Ecological Suitability Evaluation for Conservation and Development in Bac Kan Province, Vietnam

• Published in: Applied sciences Vol. 9; no. 24; p. 5351
• Main Authors: Ly, Trong Dai, Ongsomwang, Suwit
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 01-12-2019
• Subjects: Construction; Deforestation; Delphi method; Ecological effects; Economic development; Environmental impact; Evaluation; Identification methods; Industrial development; Land degradation; Land management; Land use; Mineral resources; Natural resources; Planning; Questionnaires; Research methodology; Soil erosion; Spatial analysis; Sustainable development; Sustainable use; Tourism; Tradeoffs; Water pollution; Zoning ordinances; Vietnam
• ISSN: 2076-3417; 2076-3417
• DOI: 10.3390/app9245351

Ecological suitability assessment is an effective approach to identify and locate the most suitable territories for future development in order to reduce the negative impacts of human activities on the ecosystem for ensuring sustainable development. The study aimed to propose a future direction for sustainable use of natural resources at the district level in Bac Kan province based on the ecological suitability evaluation approach and the trade-off technique. This study firstly applied the Delphi method to identify significant ecological resistance indicators for assessing ecological elements, importance, and resilience, which characterize the resistance of ecological structures, ecological functions, and ecological dynamics to construction and development, respectively. Then, an integrated ecological resistance model was applied to classify ecological suitability for construction and development. Moreover, spatial analysis and trade-off technique were applied to assign a development zone and propose future directions at provincial and district levels in Bac Kan province. The results revealed that the most dominant ecological suitability class for construction and development is the moderately suitable class, and it accounts for about 1948 km2 or 40.30% of the total area. In addition, five development zones were assigned at the provincial level, whereas three future directions for sustainable use of natural resources were proposed at the district level. In a nutshell, the research methodology framework in this study can be used as a guideline to land managers and planners for ecological suitability assessment in Vietnam.