Evaluation of concordance between environment and economy in Qinghai Lake Watershed, Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

Qinghai Lake Watershed (QLW) is a hot place of a series of ecological restoration and environmental remediation programs nowadays. However, little information is available on change of ecosystem service and economic practice in this area. As ecosystem service and natural capital are closely related with social and economic development, an index of concordance between environment and economy (ICEE) has been proposed to compare the annual variation rate of ecosystem service value (RESV) with that of gross domestic product (RGDP). Using this Index, we have assessed concordance between environment and economy (CEE) for the QLW in the period 1977–2004. The result showed that from 1977 to 2004, the ecosystem service value in the QLW descended from 128.81×108 yuan to 127.32×108 yuan; In contrast, the GDP increased from 0.931×108 yuan to 8.856×108 yuan. The values of the ICEE were −1.14, −0.22, and −0.14 in the stages of 1977–1987, 1987–2000 and 2000–2004, respectively. The result indicated that during the first stage 1977–1987, the relationship between environment and economy in the QLW was not concordant but at a high conflict; from 1987 to 2004, there was a low conflict between environment and economy, and the CEE appeared to increase slowly. Analysis of the assessment results showed that the national policies and industrial adjustment practice play an important role in the CEE changes.