A regionalized IO-model to value seasonal recreational ecosystem services in a mountain National Park in Spain

Recreational Ecosystem Services(RES)are among the most frequently evaluated ecosystem services.RES are seen as a major opportunity for sustainable development in areas of high ecological value resulting from the presence of emblematic species,habitats or scenery,often integrated in conservation areas,in particular in mountain areas affected by depopulation,rising environmental risks and poverty.Economically,the assessment of RES has been based on Contingent Valuation and Choice Experiments,methods with limitations related to their subjectivity.Alternatively,Input-Output(IO)models provide a very accurate and effective way of valuation of RES with regional information regarding interindustry transactions.Whilst data on nature tourist expenditure may be only available annually,tourism inflows have a strong seasonal behavior,which impacts the profitability of several local economic activities.In this paper,we firstly constructed a novel regionalized IO-model based on Cross-Industry Location Quotients using employment data and,secondly,based on Monte Carlo simulation,we estimated nature tourist expenditure monthly using data on nature tourism inflows.This method allowed for a more precise RES evaluation,estimating direct,indirect and induced monthly economic impacts of nature-based tourism.The method was applied to the Ordesa and Monte Perdido(OMP)National Park in the Spanish Pyrenees.To estimate the average tourist expenditure,we collected and analyzed spending on commerce,hospitality and restaurants,leisure,and transport of 385 visitors.Results suggest that using a regionalized IO model leads to a considerable reduction of over-estimation of the economic impact of tourist expenditure estimated by conventional methods.Taking into consideration the direct,indirect and induced effects of tourist expenditure in 2016-2018,the total annual output effect in the OMP National Park amounted to€208.8 million,while the total income effect amounted to€86.29 million.Also,a total of 2,429 jobs were created which indicates that for each thousand annual visitors to the National Park,3.8 jobs are created in the surrounding area.Overall,the proposed methodology can be easily applied to the remaining National Parks in Spain or other regions in the world,making it a valuable tool to estimate the value of RES in areas affects by strong seasonality,to set priorities and support regional policies for mountain sustainable development.

Identification of agricultural systems in the mountains of Northeast Thailand

Agricultural systems in Thailand's northeastern mountains are described in terms of their type of crops, marketing channels, and labor requirements. Five distinctive systems are identified: The Field crop system, Fruit tree system, Industrial tree plantation system, Specialty crop system and Agro-tourism system. The different systems are compared with each other in order to identify their respective strengths and weaknesses as development models. The Field crop system covers the largest area of agricultural land and is found in all mountainous villages but it generates very low net profits per hectare. The Specialty crop system and Agro-tourism system generate very high net profits per hectare but cover only a small land area and have a restricted spatial distribution. Expansion of these high value systems may be limited because they are capital and labor intensive and require highly skilled farmers to manage them successfully. If these constraints can be overcome, they may offer a useful model for mountain agricultural development.

The “Valley Economy” Model of Regional Development: A Case Study of Mountain Areas in Beijing, Northern China

A case study is presented of a regional development model for valley economies in the mountain areas of Beijing, China. The nature and framework of the valley economy model are described and the development of the model, which is specific to the mountain areas of Beijing, is analyzed. Five different valley economy models applied in the Beijing mountain areas are compared. The major purpose of the valley economy model is to develop the regional economy, including the selection of appropriate industries, the allocation of industrial space, the establishment of supply chains and the integration of various industries. Pilot experiments using the valley economy model have been conducted in seven counties(districts) in Beijing: Pinggu, Huairou, Changping, Mentougou, and Fangshan districts, and Yanqing and Miyun counties. Five models for developing the Beijing mountain areas have been explored, including: creative cultural industries, characteristic industry clusters, the promotion of large tourist areas, natural scenic tourism and folk cultural tourism. Each model has its own unique features and potential to help in the regional development of mountain areas.

CONSULTATIVE RECOMMENDATIONS ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN KARST AND ROCK-NAKED MOUNTAIN AREAS OF SOUTHWEST CHINA

The serious degradation of the ecological environment and the rapid expansion of stone desert have had a serious effect on the economic development of karst and rock-naked mountain areas in Southwest China. Moreover, these areas are still at the initial stage of industrialization, characterized by a greater significance of agriculture to the economy, face sharp contradictions among the population, the arable land and resources, and are suffering because of a shortage of investment. On the basis of this current situation, three recommendations are made in this article: "coordinating the relations among grain, ecology, population and economic development", "increasing the input of science and technology", and "adopting policies consistent with social equity in areas of poverty".

