Evaluation of Ecological Sustainability Based on Ecological Footprint in Hunan Province

To make clear ecological sustainable development in Hunan Province, biomass resources and the energy consumption indexes of Hunan Province in 2013 were selected, and quantity analysis of the regional ecological consumption and the ecological carrying capacity was carried out using the ecological footprint method. The results showed that the net ecological deficit per capita was 1.718 hm2 in 2013 in Hunan Province, which indicated the regional development was beyond the scope of ecological carrying capacity. So, according to the present unsustainable situation, the corresponding development suggestions were put forward.

Geographical distribution of ecological footprint and sustainability analysis for Liaoning Province

This paper presents the detailed results and analyses on the ecological footprints and bio-capacities of the individual cities and the province as a whole for the year 2001, providing a clear picture of sustainability for the province. Results show that the ecological footprints of most cities in Liaoning exceeded their respective bio-capacities, incurring high ecological deficits. The ecological deficit of the province as a whole was 1.31 ha/cap. Those cities with resources extraction and/or primary material-making as their major industries constitute the "ecologically black band", whose ecological deficits ranged from 2.45 to 5.23 ha/cap, the highest of all cities in the province. Fossil energy consumption was the major source of footprint amounting to 1.63 ha/cap at the provincial level, taking up 67.3% of the total. For cropland, modest ecological surpluses occurred in Jinzhou, Tieling, Huludao, and Panjin while modest ecological deficits in Dalian, Benxi, Fushun, and Dandong, resulting in an overall surplus for the province. Liaoning had a certain level of surplus in fishing ground (water area), mainly distributed in the coastal cities of Dalian, Panjin, Huludao, Yingkou, Jinzhou, and Dandong. Most cities had a small ecological deficit in pasture and all had a small ecological surplus in forest. The eco-efficiency, expressed as GDP value per hectare of footprint, exhibits high variations among the cities, with the highest (Shenyang) more than 10 times the lowest (Fuxin). Cities with manufacture, high-tech, and better developed service industries had high eco-efficiency, while those with resources extraction, primary material-making, and less developed service industries had low eco-efficiency. Based on the components and geographical distribution of ecological footprint, strategic policy implications are outlined for Liaoning’s development toward a sustainable future.

Consumptive ecological footprint and productive ecological footprint: a modification on ecological footprint theory to evaluate regional sustainable development

Ecological footprint theory and its application achievements in global and regional sustainable development systems are studied by consulting the published literature, which finds that the application of ecological footprint theory to regional sustainability evaluation has leaded to a perplexity that the indicated result was inconsistent with the philosophy of sustainable development theory. Illuminated by the mechanical system of the movement of matters, it comes up that ecological footprint based on consumption of biologic production could not tell whether the ecological pressure acts on the specified region, and the original ecological footprint theory also undervalued the development impartiality of a region. A modification on this theory is made by introducing consumptive ecological footprint and productive ecological footprint, in which the latter is taken as the indicator of regional sustainability. The development impartiality can be demonstrated by comparison between the global ecological deficit per capita and regional consumptive ecological deficit per capita.

Status of and Strategies for the Planning and Design, Maintenance and Management of Chinese Urban Green Land——Application of Ecological Concepts in This Field

The sustainability of the planning and design goals of urban green land and that of its maintenance and management are mutually related and act as an organic whole. For a long time, the independence of the two is more prominent than their organic connection. This research has made preliminary considerations from three aspects. First, it concerns infusing the concept of ecology, contemplating and demonstrating space, as well as reducing the incidence of plant diseases and insect pests of urban green land. Second, the arrangement of flowers and trees for the planning and design of urban green land should comply with the biological attributes of flowers and trees to realize the organic unification of biological and scenic attributes of flowers and trees. Third, the planning and design of urban green land should attach importance to the organic unification of biological and scenic attributes of lawn grass seeds and reduce the difficulty of maintaining lawn. This research attempts to reduce the pressure of maintaining urban green land from the beginning, i.e. the planning and design of urban green land. It also tries to reduce the cost of maintenance and management to the realize planning and design goals of urban green land and the sustainability concerning its maintenance and management and arrive at the mutual unification of the planning and design as well as maintenance and management of urban green land.

