Assessing Integrated Effectiveness of Rural Socio-Economic Development and Environmental Protection of Wenchuan County in Southwestern China: An Approach Using Game Theory and VIKOR

• Published in: Land (Basel) Vol. 11; no. 11; p. 1912
• Main Authors: Zhang, Jifei, Zhang, Shuai
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 01.11.2022
• Subjects: Agglomeration; Agricultural production; Agriculture; Civilization; Climate change; combined weight based on game theory; Conservation; Earthquakes; Ecology; Economic aspects; Economic development; Economics; Effectiveness; Environmental aspects; Environmental management; Environmental protection; Evaluation; Game theory; Humanities; integrated effectiveness of rural socio-economic development and environmental protection; Jenks Natural Breaks Classification method; Jurisdiction; Land settlement; Rural areas; Rural environments; Social change; Social economics; Socioeconomic factors; Socioeconomics; Sustainable development; Tourism; VIKOR method; Villages; Wenchuan County; China; Aba Nigeria; Nigeria; Sichuan China
• ISSN: 2073-445X; 2073-445X
• DOI: 10.3390/land11111912

A scientific and comprehensive effectiveness evaluation is a prerequisite for clarifying the guiding direction of rural socio-economic development and environmental protection. By using the VlseKriterijumska Optimizacija I Kompromisno Resenje (VIKOR) method and weight combination based on game theory, this paper systematically assessed the integrated effectiveness of rural socio-economic development and environmental protection (IERSE) of Wenchuan County in 2018 from the administrative village scale perspective. Results showed that: (1) VIKOR with combined weight and Jenks Natural Breaks Classification is both comprehensive and feasible for large-sample-size evaluation, such as IERSE assessment. (2) The general IERSE of Wenchuan demonstrated considerable positive outcomes. The villages with favorable scores were located along the northwest-central-southeast, whereas unfavorable ones were principally distributed in the northeast and south-central regions. Local spatial agglomeration of favorable IERSE was found in Miansi, Wolong, and Sanjiang Town, whereas the agglomeration of unfavorable IERSE was seen in Yingxiu and Xuankou Town. (3) The IERSE of Wenchuan is mainly constrained by ecological conservation and villagers’ autonomy from the village-scale perspective. Villages with favorable IERSE are chiefly constrained by the education level of the village heads or Party secretaries, while villages with unfavorable IERSE are restricted by ecological conservation. To improve the IERSE in rural Wenchuan, thoroughly taking into account the restrictive factors of local IERSE is an essential step for putting forward differentiated and targeted recommendations connected with ecological environment management, as well as social development initiatives.