Evaluation of Natural Capital Changes and Ecological Sustainability In the Hara Protected Area

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Department of Environmental Science, Natural Resources Faculty, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran.

10.22126/ges.2024.10607.2754

Abstract

The increased demand and consumption level of human societies has led to excessive exploitation of natural capital and increased ecological unsustainability in natural ecosystems, especially in Protected Areas (PAs). Therefore, the continuation of the process of using ecosystem services leads to an increase in ecological pressures and a decrease in the capacity of natural resources to meet human needs. Therefore, in the present study, the spatial-temporal changes in natural capital and the level of ecological sustainability in the Hara PAs from 1989 to 2021 were evaluated using the ecological footprint model. As the results revealed, tidal zones have the most increasing trend among the existing uses, and water areas show the most decreasing trend. In addition, the obtained results indicate that the extent of mangrove habitats has decreased during the studied years. Also, the performance and equivalence results among the uses of the region showed that the water areas (Aquaculture and fishing area) have assigned the highest equivalence coefficient and during this period, they show the greatest decrease in surface area. While mangrove forests with the lowest level of land use have the highest productivity coefficient. In the studied area, the ecological footprint has an increasing trend, the Biological Capacity (BC) is decreasing, and the Ecological Deficit (ED) is increasing. Thus, the ecological footprint index has increased from 1989 to 2021, which indicates the high intensity of resource use. Also, the foot depth index has an increasing trend, which indicates the increase in the intensity of natural capital consumption and the decrease in capital accumulation during the studied years. Therefore, it is necessary to change the pattern of production and consumption to create ecological balance and control unsustainability in this area. On the other hand, preventing the increase of land cover/use changes as well as the protection of natural capital requires the creation of an integrated management for sustainable development and use of natural resources according to the region's BC.
 
Extended Abstract
1-Introduction
Natural capital includes natural resources and environmental services in pristine and natural ecosystems, which play an important role in human well-being and sustainable development. However, changes in natural systems may threaten and destroy this valuable natural capital. Therefore, examining the process of spatial and temporal changes in natural capital helps to evaluate the performance of ecosystems and sustainable development levels in the areas of nature. Population expansion and rapid economic growth have increased human demand for the extraction and consumption of natural capital. This demand has exceeded the capacity of reconstruction and has led to unsustainability and consequences such as resource depletion, global warming, deforestation, and the destruction of biodiversity. The ability of natural systems to provide resources and absorb waste is an important function of natural capital. Therefore, increasing pressure on ecosystems has led to the reduction of natural capital and threats to habitats. In other words, the reduction of natural capital stock is considered evidence of environmental unsustainability. Therefore, the protection of natural capital is necessary to maintain human survival and the availability of environmental services to achieve the goals of sustainable development.
 
2-Materials and Methods
In this study, the multispectral images of the Landsat series in different time frames (1989, 1999, 2009, and 2021) were used to show the spatio-temporal series of changes in the Hara Protected Area (PA), as well as the map of land use classes in this area. The studied images include L5-TM for 1989 and 1999, L7-ETM+ for 2009, and L8 and OLI-TIRS for 2021. To classify the images, the Random Forest (RF) algorithm method was used. This algorithm, which is often used to classify satellite images in the power of spatial resolution, has remarkable results in comparison with the common classification algorithms based on support vector machines and neural networks and represents new methods of combined classification. In the following, the changes were monitored and the accuracy of the images was evaluated. In the present study, classification accuracy was investigated based on the Kappa index and overall accuracy. Ecological footprint calculations depend on the production level of the local economy, the total population, and the level of development of the region, and it is performed for different consumption resources to the area of the relevant biologically productive land. On the other hand, the ecological footprint model balances and simplifies the supply and demand of biological production space in complex ecological and economic processes. Its measurement unit is determined based on the global average unit per ha (gha) because it specifically refers to the performance of biological products at the global level.
 
3- Results and Discussion
As the results showed, among the existing Land Use/Land Cover (LULC), tidal zones have the highest increasing trend during the years 1989-2021. While the water areas in 2021 compared to 1989, show the most decreasing trend. In addition, the obtained results indicate that the mangrove habitats in Hara PA have experienced a decline from 1989 to 2021, and this decline is more visible during the years 2009 to 2021. The results of performance and equivalence among land uses in the region showed that the water areas have assigned the highest coefficient of equivalence and during this period, they show the greatest decrease in surface area. While mangrove forests with the lowest level among land uses have the highest productivity coefficient. The ecological footprint index has increased during the years 1989-2021, which indicates the high intensity of resource use. Also, the Ecological Deficit (ED) ‎ index has an increasing trend, which indicates an increase in the intensity of natural capital consumption and a decrease in capital accumulation during the studied years. During these years, water areas (fisheries) have taken the largest share among natural resources due to the increase in fishing and aquaculture, which can be attributed to the large extent of this use and the high demand of local communities in the area. According to the obtained results, the Ecological Pressure (EP) index has increased in the Hara PA during the years 1989-2021. While the ecological sustainability index shows a decreasing trend. Therefore, the obtained results indicate an increase in ecological pressure and a decrease in stability in the region.
 
4- Conclusion
In general, the obtained results indicate that the increase in population, consumption, economic development, and also the productivity of resources is more than the biological carrying capacity of the region, which has led to the reduction of natural capital during recent decades and the increase of ecological unsustainability. Therefore, it is necessary to change the pattern of production and consumption to create ‎ecological balance and control unsustainability in this area. On the other hand, preventing the ‎increase of LULC, as well as the protection of natural capital requires the ‎creation of an integrated management for sustainable development and use of natural resources ‎according to the region's BC.‎
 

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

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