Forestry ecological footprint in China during 1973–2003

The ecological footprint （EF） model has received much attention as an assessment indicator for sustainable development in recent years. Firstly, the temporal changes of domestic timber production, imports and exports in China were analyzed from 1973 to 2003, the analysis results showed an apparent fluctuation in timber production during 1973-1995 but a decreasing trend during 1995-2002, an increasing trend in timber imports since 1995 especially after the implementation of the Natural Forest Protection Project （NFPP）, an decreasing trend year by year in timber exports since 1995. Secondly, this paper presented a time series analysis of actual forest area demand in the sustainable yield and production approach in China from 1973 to 2003, which includes both import and export forest area demand. The results showed the actual forest area demand simulated from the sustainable yield approach was slightly higher than that from the production approach during 1978-1988 and a little lower during 1989-2003; however, the actual forest area demands simulated by these two model approaches were larger than calculations that expressed in conventional forest EF. Meanwhile, the results indicated the forestry development in China during 1978-1988 was unsustainable due to overexploitation of forest stocking volumes, and China＇s forestry moved toward sustainable development since 1989 because forest resources are exploited at lower rates than they are regenerated. However, compared to forestry developed countries, the forestry development capacity in China is still lower. Finally, based on the model results we analyzed the relationships between forestry EF and the key policies, including trade policy, economic policy and forest conservation programs. In addition, several suggestions about reducing forestry EF and enhancing sustainable forestry development in China are given.

A Modified Model of Ecological Footprint Accounting and Its Application to Cropland in Jiangsu,China

Based on the theory of emergy analysis,a modified model of ecological footprint accounting,termed emergetic ecological footprint(EMEF)in contrast to the conventional ecological footprint(EF)model,is formulated and applied to a case study of Jiangsu cropland,China.Comparisons between the EF and the EMEF with respect to grain,cotton,and food oil were outlined.Per capita EF and EMEF of cropland were also presented to depict the resources consumption level by comparing the biocapacity(BC)or emergetic biocapacity(EMBC,a new BC calculation by emergy analysis) of the same area.In the meanwhile,the ecological sustainability index(ESI),a new concept initiated by the authors, was established in the modified model to indicate and compare the sustainability of cropland use at different levels and between different regions.The results from conventional EF showed that per capita EF of the cropland has exceeded its per capita BC in Jiangsu since 1986.In contrast,based on the EMBC,the per capita EMEF exceeded the per capita EMBC 5 years earlier.The ESIs of Jiangsu cropland use were between 0.7 and 0.4 by the conventional method,while the numbers were between 0.7 and 0.3 by the modified one.The fact that the results of the two methods were similar showed that the modified model was reasonable and feasible,although some principles of the EF and EMEF were quite different. Also,according to the realities of Jiangsu cropland use,the results from the modified model were more acceptable.

Study on Ecological Footprints and Sustainable Development in Karst Area——Taking Anshun as an example

[ Objective] The aim was to study the ecological footprint and sustainable development in Karst Area. [ Method] By dint of statistical da- ta of Anshun City in 2008, the ecological footprint of Anshun City was calculated. The sustainable development of ecological system in Anshun City was analyzed from the angle of balance of supply and demand. [ Result] The per capita ecological capacity was 0.447 8 hm2/cap in 2008, per capi- ta ecological footprint was 2.309 0 hm2/cap, and ecological surplus of deficit was 1.861 2 hm2/cap. It meant the EF of the present region in terms of human activities had already exceeded the benchmark of system ecological carrying capacity. The supply of natural resources can＇t fully meet people＇s needs, and land use was unsustainable. The sustainable development of Karst area can be realized through changing people＇s production and life consumption model, building resources-saving social productive consumption system, depending scientific and technological development, improving production technology, using new technology, improving resources utilization effect and developing recycle economy. [Condusion] The study provided theoretical basis for sustainable development in Karst area.

Sustainable Development of Wuhan City Based on Methods of Conventional Ecological Footprint and Emergy Ecological Footprint

This article uses the conventional ecological footprint method and its improved model of ecological footprint to analyze the state of the sustainable development of Wuhan City in 2009, the results show that the per capita ecological deficit calculated by the method of emergy ecological footprint is 3.8629 hm2, and the per capita ecological deficit calculated by the method of conventional ecological footprint is 2.0169 hm2. The results obtained by the two methods respectively show that current development of Wuhan is unsustainable. The emergy ecological footprint method introduces the energy flow to reflect the relationship between human resource demand and supply of nature to human and adopts parameters—emergy conversion rate and energy density to calculate the ecological carrying capacity data which is more accurate.

Research on Ecological Space Planning Oriented Urban River Landscape Planning

Based on the generalized landscape perspective, regional connotation of urban river landscape is expanded. The area connotation of urban river landscape is expanded based on the generalized landscape perspective. In addition to natural and functional attributes, river landscape should be regarded as a regional space element based on heterogeneous space scale. First, as for research method system, the space research models(including ecological footprint, space planning, and landscape pattern index, etc.) coupled with different angle scales and interdisciplinary theory, are utilized to study different correlations and results formed by urban river landscape elements and other regional space elements from the perspective of the regional ecological space, and the overall development goal of the urban river landscape pattern based on the goals of the regional ecological space planning is obtained. Second, the oriented urban river landscape planning and the "M" type close-tonature design strategy are evaluated through the city function zoning orientation and micro-scale urban river landscape pattern index. The research realizes the compatibility of overall goals in terms of the regional ecology, the development of urban functional areas, and the river landscape planning, without losing micro difference and maneuverability based on the urban river landscape planning and design oriented strategy, which innovates the new approach of urban river landscape planning and design with sustainable and balanced development of regional resources, multi-scale, and multiple objectives.

