The Colledge of Life and Environmental Sciences, Minzu University of China, Beijing, China
Email: cuibowen345@gmail.com
Manuscript received June 8, 2026; accepted July 19, 2026; published July 30, 2026
Abstract—The coastal zone, a crucial area for human resources and ecological services, is facing significant ecological damage due to human overexploitation. As economic development shifts towards the ocean, the contradiction between coastal ecosystem protection and economic development intensifies. This paper presents an opportunity cost assessment system for coastal ecological environment protection, focusing on the Beibu Gulf coastal zone. The study reveals that the average annual opportunity cost of the Beibu Gulf coastal ecosystem is 1.36×109 yuan, with government opportunity costs dominating due to strict environmental protection policies. Residents face 4.5×107 yuan, mainly due to limited aquaculture and planting industries, and enterprises face 3.18×107 yuan, mainly due to suspended production and rectification of small and micro enterprises.
Keywords—coastal zone, ecological protection, opportunity cost, beibu gulf
Cite: Bowen Cui, "Cost-benefit Analysis of Ecological Protection in China’s Coastal Zone: A Case Study of the Beibu Gulf Coastal Zone," International Journal of Engineering and Technology, vol. 18, no. 3, pp. 121-124, 2026.
Copyright © 2026 by the authors. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited (
CC BY 4.0).
