What are the benefits of strictly protected nature reserves? Rapid assessment of ecosystem service values in Wanglang Nature Reserve, China

- Strictly regulated nature reserves provide highly valuable ecosystem services.
- Strict protection provides benefits in terms of carbon stores and recreation.
- National and global benefits outweighed costs to local livelihoods.
- This state could be replicated by managing the same area with alternative approaches.
- Paying mechanism for ecosystem services should be implemented to ensure conservation and livelihoods are balanced.

Despite broad recognition that nature reserves protect local biodiversity and rare species effectively, the wider benefits and costs provided by this conservation approach relative to alternative approaches are not well understood. This study addressed this research gap by quantifying differences in ecosystem services provision of two alternative conservation management approaches in a strictly protected nature reserve in China based on (1) existing strict regulations versus (2) extrapolation of those in an adjacent Natural Forest Protection Project (NFPP) allowing the use of natural resources by local communities. Using a new Toolkit for Ecosystem Services Site-based Assessment (TESSA), we demonstrated the nature reserve provides more valuable ecosystem services than it would have done if managed like the adjacent NFPP. In comparison, the nature reserve provides greater benefits in terms of carbon stock, carbon sequestration, and recreation, at the national and global scale. The monetary benefits of the nature reserve could cover all conservation management costs, making it a more worthwhile approach for conservation and beneficiaries. Thus, our study highlights the importance of strictly protected nature reserves in China, demonstrating the importance of balancing conservation and development to governmental managers and local residents, and could be used to guide eco-compensation for local beneficiaries.