments and socio-economic conditions create challenges for achieving a balanced WEFE system across urban regions. This study examines three urban agglomerations in China with distinct development gradients: the Pearl River Delta (PRD), the Hohhot–Baotou–Ordos–Yulin (HBOY) region, and the Central Jilin Province (CJP). A comprehensive evaluation index system is constructed to assess the coupling coordination degree (CCD) of the WEFE system from 2008 to 2022. Through the CCD model, spatiotemporal evolution trends are analyzed, while correlation analysis explores development patterns under varying gradient conditions. A back-propagation artificial neural network (BPANN) model identifies the primary driving factors influencing WEFE coordination. Key findings include the following: (1) the CCD of the PRD, HBOY, and CJP urban agglomerations has improved over time, with CCD values ranging between 0.4 and 0.6, 0.3 and 0.5, and 0.4 and 0.6, respectively. (2) The CCD exhibits a negative correlation with urbanization rates exceeding 70% and industrialization rates but shows a positive correlation with per capita GDP. (3) The dominant contributing subsystems vary; ecology in the PRD (28.76%), food in HBOY (28.83%), and food in CJP (29.32%). These findings underline the importance of tailored strategies for enhancing WEFE system coordination in urban agglomerations with diverse development gradients. Targeted policy recommendations are proposed based on regional characteristics and subsystem contributions. Full article

Against the backdrop of rapid global urbanization, studying the spatiotemporal evolution of cross-regional tourism corridors can effectively guide decision-making for sustainable tourism development. However, previous studies have overlooked the role of geographical space in the construction of tourism corridors, particularly the spatiotemporal characteristics of ecological and socio-economic factors. Taking the central region of the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) in China as a case study, this research utilizes remote sensing images, POI data, and other datasets from 2000, 2010, and 2020. Through a combination of landscape value assessment, resistance surface evaluation system, MCR model, and geographical detector, the study examines the spatiotemporal evolution characteristics of cross-regional tourism corridors and their potential influencing factors. The results indicate that (1) between 2000 and 2020, the areas with prominent landscape value in the core region of the YRD decreased, while areas with less prominent landscape value significantly increased. However, the overall distribution became increasingly fragmented. The resistance values in the main low-resistance areas of the study region continuously increased, and the gap between high- and low-resistance areas narrowed. (2) Over the 20-year period, the total length of the corridors in the study area increased by 333.3%, with the number of corridors rising from 91 to 435. The number of source points grew from 14 to 31, and corridor density increased from 0.04% to 0.19%. The growth rate was fastest from 2000 to 2010 and then gradually slowed down. (3) In terms of influencing factors, population density and road length together explained 62.3% of the variation in corridor length evolution. The evolution of corridor number and source points was mainly influenced by public infrastructure levels and road density, while the evolution of corridor density was primarily driven by road length and public infrastructure. In conclusion, we analyze the spatiotemporal evolution characteristics and influencing factors of cross-regional tourism corridors from the perspective of tourism geography at multiple scales. The findings provide significant insights into promoting the integration of cross-regional tourism resources, achieving sustainable development of all-region tourism, and optimizing the spatial allocation of territorial resources. Full article

Rice farming is the dominating agriculture activity in the Mekong Delta and has been of significant importance for the region’s economic development, but it has also had an impact on the environment. Recent governmental policies emphasize the need for sustainable and climate-resilient agriculture; however, policy reforms pushing for transformation towards sustainable socio-agricultural systems are compounded by a lack of coherent and shared visions. Gaps between policy making and implementation and stakeholders’ divergent visions of what is meant by sustainable agriculture and how that can be achieved hinder progress. To address this, the Q-methodology was used to elucidate and integrate different perspectives from 41 stakeholders on 35 statements related to agriculture developments in the Mekong Delta. Under the theoretical lens of sustainability, and ecosystem services, the results unveiled four major development schemes, namely production through intensification, sustainable intensification, production through nature, and people and nature in balance. The majority of the stakeholders in this study believed that future agriculture strategies in the Mekong Delta should be designed to promote more diverse and integrated farming methods, emphasizing the environmental and social dimensions of sustainable development. They acknowledged the multifunctional benefits of rice field ecosystems and emphasized the importance of supporting, regulating, and cultural ecosystem services for a long-term and healthy production of food and increased resilience of the Delta’s social-ecological systems. Full article

