Research on the value assessment methods for natural resource damage on typical uninhabited islands: A case study of an uninhabited island subject to tourism development

• Published in: Journal of environmental management Vol. 388; p. 126001
• Main Authors: Wu, Hai-Yan, Fu, Shi-Feng, Cai, Xiao-Qiong, Wu, Yi-Biao, Chen, Feng-Gui, Song, Zhi-Xiao, Wu, Jian, Pan, Xiang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01.07.2025
• Subjects: Adjustment coefficient; China; Conservation of Natural Resources - economics; Conservation of Natural Resources - methods; Ecological restoration; Ecosystem; Islands; Natural resource damage; Natural Resources; Tourism; Uninhabited islands; Value assessment; China; Uninhabited islands; Natural resource damage; Ecological restoration; Adjustment coefficient; China; Value assessment
• ISSN: 0301-4797; 1095-8630; 1095-8630
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2025.126001

Approximately 28 % uninhabited islands in China have been developed to varying degrees. Roughly 73 % of them are distributed on vegetated bedrock islands, causing damage of various extents to local natural resources. Ecological restoration of uninhabited islands is an important part of ecological protection that China plans to implement, with one of its preconditions being quantitative assessment of the extent of natural resource damage. Such damage, however, has no established methods to assess its value in China. This study, based on the characteristics and major types of resource damage of uninhabited islands in China, adopts the replacement cost method or market value method, and combined with adjustment coefficient method which taking into account the factors such as resource endowment, location and the degree of damage to the uninhabited islands, to construct a monetized method for assessing the value of natural resource damage. In the case study of a bedrock island that was developed for tourism purpose during 2008–2012, engineering work for reclamation, seawalls, roads and tunnels caused damage with the value of 2,405,900 Yuan to the vegetation, coastline, earth and stone resources. Specifically, continental restoration cost for coastline resource damage was 559,700 Yuan, and with the adjustment coefficient 1.848 considered, island restoration cost was 1,034,200 Yuan. Continental restoration cost for vegetation resource damage was 608,700 Yuan, and the island restoration cost with an adjustment coefficient of 1.32 was 803,400 Yuan. Land value for earth and stone resource damage was 430,000 Yuan, and the island value with an adjustment coefficient of 1.32 was 568,000 Yuan. Around 4 million Yuan use fee for this uninhabited island was paid, relatively low compared to the value of the natural resource damage after the island development. The natural resource damage caused by island development has not received sufficient attention. To compensate for the adverse effects of development on natural resources, in the future island development, it's suggested to assess the natural resource damage as a prerequisite for authorities to approve use of islands. Additionally, detailed ecological restoration plans should be developed according to the type and extent of resource damage, and funds should be earmarked for restoration. •A method for assessing the natural resource damage value on uninhabited islands was proposed.•Replacement cost method with adjustment coefficient was used to assess non-tradable resource.•Market value method with adjustment coefficient was used to assess tradable resource.•The use fee paid for the example island was low compared to natural resource damage value.•To practice ecological restoration of islands according to resource damage value is necessary.