Novel method of ecological damage assessment for intentional destruction of cultural relics and historic sites

Recent years have witnessed a spurt of progress in China’s tourism industry, contributing greatly to the economy, culture, and ecology. Cultural relics and historic sites boast significant value in terms of tourism, economic, ecological service, cultural, and scientific research value, yet the intentional destruction makes it a serious problem threatening human natural and cultural heritage. So far, there is no scientific and standardized method to assess the value of the damaged cultural relics and historic sites and the corresponding ecological compensation. This study fills up a critical gap in developing a new ecological damage assessment method for the intentional destruction of cultural relics and monuments by taking the graffiti of Taishan Mountain, a World Heritage Site in China, as an example. The method consists of four steps: (1) selecting the assessment indicators based on the characteristics of cultural relics and historic sites, (2) obtaining the evaluation weights of the indicators by conducting a questionnaire survey among experts and the public, (3) determining the spatial distribution of the protected areas and the damage grade of the cultural relics and historic sites by using GIS and remote sensing techniques, and (4) calculating the economic value of the damaged cultural relics and historic sites by using the market price method, the travel cost method, and the contingent valuation method. The results show that the total value of ecological damage in the case was 70,588.07 yuan ($9958.11), which was successfully accepted by both parties involved in the case.