An Integrated Framework for the Effectiveness Assessment of Major Function-Oriented Zoning Based on the Dynamic Supply–Demand Relationship of Ecological Resources: A Case Study of Hunan Province, China

Major function-oriented zoning is a comprehensive policy designed to promote coordinated development through rational resource flows between regions in China. However, previous effectiveness assessments of major function-oriented zones have largely neglected the interrelationships and complementarity among different functional zones. To address this gap, this study developed a framework for assessing the effectiveness of major function-oriented zoning by identifying the dynamic supply–demand characteristics of ecological resources and matching major targeted functions with these characteristics to formulate differentiated assessment standards. Empirical results from Hunan Province showed that 62 counties achieved their goals in 2020 (accounting for 50.82%), an increase of 10 counties since 2010. The number of urbanized regions achieving their goals nearly tripled during 2010–2020, indicating that urbanized regions approached their expected functional characteristics markedly faster than the other two zone types. However, the goal-achievement status of key ecological functional regions and main agricultural production regions remained relatively stable over the same period. Most importantly, statistically significant differences existed between goal-achieving and non-achieving counties in the traditional indicators reflecting their major functions; for example, the urbanization rate of goal-achieving urbanized regions was significantly higher than that of non-achieving ones, indirectly verifying the validity and practicality of the proposed framework.