Beijing, 25 November 2016: UNEP-IEMP’s Ph.D candidate Jialin HE successfully completed her doctorate on “Urban Green Space (UGS) Recreational Service – A Case Study of Beijing Olympic Forest Park.”
The study was conducted from 2012 to 2016. It assumes significance as the current understanding of UGS recreational service is limited since it has not been examined from an ecosystem service perspective. The dissertation proposed a conceptual model of UGS recreational service aligning with the ecosystem service generation, bridging the knowledge gap and supporting the use of ecosystem management approach in the UGS sector.
The key findings of the study are as follows：
UGS recreational service conceptual model:
The model comprised of four modules a) UGS features b) population characteristics c) recreation behavior d) recreation benefits under three broad categories: service potential, service mobilization and service realization. The proposed model is a tool for UGS management. Results from UGS recreational service assessment can be referred while making UGS management interventions, particularly pertaining to improving efficiency in generating recreational benefits and enhancing equity for recreational use.
Relationship between landscape structure and service potential:
The study indicates that different landscape structures contribute to service potential differently. Areas with higher level of vegetation and water coverage have higher service potential, as compared to areas with relatively large percentage of man-made architecture.
Health benefits:
The study observes that an additional visit to the park in a month leads to 0.03 decrease in perceived stress score, indicating improvement of physiological health. Over-weight people are inclined to visit the park frequently. However, if it actually led to weight reduction, needs to be further studied.
Policy implications:
a) Health benefits from UGS recreation service have the potential to save cost from public health sector. The study recommends using the proposed conceptual model as a framework to conduct UGS recreational service assessment. Such assessment will help brief policy makers with information on the status of UGS use, scope and ways of improvement to enable better UGS management.
b) Recreational service potential for UGS in Beijing can be enhanced by strengthening the proportion of deciduous vegetation.
c) UGS visiting frequency can be improved by creating a friendly environment for walking and cycling.
Exploring various measures to enhance knowledge of UGS would also be beneficial.
Key result of this study is published in Ecological Economics titled Urban green space recreational service assessment and management: A conceptual model based on the service generation process.
