Regional carrying capacity: case studies of Bohai Rim area

Carrying capacity research has been carried out for a long time. However, synthesized carrying capacity researches based on systematic views began only in the 1970s. There is even less work done in China. This paper tries to address both synthesized carrying capacity research and its utilization in China. State spaces method from the systematic science was borrowed to construct the conceptual model of regional carrying capacity. Based on the conceptual model and the surveys in the Bohai Rim area, we construct a representative indicators system for quantifying regional carrying capacity in the Bohai Rim. While employing system dynamic models we simulated the evolving trend of both the regional carrying states and regional carrying capacity from 1999 to 2015. The results proved the statement that Bohai Rim is overall over-capacity for a long time and will be over-capacity in the foreseeable future. Among all the restriction factors, water shortage and environmental pollution stand out to be the two primary obstacles for Bohai Rims sustainable development. Regional differentiation analysis further indicates that coastal areas of the Bohai Rim burden more than its overall level. However, Shandong province shows some good signs in addressing the regional carrying capacity issues. The research is successful in addressing the quantification of regional carrying capacity issues, but nonetheless it needs further refinery and more information.

Environmental influence of Wuhan urban agglomeration development and strategies of environmental protection

In Wuhan urban agglomeration （WUA）, the population growth and concentration, the industrial development and urban sprawl have been affecting the environment ftmdamentally. Comparing with Yangtze delta metropolitan region, the level of urbanization and industrialization of WUA has lagged behind for about 10 years; but the problems in environmental protection and rehabilitation are commonly serious. In the future, WUA should avoid unnecessary mistakes and seek a win-win strategy for economy and environment in its large-scale development stage. Based on the analysis of the changing of main environmental pollutants and the coupled curves in past decades, the paper discussed the important links among the urban environmental pollutions, industry growth and urban sprawl in WUA. It is concluded that the integration of economic and environmental policies in urban development is more required and significant at the large urban agglomeration region. Four proactive and long-term strategies need to be adopted to provide prior guidance and better protection for the development of WUA.

Basic thoughts and practice of China's regional development planning in new period

Regional development planning is one of the 'hot spots' in the field of human geography in China Based on brief retrospection and reviewing of its development since the 1980s, this paper discusses the basic thoughts of regional development planning under the socialit market economy, i.e.,to work out planning of flexibility, sustainability, multi-objective coordination and high effective practicability. In line with these thoughts, the paper puts forwards boo countermeasure in the practice of working out a high effective regional developmed planning. These countermeasures are to strengthen research on market factors, to take the coordinated development between the economy,society and PRED as the main line of regional development to correctly deal with the relationship between qualitative analysis and quantitative research and to emphasize on researches of regional policies.

Study on optimization of the population system and its coordination with natural resources and environment in the Qaidam Basin

The population system is the only subsystem tha has charecteristic of subjectivity in theregional PRED system. Influenced by the particular status quo of natural resources and environmentconditions, the population subsystem of the Qaidam Basin is very different from those of otherregions'. Based on the on-the-spot investigation to the Qaidam Basin in July 1997, the authors of thispaper sum up several characters of the population subsystem of the Basin. (1) Population mainlyconsisting of the big volume of immigrants and floating population increases very fast. (2) With highpopulation mobility there was great discrepany between the actual number of population (aggregatepopulation) and the statidtical population. (3) Degree of urbanization is very high, and employmentconcentrates mainly on the industrial and teftiary industrial sectors. (4) Sex ratio remains veryunbalanced, especially in the youth group of population which exerts high pressure on employmentand training because of the young age structure. (5) Population quality is relatively high as a wholeWhile educahonal level characterizes the undeveloped regions. In order to predict the futurepopulation of the Basin. according to the characters of population system, this paper puts forward away called dividing-steps-forecast-sum to do the prediction till 2050, use both modeling forecastingmethod and empirical evaluation. The results indicated that the total population of the Basin whllreach 1 .28 million in 2050. Among them, the natural increment and immigrant and floating incrementoccupy 34.99% and 60.86%, respectively, with another 4.13% of special population. In terms ofcharactedstics of population and predicted results as well as the status quo of natural resources andenvironment this paper suggests several thoughts to optimize and adjust the population system of theQaidam Basin. They are, firsuy, to control the number of population as well as improve thepopulation quality, and secondly, to reghate the floating population to assort them withsocioeconomic development in the Basin. Above all, the most important step is to throw high level ofscience and techniqte into the Basin's socioeconomic system to enhance the carrying capacity ofresources and environment and improve the coordinated relationship among population, resources andcnvironment