SIGNATURE WORK
CONFERENCE & EXHIBITION 2024

Wetlands play a vital role in preserving biodiversity and offering essential ecosystem services, but the rapid urbanization in China has led to substantial degradation and loss of these critical ecosystems.
This project aims to understand the impact of urbanization on wetland dynamics and explore the underlying driving forces for these changes through a case study of the Suzhou area. I investigated the dynamics of Suzhou’s land portion of wetland for the years 1985-2020 and established correlations with real GDP per capita to determine if the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) exists.
This study contributes to the literature of wetland conservation at local level and provided crucial implications for wetland management and urban planning in achieving sustainable development.