Ecosystem Services Tradeoffs: A Case Study of Chiang Khong, Thailand

• Main Authors: Apisom Intralawan, Ithiphat Rueangkitwat
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Thai Society of Higher Eduction Institutes on Environment 2016-07-01
• Series: EnvironmentAsia
• Subjects: ecological economics; ecosystem services valuation; land use and land cover change; Mekong river basin
• Online Access: http://tshe.org/ea/pdf/vol9no2-08.pdf

The recent transformation of land in the Mekong River Basin has been dramatic. The changes have contributed to an increased standard of living resulting from economic and agricultural expansion, increasing urbanization and modernization. However, the changes have also resulted in major degradation of ecosystems and the services which ecosystems provide. Despite acknowledgement of the loss of the ecosystem benefits, the integration of ecosystem services tradeoffs into land use decisions is still limited. Land managers and policy makers are facing challenges in balancing the positive effects of economic development and the long term negative impacts on the environment. This paper is based on a case study of one of the fastest growing towns along the Mekong River, namely Chiang Khong, Chiang Rai Province, Thailand. Data on the change of land use and land cover for different biomes over the past 40 years have been obtained from satellite image classification. The valuation of ecosystem services of different biomes has been quantified in monetary terms. During the last four decades, the estimated change in the value of ecosystem services in Chiang Khong shows a net decline of roughly US$ 440 million - from US$ 1,896 million/year in 1976 to US$ 1,455 million/year in 2015. There is a risk that this decline in ecosystem services will further increase if ecosystem services valuations are not included in decision making processes related to the planned economic development (infrastructure expansion, new industrial park development) in Chiang Khong.