The increase in population and economic development has made environmental issues more serious and threatens regional ecological security and sustainable development. Currently, most indicators in the related research field of ecological security tend to be socio-economic and neglect depicting the state of the ecosystems. This study, therefore, assessed the ecological security by constructing the evaluation index system embedded in the ecosystem service supply and demand based on the pressure–state–response model and identified the key obstacles to ecological security in the Pearl River Delta from 1990 to 2015. Our results showed that soil retention, carbon sequestration, and water yield increased with fluctuation except for grain production and habitat quality. The grain demand, carbon emission, and water demand increased sharply by 10.1%, 769.4%, and 17.5%, respectively. The ecosystem service supply areas were mainly located in the low hills, while the demand regions were mainly in the low plain areas. The ecological security index’s decline in vitality was caused by the decrease in the pressure index, indicating that the ecological security showed an inevitable deterioration and increased pressure on the ecosystem. During the study period, the source of the five key obstacle factors changed from the state layer and response layer to the pressure layer. The accumulative degree of the five top obstacle factors was above 45%. Therefore, governments should grasp the key indicators to improve ecological security as this study provides the theoretical basis and scientific information for sustainable development. Full article

In recent times, environmental stewardship of mangroves has provided the impetus to protect and restore these ecosystems for their inherent ability to protect coastal regions from climate change, sequester carbon dioxide as rich blue carbon, and support human well-being through a multitude of ecosystem services. Participatory stakeholder assessment, as a part of the present study, integrated local stakeholder perspectives in assessing drivers of mangrove loss in Bhitarkanika and Mahanadi delta, Odisha, providing empirical evidence through a mixed-method approach. The use of a Likert scale provided the methodology to develop a single composite variable as the best measure of central tendency. In total, 27.5% of the respondents were locals and were living close to the study area for generations, whereas the other 72.5% represented researchers, academics, and forest department officials. Stakeholder responses at the ground level indicated that Bhitarkanika and Mahanadi delta were facing increased frequency of extreme climatic events followed, by aquaculture and other land-use changes, which can be considered potential drivers causing mangrove loss. Co-development of future scenarios by integrating concerns of all the stakeholders emerged as a potential solution to effectively address the trade-offs arising from local anthropogenic interferences, as well as large-scale developmental activities. This study highlights the need for convergence of multi-disciplinary knowledge from diverse stakeholder groups, including traditional and indigenous knowledge, for the purpose of developing accurate plausible alternative scenarios. Interactive governance and incentivization approaches, along with alternative livelihood opportunities, are proposed as the means to improve conservation and restoration in the region based on the present study. Understanding of the coupled socio-ecological system and its relevance is found to be critical to improve bi-directional linkages of ecosystem health and human well-being. Full article

Globally, coastal zones, rivers and riverine areas, and deltas carry enormous values for ecosystems, socio-economic, and environmental perspectives. These often highly populated areas are generally significantly different from interior hinterlands in terms of population density, economic activities, and geophysical and ecological processes. Geospatial technologies are widely used by scholars from multiple disciplines to understand the dynamic nature of shoreline changes globally. In this paper, we conduct a systematic literature review to identify and interpret research patterns and themes related to shoreline change detection from 2000 to 2021. Two databases, Web of Science and Scopus, were used to identify articles that investigate shoreline change analysis using geospatial technique such as remote sensing and GIS analysis capabilities (e.g., the Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS). Between the years 2000 and 2021, we initially found 1622 articles, which were inspected for suitability, leading to a final set of 905 articles for bibliometric analysis. For systematic analysis, we used Rayyan—a web-based platform used for screening literature. For bibliometric network analysis, we used the CiteSpace, Rayyan, and VOSviewer software. The findings of this study indicate that the majority of the literature originated in the USA, followed by India. Given the importance of protecting the communities living in the riverine areas, coastal zones, and delta regions, it is necessary to ask new research questions and apply cutting-edge tools and technology, such as machine learning approach and GeoAI, to fill the research gaps on shoreline change analysis. Such approaches could include, but are not limited to, centimeter level accuracy with high-resolution satellite imagery, the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), and point cloud data for both local and global level shoreline change and analysis. Full article

