Study on methodology of assessing synergy between conservation and development of karst protected area in the case of the Diehong Bridge Scenic Area of Jiuxiang Gorge Cave Geopark, Yunnan, China

The synergy between conservation and development of the protected area is involved in stakeholders’ trade-off for the future of the protected area. The paper designed the methodology of assessing the synergy featuring three groups of attributes’ index, being naturalness index, functionality one and territoriality one, respectively, and was practiced in the Diehong Bridge Scenic Area (DBSA) of the Jiuxiang Gorge Cave Geopark of Yunnan Province(China). The DBSA is characteristic of the integration of surficial landscapes with underground ones as well as Yi nationality culture and is of significance in karst geomorphology and regional resource environment. The DBSA’s naturalness index of 7.30 revealed it was mainly composed of the secondary landscapes. Its functionality index of 7.58 implied that it was a developing scenic area in contribution to regional development and nature conservation. And its territoriality index of 6.8 demonstrated that its industry was at transitional phase in contribution to communities and residents’ well being. The assessed results gave new directions for improving the DBSA’s management that is naturalizing the managed landscapes focusing on secondary vegetation, and perfecting industry structure of tourist six elements especially in local characteristic products and local service, improving local residents’ participation in both management and products development of local cultural and special product resources.