Critical areas linking the supply and demand of cultural ecosystem services: Accessibility and geological disasters

Abstract

Compared with the well-documented research on the supply and demand of cultural ecosystem services (CESs), there is a knowledge gap with respect to service connecting areas. SCAs are areas that connect the supply of CESs with the demand for CESs. We developed a framework with which to analyze the relationship between CES provision, benefit, and connection areas. The framework was applied to Aba Prefecture in the southwestern mountainous area of China. Landscapes with alpine gorges and unique Tibetan – qiangzhu culture provide a large variety of cultural services but coexist with a high risk of landslides and debris flows occurring. The results show that the study area provides rich but scattered CESs, leading to low accessibility with travel times varying from 53 min to 11½ hours. A CES connection area includes roads and towns along the route. This is a high risk area for landslides and debris flow, with a disaster density of 4 events per 10 km per year. Geological disasters in SCAs significantly reduce CES accessibility, with up to tenfold increase in travel time. Section C of national road G213 bears the critical impact on CES, with cumulative IFd of 59.8 days. Integrated management can be implemented by regional partitioning, protecting and enhancing CES supply in the provision area, strengthening governance and improving accessibility after geological disasters in the connection areas, optimizing the supply of SPAs, and improving transmission of disaster warning information for CES users in the benefit area(s). Keywords: Critical area, Geological disasters, Service connection area, Aba prefecture, China