Rapid urbanization in mega-urban agglomerations disturbs the balance of carbon storage supply and demand (CSD) and constrains the achievement of sustainable development goals. Here, we developed a socio-ecological system (SES) framework coupled with ecosystem services (ES) cascade and DPSIR model to systematically analyze the impacts and responses of urbanization affecting CSD. We quantified urbanization and CSD using multi-source remote sensing data, such as land use and night lighting, together with related socio-economic data, such as total energy consumption, population and GDP. We found that from 2000 to 2020, the urbanization of Yangtze River Delta region (YRD) led to a decrease of 2.75% in carbon storage supply and an increase of 226.45% in carbon storage demand. However, carbon storage supply was still larger than carbon storage demand, and the spatial mismatch of CSD is the most important problem at present. Therefore, it is necessary to explore the response measures from the comprehensive perspective of SES. We identified key ecological conservation areas using a Marxan model to protect the carbon storage capacity in ecological subsystems, and promoted a carbon compensation scheme based on both the grandfather principle and the carbon efficiency principle, reconciling the contradiction between ecological conservation and socio-economic development in the social subsystem. Finally, this study quantified the threshold of urbanization based on the carbon neutrality target at which CSD reaches an equilibrium state. This study proposed a SES framework, and a set of methodologies to quantify the relationship between urbanization and CSD, which will help mega-urban agglomerations to promote harmonious development of urbanization and ecological conservation and to achieve the carbon peak and carbon neutrality targets proposed by the Chinese government. Full article

The dislocated development of population, land, and economy will disturb the urban system, cause ecological risk problems, and ultimately affect regional habitat and quality development. Based on social statistics and nighttime lighting data from 2000 to 2018, we used mathematical statistics and spatial analysis methods to analyze the change process of urbanization’s coupling coordination degree and ecological risk response pattern in the Yangtze River Delta. Results show that: ① From 2000 to 2018, the coupling coordination degree of urbanization in the Yangtze River Delta increased, with high values in Suzhou-Wuxi-Changzhou, Shanghai, Nanjing and Hangzhou regions. ② The ecological risk in the Yangtze River Delta weakened, and the vulnerability and disturbance of landscape components together constitute the spatial differentiation pattern of regional ecological risk, which presented homogeneous aggregation and heterogeneous isolation. ③ The overall ecological stress of urbanization in the Yangtze River Delta decreased. ④ The population aggregation degree, socio-economic development level and built-up area expansion trend contributed to the spatiotemporal differentiation of urbanization’s ecological risks through the synergistic effects of factor concentration and diffusion, population quality cultivation and improvement, technological progress and dispersion, industrial structure adjustment and upgrading. This study can provide a reference for regional urbanization to deal with ecological risks reasonably and achieve high-quality development. Full article

The capability approach is increasingly presented as a promising approach to address questions of justice in local climate adaptation. In an attempt to integrate environmental protections into the capability approach, Breena Holland developed the meta-capability Sustainable Ecological Capacity to establish substantive ecological limits. This article, however, empirically demonstrates that defining ecosystem thresholds in co-evolving systems is subject to conflict and continuous negotiation. Taking the Haringvliet dam in the Dutch South-West Delta as an illustrative case, this paper shows how people uphold different views about the Haringvliet’s most desirable ecosystem state. Future shifts in the socio-ecological system, such as decreased fresh water availability and sea-level rise, are expected to uproot today’s compromise about chloride levels in the Haringvliet. This suggests that anticipatory water management should not only address climate impacts, but also prepare for re-negotiations of established ecological thresholds. The associated politics of climate adaptation deals with questions about which functions to protect, at what costs and for whom. Hence, it is critical to integrate procedural justice and attention to political inequalities in capabilities-based adaptation justice frameworks. Full article

The research on land natural resources as the leading factor in the Mekong Delta (MD) is insufficient. Facing the fragile and sensitive ecological environment of MD, how to allocate limited land resources to different land use types to obtain more economic benefits is a challenge that local land managers need to face. Three uncertainties in land use system, interval uncertainty, fuzzy uncertainty, and random uncertainty, are fully considered and an interval probabilistic fuzzy land use allocation (IPF-LUA) model is proposed and applied to multiple planning periods for MD. IPF-LUA considers not only the crucial socio-economic factors (food security, output of wood products, etc.) but also the ecological/environmental constraints in agricultural production (COD discharge, BOD5 discharge, antibiotic consumption, etc.). Therefore, it can effectively reflect the interaction among different aspects of MD land use system. The degree of environmental subordination is between 0.51 and 0.73, the net benefit of land system is between USD 23.31 × 10⁹ and USD 24.24 × 10⁹ in period 1, and USD 25.44 × 10⁹ to 25.68 × 10⁹ in period 2. The results show that the IPF-LUA model can help the decision-makers weigh the economic and ecological benefits under different objectives and work out an optimized land use allocation scheme. Full article

