Landscape ecological assessment and eco-tourism development in the South Dongting Lake Wetland, China
Issue title: Landscape change and human activity — Selected papers from the 2nd International Conference on Landscape Ecology of Asia and Pasific Region, Lanzhou, China, Sept. 22–25, 2001
Affiliations: Central South Forestry University, Zhuzhou 412006, China | China International Engineering Consulting Corporation, Beijing 100044,China | Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China
Abstract: As an important resource and the liying environment of mankind, wetland has become gradually a highlight, strongly concerned and intensively studied by scientists and sociologists. The governments in the world and the whole society have been paying more and more attention on it. The Dongting Lake of China is regarded as an internationally important wetland. For a rational development and protection of the wetland, an investigation and studied on its resources and its value to tourism in the South Dongting Lake was conducted, to create an assessment system of the ecological landscapes, and to evaluate qualitatively and quantitatively the value of wetland landscape to the eco-tourism. The results showed that the scenic value of the South Dongting Lake Wetland satisfied the criterion of AAAA grade of China national scenic attraction. The eco-tourism value of the landscape cultures in the South Dongting Lake Wetland was discussed with emphasis. It were formulated that a principle and frame of sustainable exploitation of the wetland landscapes and it was proposed as well that establishing a Wetland Park and developing eco-tourism in the South Dongting Lake. Wetland is a fragile ecosystem with low resistance to the impact of the exploitation. Thus, we must pay intensively attention to the influence of exploitation on the landscape, take the ecological risk in account to employ a right countermeasure and avoid the negative affection.
Keywords: South Dongting Lake, wetland landscape, eco-tourism, Wetland Park, ecological assessment