Socio-scientific quantification of the comprehensive benefits of debris flow mitigation measures for villages in western Sichuan, China

Debris flow hazards seriously threaten thesafety and sustainable development of mountainousareas. Numerous debris flow mitigation measures havebeen implemented worldwide;however, acomprehensive assessment of the specific disasterreduction effects of these measures and their economic,social and ecological benefits is yet to be performed.The western region of Sichuan Province frequentlysuffers from geohazards such as debris flow, and thegovernment has adopted many mitigation measures.This study assessed the benefits of debris flowmitigation measures and identified the key influencingfactors via a field-based study conducted in 81 villagesin western Sichuan province, China. A framework forthe evaluation of the benefits of rural debris flowmitigation measures was constructed andquantitatively evaluated using a survey. Snowballsampling was performed to recruit 81 village leadersand 468 farmers. The results showed that managementand engineering measures were the main methodsused to mitigate debris flow;ecological measures wereauxiliary. The average satisfaction scores of farmers forthese three types of measures were 4.07, 3.90, and 3.56,respectively (as measured on a five-point Likert scale).In contrast, in terms of the benefits of these mitigationmeasures, only a small proportion of villages (11.11%)obtained a high level of comprehensive benefits fromthe debris flow mitigation measures, while the majority(88.89%) received medium to low-level benefits. Toimprove this situation, we further studied and foundthat the main factors that restricted villages fromachieving high-level comprehensive benefits were theunpredictable nature of debris flows, labour forceoutflow and remoteness. Effective control measures, agood economic environment and strong governmentassistance were reported as crucial factors forimproving these comprehensive benefits. This studyprovides socio-scientific references for decisionmakingon rural debris flow mitigation measures while keeping villages at the centre of economic development.

Luoding Mountainous Area Developed with Foreign Funds

Luoding, a mountainous area in western Guangdong Province, has turned itself from an agricultural county to mainly an industrial city with the help of foreign fund. Situated 1,000 metres above sea level in the Dakai and Yunwu mountains range and almost surrounded by mountains, Luoding has been isolated from the outside world since ancient times,

Spatial structure of valley economic development in the mountainous areas in Beijing

Valley economy is a new mode in mountainous area development that is defined by various characters of valley development, and is a distinguishing economical geographic pattern for mountainous area development. The special spatial coupling relations in the distribution of different mountainous elements in valleys are new subjects for the mountain development studies, and such studies are meaningful both for researches and practices. Based on the long term researches on mountainous area development and following a brief exploration into the connotations and the spatial organizing process of valley economy, the authors analyzed the present situations of the development of valley economy in Beijing＇s mountainous areas, studied the characteristics and the impacts of the spatial structural changes of the valley economy in Beijing＇s mountainous areas, and finally proposed a rational arrangement of the spatial structure of the valley economy in Beijing＇s mountainous areas. It is considered in this study that valley economy plays an important role in the development and functional transformation in Beijing＇s mountainous areas in the new epoch. Firstly, valley economy is not outlined by the administrative boundaries, and it connects most of the villages in the mountainous areas roughly along the major transportation lines. Therefore, valley economy can exert positive influence on the development in the mountainous areas, at least in the aspects such as the rearrangement of industrial structure in the mountainous areas and the coordinated development of rural and urban areas. In addition, it is found that the valley economy in Beijing＇s mountainous areas is evolved in a spatial organizing stage of secondary concentration, which is characterized by resource-saving, ecological protection and industrial optimization. Therefore, the development of valley economy will be helpful to the coordination between ecological protection and economic development in the mountainous areas, and will promote the integrated development of the mountainous areas. The developing mode of the valley economy in Beijing＇s mountainous areas will provide the basis for the decision-making in the transformation of the functional roles of Beijing＇s mountainous areas, and on the other hand, will present experiences for the studies in the mountainous areas outside of Beijing.

The international conference on mountain development in a context of global change with special focus on the Himalayas was held successfully in Kathmandu, Nepal

The international conference on mountain development in a context of global change with special focus on the Himalayas was held in Kathmandu, Nepal on April 21-26.