A Study on Dynamic Gross Ecosystem Product (GEP) Accounting, Spatial Patterns, and Value Realization Pathways in Alpine Regions: A Case Study of Golog Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province, China

Promoting the value realization of ecological products is a central issue in practicing the concept that “lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets.” This is particularly urgent for alpine regions, which are vital ecological security barriers but face stringent developmental constraints. This study takes Golog Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Qinghai Province as a case study. It establishes a Gross Ecosystem Product (GEP) accounting framework tailored to the characteristics of alpine ecosystems and conducts continuous empirical accounting for the period 2020–2023. The findings reveal that: (i) The total GEP of Golog is immense (reaching 655.586 billion yuan in 2023) but exhibits significant dynamic non-stationarity driven by climatic fluctuations, with a coefficient of variation as high as 11.48%. (ii) The value structure of the GEP is highly unbalanced, with regulatory services contributing over 97.6%. Water conservation and biodiversity protection are the two pillars, highlighting its role as a supplier of public ecological products and the predicament of market failure. (iii) The spatial distribution of GEP is highly heterogeneous. Maduo County, comprising 34% of the prefecture’s land area, contributes 48% of its total GEP, with its value per unit area being 1.68 times that of Gande County, revealing the spatial agglomeration of key ecosystem services. To address the dynamic, structural, and spatial constraints identified by these quantitative features, this paper proposes synergistic realization pathways centered on “monetizing regulatory services,” “precision policy regulation,” and “capacity and institution building”. The aim is to overcome the systemic bottlenecks—“difficulties in measurement, trading, coarse compensation, and weak incentives”—in alpine ecological functional zones. This provides a systematic theoretical and practical solution for fostering a virtuous cycle between ecological conservation and regional sustainable development.

• Publication year

  2026

• Venue

  Sustainability

• Publication date

  2026-01-16

• Fields of study

  Not labeled

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.3390/su18020918
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

• Contributions of stakeholder perspectives and biophysical mapping to assess ecosystem services in the Upper White Nile basin

  2025cited by this paper
• Integrating Expert Assessments and Spectral Methods to Evaluate Visual Attractiveness and Ecosystem Services of Urban Informal Green Spaces in the Context of Climate Adaptation

  2025cited by this paper
• Optimizing the Valuation and Implementation Path of the Gross Ecosystem Product: A Case Study of Tonglu County, Hangzhou City

  2024cited by this paper
• National mapping and assessment of ecosystem services projects in Europe – Participants’ experiences, state of the art and lessons learned

  2024cited by this paper
• Green Finance and Value Realization of Forest Ecological Products in Karst Areas: A Mediating-Effect Perspective Based on the Level of Karst Desertification

  2024cited by this paper
• A Review of Research on Progress in the Theory and Practice of Eco-Product Value Realization

  2024cited by this paper
• A Review of Eco-Product Value Realization and Eco-Industry with Enlightenment toward the Forest Ecosystem Services in Karst Ecological Restoration

  2023cited by this paper
• A Commented Review of Eco-Product Value Realization and Ecological Industry and Its Enlightenment for Agroforestry Ecosystem Services in the Karst Ecological Restoration

  2023cited by this paper
• Challenges to understanding and managing cultural ecosystem services in the global South

  2022cited by this paper
• Gross ecosystem product：concept, accounting framework and case study

  2013cited by this paper
• A typology for the classification, description and valuation of ecosystem functions, goods and services

  2002cited by this paper
• The value of the world's ecosystem services and natural capital

  1997cited by this paper
• Human population and the global environment.

  1974cited by this paper

• No citing papers are available for this paper.