Objectives for nature conservation inherently conflict with
objectives of economic development. However, the zoning map
produced by our approach shows that high suitability values for
conservation purposes were spatially segregated from areas better
suited for economic development. Higher elevation regions
above 2500 m contained many of the important conservation targets
that were best suited for conservation whereas the lower
elevation along the Lancang River was best suited for economic
development as this was where most of the villages and roads were
located. Thus, the final combined suitability map (Fig. 6) clearly
showed that priority areas for conservation and priority areas for
economic development could be easily separated. However, in
MSMNP, several villages and farmlands are located at higher elevations
within the conservation areas, and there exists the potential
for conflicts between conservation and development needs of local
people in these villages. For instance, in order to develop tourism
and increase accessibility, Yubeng village (altitude
∼3100 m) proposed
to build a road from the Lancang River up a narrow, steep
valley to their village. However, road construction as such would