The Protected Areas System Policy Enhances Habitat Quality Conservation Effectiveness in Dongting Lake Eco-Economic Zone

Abstract

Habitat quality (HQ) is a fundamental driver of ecosystem services and critical for promoting sustainable regional development. To preserve HQ in the Yangtze River Basin, a multi-tiered protected areas (PAs) system, including nature reserves, scenic areas, and diverse types of nature parks, has been established in the Dongting Lake Eco-Economic Zone. Here, we assessed the conservation effectiveness of PAs system using the Propensity Score Matching-Difference in Differences (PSM-DID) model across a spatial grid of 10,301 grid cells (1 km × 1 km) and 96 individual PAs. Robustness for control variables and a placebo test for changes in the timing were conducted to ensure the reliability of the findings. The results indicated that the PAs system significantly enhanced HQ conservation at the spatial grid level compared with matched control areas, and substantial effects were observed 10 years post-establishment. Specific PA types—nature reserves, scenic areas, and forest parks —outperformed others in HQ conservation. However, the conservation effectiveness of overlapping areas of different PA types was low, which reflects shortcomings of the traditional design of the PAs system. Only 49.5% of PAs showed positive conservation effectiveness at the individual PAs level, which largely stemmed from the double counting of overlapping areas among different PA types. Additionally, the urban–rural gradient, tourism intensity, and management agency levels were significant determinants of conservation effectiveness. These findings offer pivotal insights for refining policy assessments and underscore the need for tailored management approaches to optimize the effectiveness of the PAs system and advance sustainable regional development.