Ecological product value accounting and realization pathways in river-lake type water conservancy scenic areas: A case study of the Quzhou Majinxi Water Conservancy Scenic Area

At present, the construction of ecological is advancing steadily, and the mechanism for realizing the value of ecological products is being refined. However, river-lake type water conservancy scenic areas are confronted with such problems as the diversity of ecological product types, difficulties in value accounting, and unclear realization pathways. Taking the Quzhou Majinxi Water Conservancy Scenic Area as a case study, this paper constructs an ecological product inventory system for river-lake type water conservancy scenic areas, estimates the value of ecological products in the Quzhou Majinxi Water Conservancy Scenic Area from 2022 to 2023 and analyzes their structural characteristics and trends. On this basis, pathways for realizing the value of ecological products in river-lake type water conservancy scenic areas are explored. This paper finds that the total value of ecological products in the Quzhou Majinxi Water Conservancy Scenic Area exhibits an overall upward trend during 2022 to 2023. Regulation and cultural services constitute the dominant components of the value structure, reflecting the combined effects of enhanced aquatic ecosystem functions and the growing demand for water culture, leisure, and recreation. This study proposes major pathways for realizing the value of ecological products in river-lake type water conservancy scenic areas, including strengthening the foundation for ecological product accounting and monitoring, promoting the industrialization of ecological products, deepening the integration of water culture with cultural tourism to achieve value added, innovating market-oriented realization mechanisms, and establishing benefit-sharing and ecological feedback mechanisms. This paper suggests that the implementation of these pathways must strictly adhere to ecological protection thresholds, foster the coordinated development of “water conservancy + cultural tourism + technology”, and form a virtuous cycle of “governance-protection-development-feedback”.