The Impact of Restoration and Protection Based on Sustainable Development Goals on Urban Wetland Health: A Case of Yinchuan Plain Urban Wetland Ecosystem, Ningxia, China

Drawing heavily upon the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), an SDG-pressure-state-response (PSR)-ecological-economic-social (EES) model and an index system for wetland ecosystem health assessment were constructed from the three dimensions of environment, economy, and society. By using the Yinchuan Plain urban wetlands in the Yellow River Basin of China as a case study, their ecological health status from 2000 to 2020 was systematically evaluated by integrating information from remote sensing technology, geographic information technology, field sampling, information entropy (IE), a landscape index, and a Comprehensive Evaluation Index. The results show that the restoration and protection of wetland ecosystems have achieved remarkable results in the Yinchuan Plain. The wetland ecological health index has significantly increased from 0.26 to 0.67, which is an increase of 157.7%, and the health level increased from poor (II) to sub-healthy (IV). Factors restricting the healthy development of wetland ecology in the Yinchuan Plain include wetland construction, investment, population density, the number of tourists, and fertilizer use. The research results show that the wetland restoration and protection have achieved specific environmental, economic, and social results in the Yinchuan Plain. However, we also need to pay attention to increasing the investment in wetland environmental governance, strictly controlling the intensity of land use and the total amount of chemical fertilizer applied in various regions, scientifically carrying out wetland restoration and protection, reasonably coordinating the relationship between environment and society, and providing technical and decision-making support for wetland management and protection. This study provides a reference for the ecological governance and sustainable development of wetlands in large river basins worldwide.

Automated summary

Drawing upon the SDGs, an index system and an SDG-PSR-EES model were constructed to assess the wetland ecosystem health in the Yinchuan Plain. The results showed a significant increase in the wetland ecological health index, from 0.26 to 0.67, indicating an improvement in the health level from poor to sub-healthy. Factors limiting the healthy development of wetland ecology included wetland construction, investment, population density, tourist numbers, and fertilizer use.