Integrated Evaluation And Sustainable Development Strategy Of Eco-Agricultural Tourism Agglomeration Around Taihu Lake

The ecological agriculture tourism (EAT) in domestic presents swift and violent development tendency. The author takes Suzhou, Wuxi, Changzhou, Huzhou which located around Taihu Lake as the research region and ecological agriculture traveling as research object. Based on the explaining of EAT resources concepts and their classifications, this thesis designs synthetic evaluation system and investigates its resources to analize its development condition. The author also uses ecological footprint analysis method to establishe a new mathematical models to evaluate its sustainable development. Finally, some strategies are put forward for EAT sustainable development. The main coclusions are as follows:The research of EAT in the domestic has about ten years history. The investigation indicated that the development of EAT in many areas not only failed to protect the environment, promote development and harmony of people, but also there was a blind imitation, duplication or even the ecological had been destroyed. However, most of EAT projects were related to modern agriculture and ecological agriculture, and EAT scenic areas were mainly constructed in the countryside region. Meanwhile, the employees for EAT majorly come from the local farmer. Thus, suitable EAT projects will play a great role in agricultural development, farmer life improvement and rural development in China. So far as around the Taihu Lake area, EAT had more duty which to protect the key resources of Taihu Lake, control Taihu Lake, enhance agricultural services for natural ecosystems, promote agriculture structure adjustment and so on. Therefore, research on EAT around Taihu Lake not only has practical significance for the local development, but also will have important and typical references to the nationwide development.Since the limit of theoretical research on EAT in China, there were several major problems which could affect the development of EAT. Firstly, the concept of EAT was not clear, which may influence the academic standard and exchange for EAT research. Secondly, there was no unified standard for the classification of EAT resources, which may impact the resources survey and planning. Thirdly, there was no unified index system for the situation appraisal of EAT destinations, which in turn will affect the EAT comparison between different regions. Finally, there was lack of suitable mathematical models for evaluation of EAT sustainable development, which may consequently influence the following coordinated development. According to the literature review, there were more than ten kinds of concepts related to EAT in the domestic academic circles, such as agritourism, sightseeing agriculture tourism, farms tourism, rural tourism, urban agriculture tourism, agro-eco-tourism, ecological agriculture tourism, agricultural ecological tourism, agritainment and so on. Literatures review showed that there existed intrinsic unity among these concepts, such as the main research area of countryside, the main study content of agriculture and the main employees of farmers. Therefore, this research proposed that ecological agriculture tourism could be used as the unified concept, because it conformed to the origin of concepts, the trend of development requirement, the need of academic exchanges, the trend of ecology movement tidal and the scholarly custom of EAT research.Since these four cities around Taihu lake are located in Yangtze River delta center and well-known traveling destination whatever domestic and foreign, EAT developing conditions, patterns, experiences and etc had typical significance for the local development references in the nationwide scale. Therefore, the author put forward tentative plan that an idea to construct Eco-agricultural Tourism Agglomeration around Taihu Lake (EATATL). Taking account for the natural, the social economy, the policy, the industrial, the resources, and the labor force condition and so on, the author elaborated the great significance of EATATL establishment. It is a new region economic integration organization. This idea has the feasibility, necessity and probability. The researcher also pointed out that to take emerging EAT as the touchstone can accumulate experience of industrial reforming, realize the coordination development truly, avoid the building redundant project, and reduce the resources waste. At the same time, it can act as the model for the other area development.To date, there is lack of classification standard of EAT resources, the refence standards for the concept of EAT resources and classification were put forward in this paper. According to these standards, the region, industrial and beneficiary should be the first. This means that EAT resources have primary agriculture function in countryside region, and the farmers are the beneficiary of EAT. The resources were divided into six kinds, including countryside ecological environment, traditional features construction and design, modern agriculture characteristic demonstration point, traditional agricultural production activity, characteristic native product and craft as well as humanities and folk custom use. This classification standard can meet with the need of resources investigation and statistics work for EATATL in future. In order to study the distribution situation and quantity of EAT resources in this area, the researcher used questionnaire, visiting and survey methods, including 300 questionnaires and visited 20 scenic spots. The result showed that the total numbers of resources were more than 1100, in which modern agriculture characteristic and demonstration points were above 600. When aiming at human resources, production situation and traveling project, the situations are in great abundance, fruitful and multifarious. The investigation result indicated that EATATL had many characteristics and superiority to develop EAT. For instance, it owns many and various resources, and most of the farmers have participation will, as well as government policy support and so on. At the same time, there are four major problems can block its progress, namely strong homogeneity, redundant project, disorderly competition and serious pollution.How to estimate the present situation of EAT destination quantificationally is the hot topic in domestic because there is no unified appraisal index system. The method of analytic hierarchy process (AHP) is one suitable research method. In order to manifest versatility, serviceability and commensurability of appraisal index system, the four principles were proposed and were used to create index system. They were principle which union the issues of agriculture, peasant and rural area, principle which union life, product and ecology, principle which union great agriculture, great ecology and great tourism, principle which union social benefit, economic efficiency and environment benefit. The appraisal index system which was used to evaluate situation of EATATL was made up of three levels and twenty seven indicators. In order to manifest objectivity and scientific, reduce subjective and capriciousness, the researcher used the Delphi method to construct analysis system, so as to analysis process results, obtain the score order of influence factors and propose the developmental strategy finally. The result finally was about 8.6. In conclusion, EATATL is successful and influential ecological agriculture traveling destination. At the same time, the research has discovered that the condition of tourists source, EAT resources, characteristic village settlement, environmental protection, social influence and propaganda are main significant influence factors for its industry development.How to keep sustainable development with current resources and others conditions is the main topic in the next part. EFA (Ecological Footprint Analyses) method becomes into the main and popular tool which is used to compute and evaluate the status of region sustainable development research. The author proposed new ecological footprint analyses model to calculate its footprint, which made up of transportation, lodging, dining, shopping, entertainment, tour and waste. Lastly, the per capita TEC was about 0.14 ha, while the value of per capita TEF was 0.03 ha. That is to say, there is ecological remainder and the value is 0.11 ha. It means that EAT in this area is in sustainable development status.Summary, the establishment of EATATL has ripe conditions and suitable opportunity. And now, it is a successful and influential ecological agriculture traveling destination and eco-agriculture tourism in this area is in sustainable development status. This research enriches basic theory of domestic ecological agriculture tourism, present situation analysis system as well as the sustainable development assessment method and models.