A wicked problem between the supply and consumption of ecosystem services: The continuously declining degree of synergy in northeast China

Abstract

Exploring the intrinsic relationship between the supply and consumption of ecosystem service (ES) is considered critical to sustainable ecosystem management and human well-being. However, the lack of understanding of the trade-off/synergy between supply and consumption contributes to disconnect between environmental science and practice. In this study, the synergistic relationship between the ES supply and consumption was traced in the four dimensions of land use, spatial pattern, ES cluster and sub-scale ES. The results indicate that a sustained decline occurred in the synergy level of ES clusters such as water, food, and atmospheric regulation from 1995 to 2018. In addition, the synergy level between the supply and consumption of NOx, PM10 and SO2 regulation, industrial and domestic water, grains, which belongs to sub-scale ES continued to decline. This obviously affected sustainable development and human welfare. Population agglomeration, industrial zoning, and inappropriate policies in the process of urbanization are important reasons for the declining degree of synergy between the ES supply and consumption. Since this issue cannot be resolved in a predictable and direct way, the continuously declining degree of synergy is thus more realistically regarded as a wicked problem with no clear-cut solution. Cross-administrative boundary cooperation, multi-sector joint action, market-based incentive schemes, research on the internal relationships between supply and consumption, and adaptive management are potential ideas to address the above wicked problem. Our results provide useful insights to formulate informed decisions toward the sustainable use and management of ecosystems.