Ecosystem Services Demand and Supply in a City Region: Implications for Regional Spatial Planning in Mekelle City

The provision of ecosystem services is determined by three factors: supply, demand, and flow. The study looked into both the demand and supply sides, as well as the spatial and temporal variations between supply and demand, from the perspective of a city region. To investigate the mismatch between demand and supply both quantitative and qualitative sources of data were employed. Landsat data, expert knowledge, document review, and qualitative data including key informant interview was utilized. The land-use patterns analyses show that ecosystem services flow in the city surroundings are higher than those within Mekelle city’s administrative boundary. Land use/land cover dynamics were the main drivers of ecosystem services supply decline in the Mekelle city region. Those changes negatively affected the capacity of ecosystems to provide goods and services to the growing urban and rural populations. This supply of bundles of ecosystem services did not match the demands of the society which endangered the sustainable utilization of natural capital. The results disclose land-use patterns over time and space as well as the capacities of different ecosystems to provide sustainable ecosystem services supply are declining. On the contrary, demands for these services are increasing due to the growth of the population and economic activities. The study can support spatial planners in addressing the sustainable use of watershed ecosystem services.