Spatiotemporal evolution of sustainable development of China’s provinces:a modelling approach

Three sustainable development sub-indicators were established along with 49 indicators of sustainable development at the provincial level.We collected data for the key years of 2010,2015,and 2018 and evaluated the sustainable development level of 31 provinces in China by using the best and worst value improved equal-weight TOPSIS method.With spatial autocorrelation and hotspot analysis,the spatial characteristics of the sustainable development level were studied.Grey correlation analysis and the offset degree index were also used to find out which indicators should be of most concern to improve the level of sustainable development.The results showed the following.(1)The level of sustainable development of China’s provinces is increasing,but there is a decrease from east to west.(2)In terms of sustainable development,the gap between the four major economic regions is narrowing.(3)The overall sustainable development level is highly consistent with the mainstream green development and the human development index,indicating that exploiting the driving force behind developing and improving the quality of development is the key to China’s sustainable development strategy.(4)Different measures should be taken to promote the realization of Sustainable Development Goals in different areas.

Spatiotemporal change of ecological footprint and sustainability analysis for Yangtze Delta Region

In the urbanizing world,the Yangtze Delta Region （YDR） as one of the most developed regions in China,has drawn a lot of the world＇s attention for the remarkable economic development achieved in the past decades.Nevertheless,the rapid economic development was certain to be accompanied by unprecedented consumption and loss of natural resources.Therefore,the analysis of the ecological situation and driving factors of environmental impact was of great significance to serve the local sustainable development decision-making and build a harmonious society.In this paper,the ecological footprint （EF） was taken as the index of the ecological environmental impact.With the help of Geographic Information System （GIS）,we studied the spatiotemporal change of ecological footprint at two scales （region and city） and assessed urban sustainable development ability in YDR.Then we discussed the driving factors that affected the change of ecological footprint by the Stochastic Impacts by Regression on Population,Affluence,and Technology （STIRPAT） model.The results showed that increasing trends of regional ecological footprint during 1998-2008 （1.70-2.53 ha/cap） were accompanied by decreasing ecological capacity （0.31-0.25 ha/cap） but expanding ecological deficit （1.39-2.28 ha/cap）.The distribution pattern of ecological footprint and the degree of sustainable development varied distinctly from city to city in YDR.In 2008,the highest values of ecological footprint （3.85 ha/cap） and the lowest one of sustainable development index （SDI=1） in YDR were both presented in Shanghai.GDP per capita （A） was the most dominant driving force of EF and the classical EKC hypothesis did not exist between A and EF in 1998-2008.Consequently,increasing in ecological supply and reducing in human demand due to technological advances or other factors were one of the most effective ways to promote sustainable development in YDR.Moreover,importance should be attached to change our definition and measurement of prosperity and success.