The Amazon River delta may be currently characterized biophysically as a relatively preserved delta compared to the rampant vulnerability of many of the world’s large deltas. This status of relative preservation is reflected in a number of criteria: The still largely free-flowing nature of many of the rivers and the main stem of the Amazon that feed the delta in sediment, exceptional biodiversity, dominant shoreline accretion, and the absence of anthropogenically-generated subsidence. In this review, we show that these relatively reassuring conditions are progressively being called into question by the effects of dams on fluvial sediment supply to the delta, by increasing demographic, urban, and land development pressures in this still largely underpopulated delta, and by problems of governance that underplay aspects of basin-wide and deltaic environmental deterioration. A major challenge is that of bringing together these contrasting demands that are leading to the emergence of zones of environmental stress that test the resilience of this delta. An integral part of the strategy for the analysis of collective action, management, and conservation is that of considering the Amazon delta in terms of interacting socio-ecological systems. Pressures on the delta will be compounded in the future by decreasing fluvial sediment supply and sea-level rise. Although climate change is projected to generate surplus sediment, the rapid growth of dam constructions upstream of the delta will negatively impact the river’s sediment flux. Conservation and management of the Amazon River system aimed at keeping the delta resilient in the context of sea-level rise and reduction of sediment supply will require clear governance and better planning and anticipation, as well as socio-ecological integration. These are also requirements that will need to be implemented in the 1500 km-long coastal zone of the Guianas countries located west of the Amazon delta and the sediment dynamics and stability of which are largely determined by sediment supply from the Amazon. Full article

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their corresponding targets are significantly interconnected, with many interactions, synergies, and trade-offs between individual goals across multiple temporal and spatial scales. This paper proposes a framework for the Integrated Assessment Modelling (IAM) of a complex deltaic socio-ecological system in order to analyze such SDG interactions. We focused on the Sundarban Biosphere Reserve (SBR), India, within the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna Delta. It is densely populated with 4.4 million people (2011), high levels of poverty, and a strong dependence on rural livelihoods. It is adjacent to the growing megacity of Kolkata. The area also includes the Indian portion of the world’s largest mangrove forest––the Sundarbans––hosting the iconic Bengal Tiger. Like all deltaic systems, this area is subject to multiple drivers of environmental change operating across scales. The IAM framework is designed to investigate socio-environmental change under a range of explorative and/or normative scenarios and explore associated policy impacts, considering a broad range of subthematic SDG indicators. The following elements were explicitly considered: (1) agriculture; (2) aquaculture; (3) mangroves; (4) fisheries; and (5) multidimensional poverty. Key questions that can be addressed include the implications of changing monsoon patterns, trade-offs between agriculture and aquaculture, or the future of the Sundarbans’ mangroves under sea-level rise and different management strategies. The novel, high-resolution analysis of SDG interactions allowed by the IAM will provide stakeholders and policy makers the opportunity to prioritize and explore the SDG targets that are most relevant to the SBR and provide a foundation for further integrated analysis. Full article

Deltas are a particular type of estuarine system in which the dependence on river flow (water, sediments and nutrients) is very strong, especially in river-dominated deltas such as the Mediterranean ones, but environmental flow (e-flow) proposals for deltaic systems are scarce. The Ebro Delta is one of the largest wetland areas in the western Mediterranean and one of the most important estuarine systems in Europe. The aim of this paper is to review the state of the art regarding e-flows and to carry out a critical analysis of the proposals for the lower Ebro River and Delta, in order to highlight the possible environmental and socioeconomic impacts arising from the e-flow regime currently approved. Additionally, based on existing scientific information, methods to establish an e-flow regime that allows the maintenance of the main socio-ecological functions and values are discussed; including those functions and values for which not enough information is available. The study concludes that the currently approved e-flows are not suitable for maintaining most functions and values, as they would not prevent the proliferation of alien fish species and macrophytes in the river, the intrusion of the salt wedge in the estuary, the deficit of sediment/nutrient transport and the degradation of riparian habitats or the decline of coastal fisheries. Socioeconomic consequences on coastal fisheries, river navigation, salt water intrusion, sediment deficit, biodiversity, water quality, aquaculture and hydropower are also considered. Other e-flow proposals such as the proposed by the Catalan government would be more suitable to maintain the main socioecological functions and values of the lower Ebro River and Delta. Nevertheless, additional studies are needed to validate e-flows in some relevant aspects such as the capacity of the river to transport sediments to the delta to avoid coastal regression and mitigate the effects of sea level rise and subsidence, as well as the capacity of floods to control the spread of macrophytes. The lower Ebro River and delta is among the case studies where more quantitative and qualitative criteria to set e-flows with a holistic approach have been established. Full article