As China's first coastal wetland-type World Natural Heritage, the sustainable development practice of the Yancheng Yellow Sea Wetlands is an important embodiment of thoroughly implementing Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization and coordinating ecological protection with the balanced development of economy and society. Currently, the Yancheng Yellow Sea Wetlands have a solid foundation in ecological monitoring and restoration. However, relying solely on ecological parameter evaluation makes it difficult to comprehensively and scientifically grasp the dynamics of its socio-economic development. Improving and perfecting the socio-economic monitoring system holds significant practical significance for realizing the green, low-carbon, and sustainable development of the Yellow Sea Wetlands.

Conducting Systematic Data Monitoring to Cover Key Development Dimensions

The construction of the socio-economic monitoring system for the Yancheng Yellow Sea Wetlands should be based on the framework of UNESCO's Biosphere Reserve Integrated Monitoring (BRIM) program, fully draw on the successful experience of internationally advanced monitoring systems such as "SOM Watt" of the European Wadden Sea Wetlands, and at the same time, rooted in Yancheng's actual conditions, strengthen socio-economic monitoring from multiple dimensions.

• Strengthen regional development monitoring: Relying on official data from the government and embedded institutions, dynamically collect and analyze information such as tourist arrivals, overnight stays, consumption structure, employment driving rate of related industries, and income changes in surrounding communities. Establish a correlation model between eco-tourism economy and regional development to scientifically assess the actual contribution of the wetland heritage to the local economy.

• Strengthen monitoring of tourist experience and behavioral trends: Conduct regular questionnaire surveys at key locations such as the Jiangsu Yancheng Wetland National Nature Reserve for Rare Birds and Dongtai Tiaozini, covering content including tourist satisfaction, consumption preferences, environmental awareness, and revisit intention. Utilize big data to analyze changes in tourist structure, behavioral trajectories, and experience needs, providing a basis for optimizing environmental protection publicity and tourism services.

• Strengthen monitoring of regional identity and residents' perceptions: Conduct regular public opinion surveys to understand the attitudes, participation levels, sense of gain, and suggestions of community residents in the region regarding wetland protection and tourism development. Promote the formation of social consensus on protection and development, and enhance public support for policies and measures as well as social resilience.

Empowering Management Decisions with Digital Intelligence to Promote In-depth Integration of Protection and Development

By empowering the construction of the socio-economic monitoring system for the Yellow Sea Wetlands with digital intelligence, promote a profound transformation of the regional governance model from traditional experience-based decision-making to scientific data-driven decision-making. This enables management decisions to be based on solid multi-source data and dynamic analysis, more accurately coordinating the organic unity of ecological, economic, and social benefits.

• Multi-source data integration to establish a cognitive baseline: Integrate core indicators of regional tourism development such as tourist volume, consumption structure, and length of stay, as well as social perception data including the visibility of the wetland reserve, residents' and tourists' satisfaction, and environmental behavioral intentions. Combine with ecosystem health indicators such as bird population size, water quality, and climate change to build a multi-dimensional correlation analysis model. Precisely quantify the contribution of the wetland ecosystem to the regional socio-economy and the degree of loss of the wetland ecosystem caused by tourism and the urbanization of coastal communities, providing a panoramic perspective for comprehensive governance.

• Dynamic process analysis to warn of critical risks: Rely on real-time monitoring networks and big data platforms to dynamically track and automatically alert key indicators such as tourist capacity, community residents' income status, and ecologically sensitive indicators. Meanwhile, build prediction models based on historical data and current trends. Scientifically assess the wetland tourism carrying capacity, warn of ecological risks, and prevent over-development. Accurately capture emerging formats and consumption trends, promote in-depth integration of wetland cultural tourism with ecological education, health and wellness sports, cultural creativity, and other formats, and cultivate new drivers of green development.

• Quantification of ecological value to promote natural appreciation: Establish a wetland ecosystem service accounting system that meets international standards and reflects regional characteristics. Precisely measure the physical quantity and value quantity of core functions such as carbon sequestration, disaster buffering, water purification, biodiversity conservation, and cultural tourism services. By transforming "intangible ecology" into "tangible assets", provide quantitative basis for optimizing ecological compensation measures, innovating community participation models, and improving the interest distribution system. Enhance the scientific nature of policies and raise the level of refined management and sustainable development capacity of the Yellow Sea Wetlands.

Building a Shared Data Platform to Expand International Cooperation and Communication Space

Set up a socio-economic monitoring data portal on the official website of the Yancheng Yellow Sea Wetlands World Natural Heritage, releasing core indicators such as tourism, employment, and community satisfaction in real time. Conduct data sharing with international monitoring platforms such as SOM Watt of the European Wadden Sea and Eye-on-the-Reef of Australia's Great Barrier Reef, and build a transnational wetland "digital twin circle of friends". Publish the Yancheng Yellow Sea Wetlands Socio-Economic Monitoring Report.

Actively promote the "Yancheng Model" internationally, submit the socio-economic monitoring model of the Yellow Sea Wetlands to the selection of IUCN's "World Heritage Best Practice Guidelines", and strive to include it in the Global Wetland Conservation Guidelines. Develop a low-cost and replicable "Wetland Socio-Economic Monitoring Toolkit" and promote it to countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative. Form a replicable and promotable sustainable development plan for natural heritage, providing practical reference for China and similar regions around the world, and enhancing the international communication power, regional attractiveness, and discourse power of the Yancheng Wetlands.

(Xu Dongyang is a Researcher at the Yancheng Local Culture International Communication Research Center; Ye Lei is the Executive Director of the Yancheng International Communication Research Center for Local Culture. This article was published in Yanfu People‘s Daily on December 1, 2025)