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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Environ. Sci.
Sec. Environmental Economics and Management
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fenvs.2025.1500075
This article is part of the Research Topic Water and Ecological System: Response, Management, and Restoration-Volume II View all 10 articles

Quantifying the human well-being of the national wetland park: gross ecosystem product accounting of Shandong Mata Lake National Wetland Park

Provisionally accepted
Jian Liu Jian Liu 1Meng Xu Meng Xu 1*Ailing Wang Ailing Wang 1*Tianxu Sun Tianxu Sun 2*Chuntao Zhang Chuntao Zhang 3*Xue Chen Xue Chen 2*Peng Zhang Peng Zhang 1*
  • 1 Shandong Agricultural University, Taian, China
  • 2 Shandong Institute of Territorial and Spatial Planning, Jinan, China
  • 3 Shandong Deyun Land Real Estate Appraisal Consulting Co., Ltd., Zibo, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    National wetland parks, characterized by robust ecological functions, distinctive natural landscapes, and abundant cultural resources significantly enhance human well-being, serve as crucial providers of ecosystem products, and exert substantial influence on local socioeconomic development and ecological conservation. There is an urgent need to carry out the Gross Ecosystem Product (GEP) accounting and monetize the value of ecosystem products. Taking the Shandong Mata Lake National Wetland Park (SMTNWP) in China as the example, and considering the characteristics of wetland parks, this research constructed the GEP accounting index system comprising 11 secondary subjects from the perspectives of regulation and socio-cultural functions. Taking the year 2021 as the research period, the monetary value was assessed based on biophysical value accounting, and the GEP level was determined. The results showed that the GEP of SMTNWP in 2021 is CNY 74.8317 million, with a unit area GEP of 73,200 CNY/hm2. Regulating ecosystem products constitute the core component of GEP, facilitating the sustainable development of wetland conservation and restoration, as well as eco-cultural tourism. Moving forward, efforts in wetland protection, restoration and maintenance should be sustained, and the platforms for promotion, education and scientific research should be proactively established. The research results can offer support and references for the establishment of unified accounting subjects and systems for similar ecosystems and national wetland parks, and translate the human well-being of national wetland parks into visual monetization, providing theoretical basis for the government to realize the value of ecosystem products, and further promoting the conversion of ecological value into economic benefits.

    Keywords: National wetland park, human well-being, Gross ecosystem product (GEP), the Mata Lake, biophysical value, Monetary value

    Received: 23 Sep 2024; Accepted: 07 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Liu, Xu, Wang, Sun, Zhang, Chen and Zhang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Meng Xu, Shandong Agricultural University, Taian, China
    Ailing Wang, Shandong Agricultural University, Taian, China
    Tianxu Sun, Shandong Institute of Territorial and Spatial Planning, Jinan, China
    Chuntao Zhang, Shandong Deyun Land Real Estate Appraisal Consulting Co., Ltd., Zibo, China
    Xue Chen, Shandong Institute of Territorial and Spatial Planning, Jinan, China
    Peng Zhang, Shandong Agricultural University, Taian, China

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