Evaluation of Ecosystem Services Value of the Zoigê Wetland Nature Reserve by Multiple Criteria

Abstract

Understanding the value of ecosystem services is useful for the decision making and sustainable management of the wetlands. It would be better to integrate ecological, economic and social factors into ecosystem service valuation. The general value of the Zoige Wetland Nature Reserve in the southwest China by integrating a social welfare weight, which is determined by a three-level analytic hierarchy process, was calculated. Through analyzing the functions, stakeholders and ecosystem services of the Zoige Wetland Nature Reserve, the six main services, including substance production, flood control, gas regulation, climate regulation, recreation, and biodiversity conservation,were selected; and a three-level hierarchical structure model was established. The top(goal) level of the model refers to the total ecosystem services value of the Zoige Wetland Nature Reserve, the middle level(stakeholder level) refers to stakeholders at different scales, and the bottom level(service level) refers to individual services provided by the Zoige Wetland Nature Reserve. The results indicated that the ecosystem services value of the Zoige Wetland Nature Reserve was 320.38×10~8yuan RMB in 2011. If including the social welfare, the value increased to 2258.68×10~8yuan RMB. The value of biodiversity conservation accounted for the largest proportion, which were 53% without the social welfare and 75% with it. And without the social welfare, flood control, gas regulation, climate regulation of the Zoige Wetland Nature Reserve accounted for 26%, 11% and 8% of the total value, while the proportion that substance production and recreation values were of the total value were very small. Meanwhile, with the social weight,flood control, gas regulation, climate regulation, recreation of the Zoige Wetland Nature Reserve accounted for 10%,13%, 1% and 1% of the total value, then the weight of substance production value was also the smallest.