Assessment of Watershed Governance from an Ecological-Socioeconomic Perspective: A Case Study of the Liaohe River, China

Abstract

Abstract Watersheds encompass not only ecological spaces but also socio-economic domains. Watershed governance constitutes a distinct form of ecological restoration, and the efficacy of assessing its ecological benefits contributes to the harmonious development of ecosystems and social systems. Utilizing the Liaohe River Basin in China as a case study, this research explores a novel methodology for ecological benefit assessment. Firstly, we assessed the ecological benefits of watershed governance by using the uint-value transfer method corrected by the ecological, economic and socio-political indicators: the total ESV of Liaohe River Basin increased from 82.99 billion yuan in 2010 to 93.57 billion yuan in 2015, and then to 105.59 billion yuan in 2020, with the growth space of ESV had spread from lines to ribbons along rivers, from mainstreams to tributaries, and from scattered points to contiguous patches in watersheds. Secondly, the new assessment units were redefined by the way of “Watershed + District”, which combining ecological integrity and governance feasibility. Finally, by calculating coupling coordination degree of land use-cover change (LUCC) and ecosystem services values (ESV), we identified the more efficient types of LUCC and the methods of ecological restoration. By comprehensively considering the ecological attributes and socio-economic attributes of watershed governance, our study not only assessed the ecological benefits of watershed governance but, more importantly, provided a method for applying the assessment results to the organization and implementation of watershed governance.