Health Assessment of Wetland Ecosystems and Tourism Development in Shandong Province
山东省湿地生态系统健康评价及旅游开发策略

This study explored the relationship between wetland ecosystems and wetland ecotourism, and then built an ecological environment-tourism development analysis matrix as a model depicting the relationship between wetland ecosystem health and wetland ecotourism. According to the current situation of the environment and tourism development, the wetland ecotourism area can be divided into five types, i.e., optimal type, suboptimum type, moderate type, recover type, and transition type. Subsequently, a wetland ecosystem health assessment index system was constructed based on the Press-State-Response (PSR) model. The wetland ecosystem health situation of Nansi Lake, the Yellow River Delta and Jiaozhou Bay, Shandong Province, was then evaluated with the fuzzy comprehensive judgment method. Results showed that the three representative wetland areas, Jiaozhou Bay, the Yellow River Delta, and Nansi Lake area have the scores of 0.5612, 0.6991, and 0.6493, respectively. According to the maximum membership degree principle, the ecosystem of the Yellow River Delta wetland was in a healthy condition. The Nansi Lake wetland was in a fragile state. However, the Jiaozhou Bay wetland ecosystem was in a status of morbidity. The pressure was relatively less in Shandong wetland ecosystems but the state was severe due to improper utilization and protection of resources. Furthermore, the response mechanism was generally poor. In addition to the Yellow River Delta wetland, government departments relevant to wetland protection management, such as environmental protection efforts and management strategy and policy, seem to be inadequate in Nansi Lake and the Jiaozhou Bay wetland. Some suggestions are given. First, emphasis needs to be placed on integral tourism planning and overall image promotion. Tourism production should be different from underlining local characteristics and avoid vicious competition. It was also important to take unit function division and combine point and axis development. Second, the Yellow River Delta, Nansi Lake, and Jiaozhou Bay wetland tourism areas were in optimal type, ecosystem suboptimum type, and moderate type, respectively.