Evaluation of the water resources carrying capacity of Shandong peninsula, China

Research on the carrying capacity and security of water resources is vital for its contribution to implementing sustainable development goals. The limitation of water resources is one of the most important factors that influence the sustainable utilization of resources. Studying the carrying capacity of water resources will not only facilitate monitoring and forecast of national resources and environmental carrying capacity, but also be valuable for building ecological civilization. According to the principles of evaluation system, the carrying capacity of water resources on Shandong peninsula is explored. A comprehensive evaluation model of the carrying capacity of water resources is constructed based on the carrying capacity of water resources index and the composite of water resources index. The results show that the capacity of water resources on Shandong peninsula is generally consistent with overexploitation, and that the development and utilization of water resources has reached a considerable scale under existing economic and technological conditions. The carrying capacity of water resources in this region is relatively small, and the contradiction between supply and demand of water resources is alarming. Relative countermeasures are put forward, to improve the water resources carrying capacity and to provide a basis for future sustainable development and utilization of water resources in this region.

China's Land Carrying Capacity Based on Man-grain Relationships

With population growth and increasing pressure on land resources,land carrying capacity(LCC) and food safety have been attracting great attention worldwide.From the point of man-grain relationship and by establishing LCC and land carrying capacity index(LCCI) models,this article firstly analyzes the spatial-temporal dynamics of LCC of China from 1949 to 2005 at county,provincial and national levels.Choosing 2005 as a representative year,this article then evaluates the LCC of 264 pastoral regions(semipastoral regions),663 urban regions and 592 poverty stricken regions of the country.The results show that:(1) from 1949 to 2005,with the increase of grain production,the LCC of China has been improved conspicuously,but due to the rapid population growth,the production can only maintain a low level grain consumption;(2) over the past 25 years(1980-2005),the number of population overloading provinces decreased from 23 to 15 and the mangrain relationship has been improved gradually,but there were more overloading provinces than surplus provinces in China;(3) at county level,there were 1572 overloading counties in 1980 accounting for 68.26% of the total counties of the country and where were 649 million people lived,while in 1990,2000 and 2005,the number of overloading counties were 1066,1133 and 1087 respectively,which shows that the man-grain relationship has been improved obviously during the past 25 years;as for spatial distribution,the surplus counties were mainly concentrated in agriculture developed regions,such as Northeast Plain,North China Plain,middle and lower Reaches of the Yangtze River Plain,and overloading counties were mainly located in regions with poor natural environment and low grain production capacity,such as Northwest China,Tibetan Plateau and Loess Plateau and economically developed urban regions,such as Beijing,Tianjin and Shanghai;(4) animal husbandry improved greatly the LCC of pastoral and semi-pastoral regions,while urban regions were overloading for increasing population pressure and more than half of poverty stricken regions were overloading due to critical natural environment and poor economic conditions.

Spatial patterns of ecological carrying capacity supply-demand balance in China at county level

A balanced ecological carrying capacity and its understanding are important to achieve sustainable development for human kind.Here,the concept of ecological carrying capacity has been used for measuring the dependencies between human and nature.China＇s ecological balance between supply and demand has become a global concern and is widely debated.In this study the ＇Ecological Footprint＇ method was used to analyze the supply-demand balance of China＇s ecological carrying capacity.Firstly,the ecological supply and demand balance was calculated and evaluated,and secondly,the ecological carrying capacity index （ECCI） was derived for each county of China in 2007,and finally this paper systematically evaluated the ecological carrying capacity supply-demand balance of China.The results showed that ecological deficit appeared to be the main characteristic of ecological carrying capacity supply-demand balance in 2007 of China at county scale.In general,more than four-fifths of the Chinese population was concentrated in less than one-third of the land area and more than two-thirds of the land area was inhabited by less than one-fifth of the population.The spatial distribution of the ecological carrying capacity demand-supply was unbalanced ranging from significant overloading to affluence from southeastern to northwestern part of China.It appeared to be more dominant in regions located at coastal areas which are attracted by migrants and had a generally higher population density.Along with the rapid development and urbanization trends in China,ecological deficits in these regions will become more severe.

Exploitation, Utilization Status, and Development Prospects of Water Resources in Ningbo City

Water resources insufficiency is one of the bottlenecks that restrict sustainable socio-economic development in Ningbo city. Good handling of the relationship between water resources utilization and development is of great significance for the realization of continuous economic growth and sustainable socio-economic development. This study systematically evaluated water resources utilization with respect to water supply and demand. Water resources development and utilization prospects and regional differences were then assessed at multiple scales, at both county/district and city level in Ningbo city, using the water resources carrying index. Results showed that：（1） The volume of water resources supply and consumption gradually rose each year, with surface water as the primary source and groundwater as the secondary source. Regarding consumption, industrial water consumption was the primary element, and domestic and environmental water consumption were the secondary elements. Even though the use of water resources for irrigation, secondary and, tertiary industry were becoming more efficient, comprehensive per capita water consumption was gradually increasing.（2） The water resources carrying index for Ningbo city fluctuated in the range of 4.51–23.35 during 2001–2015; the degree of water resource utilization and potential exploitation evaluation of water resources were not stable. The average value of the water resources carrying index was 11.68; the degree of utilization of water resources was very high, and the introduction of water from external water bodies was necessary, to the extent external source were available.（3） Future water resources exploitation will be quite difficult in Ningbo city, especially in Cixi county, Ningbo municipal district and Yuyao county. So the introduction of external water as a supplemental source will be required.

基于水资源承载力的中亚水资源可持续利用评价

Situated in the hinterland of Eurasia,Central Asia is characterized by an arid climate and sparse rainfall.The uneven spatial distribution of water and land resources across the region has pressured economic and social development.An accurate understanding of Central Asia’s water resources carrying capacity(WRCC)is vital for enhancing the sustainability of water resources utilization and guiding regional economic and social activities.This study aims to facilitate the sustainability of water resources utilization by evaluating the region’s WRCC from the viewpoints of economic and technological conditions and social welfare.A concise yet effective model with relatively fewer parameters was established by adopting water resources data from the Food and Agriculture Organization(FAO)and socioeconomic data from the World Bank.The results indicated that the WRCC of all five Central Asian countries showed an increasing trend with improved water use efficiency from 1995 to 2020.Kazakhstan’s WRCC was significantly higher than the other four countries,reaching 54.03 million people in 2020.The water resources carrying index(WRCI)of the five Central Asian countries varied considerably,with the actual population sizes of Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan highly overloaded.Although there has been a decrease in Central Asian countries’WRCI between 1995 and 2020,water resources utilization problems in the region remain prominent.Based on the water resources carrying capacity evaluation system,to increase available water resources and improve production water use efficiency are key to address these issues.In light of this,this study offers practical and feasible solutions at the policy level:(1)The implementation of signed multilateral agreements on transboundary water resources allocation must proceed through joint governmental efforts.(2)Investments in advancing science and technology need to be increased to improve water use efficiency in irrigation systems.(3)The output of water-intensive crops should be reduced.(4)The industrial structure could be further optimized so that non-agricultural uses are the primary drivers of gross domestic product(GDP)growth.