SUSTAINABLE LAND USE PLANNING BASED ON ECOLOGICAL HEALTH——Case Study of Beiwenquan Town, Chongqing, China

This paper, taking Beiwenquan Town of Beibei, Chongqing as an example, assessed the impacts of land use on ecological health by comprehensive index method, and discussed methodological system of sustainable land use planning based on ecological health. Results indicated that: 1) From 1992 to 2002, land use changes focused on 12 patterns with the total conversion area of 92.11%, which were related to cultivated land, residential and industrial-mining area, and orchard land. Urbanization and economic reconstruction were the leading driving forces. 2) There was obvious difference of the areas of ecotypes driven by land use change in wide valley and mild slope between 1992 and 2002, while there were little or no difference in steep slope and very steep slope. 3) Both of the conditions of ecological health in 1992 and 2002 were sound, and the ecotypes focused on the types of health and sub-health. But, health ecosystem in 1992, with an area of 764.64ha, accounting for 38.51% of the total evaluation area, was better than that in 2002, with an area of 636.10ha, accounting for 34.19% of the total evaluation area. 4) The ecotypes involved into different ranges have already degenerated, due to humankind’s disturbance, while the conditions of ecological health in the same ranges in 1992, regardless of stability and reconstruction, were better than that in 2002. 5) The planning scenario based on ecological health was accorded with the practice condition of Beiwenquan Town: 388.29ha of cultivated land could meet the Beiwenquan demand of food and byproduct; 1045.26ha of forest land area, the Beiwenquan demand of ecological health; and 1004.73ha of the residential and industrial-mining area, the Beiwenquan building demand. 6) Sustainable land use planning based on ecological health had higher useful value, because it not only stood to ecological theory, but also satisfied the developmental demand of society and economy.

可持续发展评价的生态踩占模型及Ecological Footprint一词的翻译

简要介绍了可持续发展评价的生态踩占模型,并与我国学者提出的基于资源承载力的可持续发展评价模型在方法论上做了比较。着重讨论了生态踩占模型中Ecologicfootprint一词的翻译,认为应根据上下文的意境将其分别译为"生态踩占"、"生态立足区"和"生态足迹"等。

Ecological Footprint Dynamics of Yunnan, China

A fundamental element of sustainable development is that humans live within nature's biological capacity. Quantifying this, however, remains a significant challenge for which there are many emerging tools. The concept of the Ecological Footprint is one such accounting tool for comprehensive assessment of the status of sustainable development, based on integration of resource consumption and land capacity, reflecting the human impact on the environment. A region's development is defined as unsustainable when the Ecological Footprint surpasses the biological capacity. In this paper, the Ecological Footprint concept was applied in assessing the development of Yunnan Province, China in a period between 1988 and 2006. The results showed that the Ecological Footprint per capita in Yunnan rose from 0.854 gha in 1988 to 2.11 gha in 2006. Ecological deficit, defined as when the human demand on the land surpasses the regions biological productive capacity, emerged in 1991 and quickly increased from 0.02 gha in 1991 to 1.05 gha in 2006. The increase in the ecological deficit is primarily a result of the rapid increase in population and consumption level. To achieve sustainable development in Yunnan, production and consumption rates need to be modified.

Application of Ecological Footprint

Ecological footprint is a method of measuring how much we use the natural resources and how much the nature provides services for human beings. This paper summarized the application of ecological footprint at different scales and in different fields and different ecological types at home and abroad,analyzed the advantages and disadvantages of ecological footprint method,and made a prediction of the application of ecological footprint.

Quantitative evaluation of sustainable development based on ecological footprint method: a case study of Tianjin

Since the coneept of sustainable devetopment emerged in the late 1980s, more and more countries and regions have been utilizing sustainable development as their developing stratety. But decades have passed without any effective methods available to quantitatively assess sustainable development. Since the ecological footprint evaluation method initiated in 1992, it has become popular in quantitative assessment of sustainable development because of its convenience, easy-understanding, and rehability. As one of the biggest coastal cities in north China and the economic center of the Bohai Coastal Region, Tianjin＇s gross domestic product （GDP） was 369. 762 billion yuan in 2005, accounting for 2.0°of the whole nation＇s GDP. The paper analyzes Tianjin＇s development with the ecological footprint method, and the results show that Tianjin＇s ecoiogical footprint and biocapacity in 2005 were 2.507gha/cap and 0.2 76gha/cap respectively. The ecological deficit was 2.230gha/cap.And from 1980 to 2005,Tianjin＇s ecological deficit per 10^4 yuan GDP decreased;while per capita ecological deficit has been tending to increase rapidly in recent years.All these result demonstrate that Tianjin is in a state of unsustainable development.

