Assessment of the Implementation Effects of Main Functional Area Planning in the Yangtze River Economic Belt

The Yangtze River Economic Belt, relying on the golden waterway of the Yangtze River, serves not only as a vital industrial and urban stronghold in China but also bears the significant responsibility of the Yangtze River’s major conservation efforts. The implementation of the main functional zones within the economic belt can provide regional synergies for development and protection through the optimization and organization of spatial structures, which is conducive to promoting the green and high-quality development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt in accordance with local conditions. In pursuit of these objectives, this paper utilizes multi-source data and selects corresponding indicators based on the main form of functional zoning to analyze the land protection and development patterns of the Yangtze River Economic Belt and to assess the effectiveness of the main functional zone planning implementation. The findings reveal that the enactment of main functional area planning has incrementally enhanced the level of land development and conservation in terms of certain aspects across the Yangtze River Economic Belt. This is evidenced by the burgeoning expansion of construction land in areas earmarked for optimization and pivotal development, bolstered by robust population and economic concentration capabilities, alongside a surge in per capita output. Moreover, ecological lands within critical ecological function zones exhibited signs of rejuvenation. Nonetheless, the outcomes are not universally aligned with the anticipated goals: the expanse of arable land in primary agricultural production zones has contracted, accompanied by a downturn in the proportion of grain output; the proliferation of construction land within key ecological function zones continues unabated, and ecological lands have experienced reductions over various intervals. The main functional zones have yet to fully embrace and enact protective strategies, highlighting an urgent need for more formidable institutional frameworks to guarantee their rigorous enforcement.