Spatial Assessment of Ecosystem Services by New City Development – Case Study in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar

抄録

Ecosystems provide many services not only for the environment, but also for human well-being. Land use and land cover change caused by development activities, have been increasing rapidly, and these are recognized as key factors for human-induced impacts on ecosystems. During the past few decades, ecosystem services (ESs) have deteriorated, especially as a result of urban development at the global scale, and changes have been severe in developing countries. For example, in Myanmar, the new capital city was developed on previously rural land during 2006. Consequently, large land use changes took place and many ESs were destroyed. To compare the loss of ESs before and after the development, spatial analyses of ESs were conducted in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar, as a case study. For the spatial analyses, two satellite images; namely Advance Land Observing Satellite (ALOS) for 2010 and Landsat 7 for 1999 were used for land classification. Information on ESs was collected through literature surveys, and existing unit values for ESs were estimated by using simple methods. Then, priority areas for conservation of ESs were identified by evaluating the spatial analysis results with the Zonation software. Finally, the overall changes in ES provisions due to land use changes were estimated along with the changes in priority areas.