Matching Ecosystem Services Supply and Demand through Land Use Optimization: A Study of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Megacity

Shortfalls and mismatches between the supply and demand of ecosystem services (ES) can be detrimental to human wellbeing. Studies focused on these problems have increased in recent decades, but few have applied land use optimization to reduce such spatial mismatches. This study developed a methodology to identify ES mismatches and then use these mismatches as objectives for land use optimization. The methodology was applied to the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao “Greater Bay Area” (GBA), a megacity of over 70 million people and one of the world’s largest urban agglomerations. Considering the demand for a healthy and secure living environment among city-dwellers, we focused on three ES: heat mitigation, flood mitigation, and recreational services. The results showed large spatial heterogeneity in supply and demand for these three ES. However, compared to current conditions in the GBA, our model showed that optimized land use allocation could better match the supply and demand for heat mitigation (number of beneficiaries increased by 15%), flood mitigation (amount of population exposed to flood damage decreased by 37%), and recreation (number of beneficiaries increased by 14%). By integrating land use allocation and spatial mismatch analysis, this methodology provides a feasible way to align ES supply and demand to advance urban and regional sustainability.