Ecological footprint of Shandong,China

Ecological footprint has been given much attention and widely praised as an effective heuristic and pedagogic device for presenting current total human resource use in a way that communicates easily to almost everyone since 1996 when Wackernagel and Rees proposed it as a sustainable development indicator. Ecological footprint has been improving on its calculation and still can be a benchmark to measure sustainable development although there are still ongoing debates about specific methods for calculating the ecological footprint. This paper calculates the ecological footprint of Shandong Province, China with the methodology developed by Wackernagel and analyzes the current situation of sustainable development in Shandong.

Improvement of Ecological Footprint Method and Application in Henan Province

The measure of sustainable development has always been an important and difficulty subject, and the major evaluation model has three types: indicators based on system theory and methods, indicators relied on economic valuation of the environment, sustainability indicators including biophysical assessments. The ecological footprint analysis initiated by William E. Rees, one of the indicators including biophysical assessments, gets rid of the defects of the other models. Ecological footprint has gradually become popular on account of the measuring indexes based on scientific theory, innovative thought-way and its wide adaptability. This paper introduces the conception and computation method, making a progress and making up for the method of ecological footprint, and finally, makes an application analyses through Henan province regional sustainable development.

Research on Sustainable Utilization of Water Resource in Binzhou City by Ecological Footprint

Sustainable utilization state of water resource in Binzhou City was studied by ecological footprint. Results showed that the per capita eco- logical footprints of living water, producing water and ecological water were respectively 0.071, 1. 105 and 0.032 hm^2/person. The total per capita ecological footprint was 1.208 hm^2/person, and the total per capita ecological carrying capacity was 1.357 hm^2/person. The per capita ecological surplus of water resource was 0.149 8 hm^2/person. It illustrated that the development and utilization of water resource in Binzhou City were overall sustainable.

Ecological Planning of Resource-based City——A Case Study of Huaibei City,Anhui Province

Ecological planning plays an important role in the construction of cities. Huaibei is a typical coal resource-based city, the abundant coal resources lay a solid foundation for its economic development. Coal mining has induced a series of social problems, and affected the regional social and economic development. Ecological planning of Huaibei City concentrates on ecological restoration of coal mining subsidence, and applies circular economy to develop eco-agriculture, eco-tourism and eco-industry, which will contribute considerably to the economic transformation of the city. Analytic Hierarchy Process and mathematical statistical model were applied to calculate sustainable development indexes of Huaibei from 2002 to 2010. By evaluating the indexes, it was found that Huaibei City has a low sustainable development level, and 3 imbalanced subsystems as the major obstacle. The authors proposed countermeasures according to specific conditions of the city.

Re-examining Geos Neighbourhood for Its Energy Self-sustained Ability Through Ecological Footprints, Net Energy, and Life Cycle Assessment Tools

There are mounting evidences that human consume significant quantities of resources and have a major impact on the environment. Some research indicates that since the 1980s human demands on the biosphere have exceeded its regen-errative capacity. One way to solve this problem is to minimize the inappropriate ex-ploitation from environment. This essay wil focus on energy self-sustained project, which is a specific way to reduce energy requirements. Energy self-sustained project refers to that energy production is equal to the amount consumed. Three concepts are quoted in the fol-lowing to assess whether the project achieve zero-energy or not. First, ecological footprint, which provides an indication of the human load on the biosphere, is uti-lized to measure the inputs and outputs of the bioregion, which is also beneficial for defining the potential energy. Another one is life cycle assessment, which evaluates environmental load that relates to the entire life periodic system of a product, is helpful to measure the products used in the energy self sustained project. In addi-tion, net energy, and gross resource abundance, definitions for selection, or hierar-chy of different energy resources, can evaluate the new energy resources in project. Geos Neighbourhood, located in colorado, was planned as the largest net-zero energy neighbourhood in the United States. To meet the energy self sustainability, earth and sun power completely sustain the community＇s energy needs, and re-place al fossil fuels. Compared with the traditional communities, Geos Neighbour-hood minimize the adverse impact on the environment. As tools for assessment, ecological footprint, life circle assessment, and net energy, are al used to analyse the planning and design principles in the neighbourhood. By the research, the de-sign principles and energy use in Geos Neighbourhood wil be re-examined that whether the zero energy project achieves the reduction of ecological footprint, and energy self sustainability. In addition, life circle assessment wil re-examine the ma-terials used in the community also. Final y, the concept of ＇net energy＇ wil test solar energy and earth power which is the major energy used in Geos Neighbour-hood.

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.