Ecological Areas and Challenges of Urbanization

Ecological areas are the network of protected areas that contribute to the ecosystem's productivity and services. With increased human demands, towns and cities are blooming with changes in landuse patterns around their peripheral areas or in the immediate vicinity. Land intensification and disproportionate urbanization have inflicted various challenges such as qualitative and quantitative depletion of natural resources, ecosystem services, and degradation of environmental quality in and around ecological areas. The chapter will focus on the circumstantial elucidation of ecological areas, their recorded challenges caused by urbanization, and the need for their conservation in previous research studies. The authors explore reported challenges encompassing ecological areas by urbanization. This will help understand the various aspects of urban transformation, like physical, social, cultural, and economic change in and around the ecological areas, and develop measures and strategies for ecosystem conservation and environmental restoration in ecological areas.

Integrated Multi-Attribute Preference Analysis in Fisheries and Solar Power Symbiosis Areas: A Case Study in Cigu, Taiwan

To achieve the 2025 Non-Nuclear Homeland goal and carbon emission mitigation target, the Taiwan government has been developing actively green and renewable energy with low carbon emissions. This study assessed the FSPS development project in the Cigu region of Tainan City to provide a thorough analysis toward making tradeoffs among ecosystem conservation, aquaculture, fisheries, and green power generation development. This study employs the choice experiment method and designs different attributes and levels to discuss the preferences of stakeholders in the policy development choices for ecosystem conservation and FSPS. The hope is that it can balance economic development and ecological conservation. The findings demonstrate that the tourists’ marginal willingness to pay is low. The respondents then give importance to improving biodiversity. Finally, they prefer minimal changes to the status quo with the FSPS policy implementation. These findings can serve as a reference for decision making for regional sustainable development, aquaculture and fishery upgradation, and green power generation and exploitation.

Community perception of sustainable peat swamp ecosystem conservation in Buntoi Village, Kahayan Hilir Sub-District, Central Kalimantan

The sustainability of peat swamp ecosystem management requires conservation efforts to prevent the exploitative and destructive utilization of the ecosystem. The real action efforts of conservation activities are closely related to the support from the surrounding peat forest community. The purpose of the study is to determine the level of community perception of peat ecosystem conservation. The method used is quantitative descriptive, with score intervals using the Likert scale. The study results show that respondents’ characteristics indicate that respondents’ economic value is in line with the length of stay in Buntoi Village. The value of three indicator community perception is in the high and very high categories. The study results show that the knowledge category of peat ecosystem conservation ranges from 948-1368 (high-very high), the response ranges from 1224-1572 (very high), and community attitude scores from 1260-1584 (very high). Respondents who live > 20 years stated that it is very important to carry out conservation activities. Community perception is agreed and very agree towards conservation efforts in the sustainable use of peat ecosystem. They are ready to participate in all forms of activities, both in private and government programs.

Food and Grain Consumption Per Capita in the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau and Implications for Conservation

Background: Grain security is crucial for social stability and ecosystem conservation regionally and globally, and it is particularly concerned widely in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) due to its high altitude and harsh climate for agriculture. Method: In this paper, we calculated and analyzed per capita food and grain consumption, including direct grain consumption, grain for fodder, industry consumption, seeds consumption, and wastage consumption and its changes in the QTP during 1995–2019. Results: The results showed that (1) in 2019, the average food consumption per capita was 333.35 kg, was stable since 1995. The dietary structure of residents was composed of direct grain consumption (44.15%), meat (10.72%), and milk (6.94%). The consumption of meat and milk was higher than the national average. (2) The average daily intake of energy and protein, animal protein, and the ratio of high-quality protein and fat energy were 2156.21 kcal·d−1, 73.53 g·d−1, 23.06 g·d−1, 38.32%, and 27.77% in 2019. Their changes were −342.98 kcal·d−1, −8.91 g·d−1, 11.16 g·d−1, 18.37%, and 11.08%, respectively. (3) The corresponding grain consumption per capita was 284.90 kg·a−1 in 1995, 262.19 kg·a−1 in 2010, and then remained stable until 2019. Conclusion: The study suggested that food consumption per capital was guaranteed at the well-off level since 2010, and food and dietary structure of residents were corresponding to physical geographic and climatic environment in the QTP. The conflict between food security and the ecosystem conservation can be managed without scarifying nature as the total grain consumption was stable since 2010, and the yield per unit area and total grain yield were both increasing since 2003 for agricultural condition improved in the QTP.