Page 137

Proceedings of International Conference on Climate Change, Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services for the Sustainable Development Goals : Policy and Practice 27-29 June 2016 at the Sirindhorn International Environmental Park, Cha-am, Phetchaburi, Thailand

Assessing  land  use  change  and  its  impact  on  ecosystem  services  in  northern  Thailand Sunsanee  Arunyawat*  and  Rajendra  P.  Shrestha  Natural  Resources  Management  Program,  Asian  Institute  of  Technology  E-mail:  anyaey@gmail.com*  Abstract-The  sustainable  development  goals  (SDGs)  are  being  pursued  by  all  the  countries  as  priority  actions  to  achieve  by  2030.  This  study  assessed  land  use  change  and  its  impact  on  ecosystem  services,  which  is  relevant  to  SDG  15  that  aims  to  protect,  restore  and  promote  sustainable  use  of  terrestrial  ecosystems.  Conducted  in Wang  thong  watershed  in  Northern  Thailand,  we  assessed  the  land  use  change  and  ecosystem  services  from  1989-2013  using  GIS  and  projected  the  future  land  uses  under  different  scenarios  with  varying  options  for  enhancing  ecosystem  services.  Integrated  Valuation  of  Ecosystem  Services  and  Tradeoffs  (InVEST)  model  was  used  to  map  and  quantify  a  set  of  ecosystem  services.  CLUMondo,  a  dynamic  spatial  model,  was  used  to  project  future  land  uses  for  three  policy  scenarios.  In  business-as  usual  scenario,  there  is  a  general  decrease  in  ecosystem  services  by  the  year  2033.  In  two  other  scenarios  viz  integrated  land  use  and  biodiversity  conservation,  ecosystem  services  will  increase  by  about  6%  and  20%  repectively  due  to  the  effect  of  assumed  respective  land  use  policies.  The  study  findings,  which  present  a  trend  of  ecosystem  services  and  options  for  enhancing  ecosystem  services,  can  serve  as  the  guideline  for  sustainable  land  use  planning  in  the  study  area  and  thus  can  be  helpful  in  improving  management  of  environmental  resources  of  the  watershed.  Scenario  results  provide  opportunities  to  implement  appropriate  land  use  options  directly  addressing  SDG  to  protect  ecosystems.  Similarly,  the  comprehensive  methodology  used  in  the  study  can  easily  be  replicated  in  assessing  the  ecosystem  services  of  other  watersheds  or  basins.  Keywords:  Land  use  change,  Ecosystem  services,  InVEST,  CLUEMondo  models,  northern  Thailand  I.  INTRODUCTION In  the  past,  Thailand  has  constantly  enjoyed  agricultural  growth  with  a  number  of  agricultural  commodities  for  international  export  due  to  high  technological  practice  including  inputs  mostly  brought  about  by  land  use  conversion  and  improved  agricultural  practices  1.  A  substantial  increase  in  agricultural  areas  occurred  from  forest  conversion  despite  a  national  logging  ban  in  all  natural  forest  areas  being  implemented  in  1989  2.  In  the  recent  past,  agricultural  land  use  conversion  from  the  food  crops  for  subsistence  to  commercial  crops  (particularly  cash  crops  in  agriculture)  has  been  very  rapid  Proceedings  of  the  International  Conference  on  Climate  Change,  Biodiversity  and  Ecosystem  Services  for  the 135 Sustainable  Development  Goals  (SDGs):  Policy  and  Practice  27-29  June  2016,  Cha-am,  Phetchaburi,  Thailand


Proceedings of International Conference on Climate Change, Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services for the Sustainable Development Goals : Policy and Practice 27-29 June 2016 at the Sirindhorn International Environmental Park, Cha-am, Phetchaburi, Thailand
To see the actual publication please follow the link above