Poster Abstract
29. CHALLENGES IN MANAGING THE WETLANDS OF THE YELLOW RIVER DELTA IN THE FACE OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND CLIMATE CHANGE
S.P. Kam,1 S.J. Teoh1 and N.S. Yang2
1 The WorldFish Center, PO Box 500 GPO, 10670 Penang, Malaysia
2 Research Center of Information and Economy, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, China
Covering an area of 6000 km2 and still accreting, the Yellow River Delta (YRD) is the most rapidly-expanding delta system, with the youngest wetland ecosystem being created in the world. It supports a rapidly-modernizing Dongying municipality in Shandong province, fueled by petroleum revenue from China’s second richest oil field located within the delta. But the YRD, which is already highly vulnerable to natural coastal phenomena (monsoon, El-Nino, flooding and storm surges) and upstream anthropogenic activities (causing reduced flow and changes in sediment and nutrient transport), is additionally susceptible to the impacts of climate change, sea level rise and associated increase in frequency and severity of coastal extreme events. Response measures undertaken include construction of coastal dykes to protect lives, property and the diverse economic activities ranging from agriculture and aquaculture to modern industrial development. Dongying attempts to balance modern development with conservation of 37,000 ha of the youngest and pristine wetlands at the estuary of the Yellow River, and requires more compelling justification for the latter. The paper reports on a study to highlight the indirect value of the natural wetlands in the YRD in providing ecosystem services, including climate change mitigation, that would support such justification, and trade-offs in the present uses of the wetland resources. The study conducted multi-criteria evaluation within a GIS platform to assess four wetlands ecosystem services considered important in the Dongying context - providing direct economic uses, supporting biodiversity, water quality regulation through nutrient retention, and mitigating climate change impacts through carbon sequestration. Local experts rated, by assigning scores, the extent to which each of these ecosystem services are changed by the different uses of the wetlands in the study area, and the scores were mapped for each ecosystem service. Two main recommendations were made based on the findings. The first concerns conducting scientific studies on the pristine wetlands in the conservation area for quantifying the non-use value of the YRD wetlands. In particular, valuing the role of wetlands as carbon sinks will support the eligibility claim for inclusion of temperate coastal wetlands for carbon credits, thereby financially rewarding the conservation of these wetlands. The second recommendation relates to practicing low-impact and biodiversity-enhancing agriculture and low-carbon aquaculture that can provide good economic returns with reduced carbon footprints. The argument is made that carefully-chosen and well-managed economic activities can coexist with natural wetland conservation and complement the ecosystem services that the YRD wetlands provide.
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