Carrying Capacity and Coupling Coordination of Water and Land Resources Systems in Arid and Semi-arid Areas: A Case Study of Yulin City, China

Quantitatively assessing the carrying capacity of water and land resources systems in arid and semi-arid areas is crucial for achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.In this work,taking Yulin City in China as a case study and employing the Criteria Importance Through Intercriteria Correlation(CRITIC)method,a modified model of coupling degree was developed to evaluate the car-rying capacity of water and land resources systems endowment and utilization,as well as their coupling coordination degree from 2013 to 2020.Our findings indicate that the water and land resources of Yulin are diminishing due to declines in agriculture,higher industrial water use,and wetland shrinkage.However,reallocating domestic water for ecological sustainability and reducing sloping farmland can mitigate this trend of decline.Temporally,as the coupling coordination between water and land resources system endowment in Yulin continuously improved,the coupling coordination between water and land resources system utilization first decreased and then in-creased with 2016 as the turning point.Spatially,the carrying capacity of water and land resources systems,the coupling coordination degree between water and land resources system endowment,and the coupling coordination degree between water and land resources system utilization in Yulin exhibited the same pattern of being higher in the six northern counties than in the six southern counties.Improving the water resources endowment is vital for the highly efficient use of water and land resources.

Climate change, water resources and sustainable development in the arid and semi-arid lands of Central Asia in the past 30 years

The countries of Central Asia are collectively known as the five "-stans": Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan. In recent times, the Central Asian region has been affected by the shrinkage of the Aral Sea, widespread desertification, soil salinization, biodiversity loss, frequent sand storms, and many other ecological disasters. This paper is a review article based upon the collection, identification and collation of previous studies of environmental changes and regional developments in Central Asia in the past 30 years. Most recent studies have reached a consensus that the temperature rise in Central Asia is occurring faster than the global average. This warming trend will not only result in a higher evaporation in the basin oases, but also to a significant retreat of glaciers in the mountainous areas. Water is the key to sustainable development in the arid and semi-arid regions in Central Asia. The uneven distribution, over consumption, and pollution of water resources in Central Asia have caused severe water supply problems, which have been affecting regional harmony and development for the past 30 years. The widespread and significant land use changes in the 1990 s could be used to improve our understanding of natural variability and human interaction in the region. There has been a positive trend of trans-border cooperation among the Central Asian countries in recent years. International attention has grown and research projects have been initiated to provide water and ecosystem protection in Central Asia. However, the agreements that have been reached might not be able to deliver practical action in time to prevent severe ecological disasters. Water management should be based on hydrographic borders and ministries should be able to make timely decisions without political intervention. Fully integrated management of water resources, land use and industrial development is essential in Central Asia. The ecological crisis should provide sufficient motivation to reach a consensus on unified water management throughout the region.

FACILITATING REGIONAL SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT THROUGH INTEGRATED MULTI-OBJECTIVE UTILIZATION, MANAGEMENT OF WATER RESOURCES IN THE LANCANG-MEKONG RIVER BASIN

The Lancnag Mekong River is the most important international river across China and Southeast Asia, If it is developed according to 'Great Mekong Subregional Cooperation Plan' [9] prepared by ADB, the area directly affected will be up to over 2.32 million km 2, the population over 220 million, and the natural environment, and socio-economic conditions within a large area will be greatly changed. 'Agreement on Cooperation for Sustainable Development of Mekong Basin' signed by the four riparian countries along the lower Mekong River on April 5, 1995 provides a new opportunity for sustainable development of the Basin. According to preliminary analysis, if the multipurpose utilization of the water resources is the target for carrying out integrated planning and management, and the efforts are made 1) to focus on energy exploitation on the Lancang River Mainstream and the tributaries of the lower Mekong River; 2) to build gated weirs at Tonle Sam; 3) to construct spillways at the Mekong Delta; 4) to facilitate flood dykes in big cities and on both banks of the mainstream which are concentrated with population and farmland and liable to be flooded, and 5) to strengthen networks for forecasting hydrological and meteorological conditions, then all problems such as power demand, irrigation, flood, salt water intrusion as well as acid water erosion to soil could be solved without constructing large cascaded stations and dams on the lower Mekong Mainstream. This will not only avoid input of great number of fund, large scale resettlement and land inundation, but also prevent aquatic organisms living in Mekong River from being injured due to dam construction, and promote the sustainable development of the Basin.

Research on Scientific Development Strategy of Water Conservancy Economy Based on Sustainable Development

Water conservancy economy is an important component of the economy of our country, and the development of water conservancy economy plays an irreplaceable role in promoting the overall economic development of our country.At present,the water conservancy economy of our country is facing problems of the shortage of water resources and the serious water pollution,these two problems have seriously restricted the scientific and effective development of water conservancy economy.Nowadays,under the background of the socioeconomic development of advocating sustainable development,the development of water conservancy economy also should keep up with the trend of the times,adhering to the view of sustainable development is the inevitable requirement of long-term development of water conservancy economy.This paper firstly expounds the connotation and characteristics of sustainable development, and the necessity of sustainable development of water conservancy economy, then summarizes the present situation of the development of water conservancy economy, analyzes the factors existed in the development of water conservancy economy, which influence the sustainable development of water conservancy economy, finally, takes the vision of sustainable development to probe into the scientific development measures,which should be adopted by water conservancy economy, puts forward some countermeasures and suggestions to help it achieve the goal of sustainable development.

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF MARINE ECONOMY IN CHINA

China is a large marine country. Developing marine economy is an effective way to solve a series of problems with which man is faced, such as the want of natural resources, space limitation, the environmental deterioration, etc. This article analyzes the rich resources of marine biology, harbor, offshore oil and natural gas and coastal tourism resources in China and describes the developing features and regional differences of marine economy. To realize the sustainable development of marine economy in China, what we need to do are as follows: 1) to list exploiting ocean into national development strategy; 2) to realize integrated economy of sea and land; 3) to develop ocean by science and technology; 4) to perfect legal institution of marine environment: 5) to establish new idea of sea defending. KEY WORDS: marine resources: marine economy; marine industrial structure; sustainable development

STUDY ON THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF WETLAND RESOURCES IN THE USSURI /WUSULI RIVER BASIN

The Ussuri/Wusuli River basin joins the border between the Northeast region of Heilongjiang Province of China and the Far East region of Russia. The watershed consists of approximately 26 000 000 ha and the shared border stretches more than 1100 km. The Ussuri River forms part of the border between Russia and China. Two thirds of the watershed ecosystem is in Russia, one third in China. Khanka / Xingkai Lake is the border Lake of Russia and China, with the area of 4380 km2. The Ussuri / Wusuli River Basin is rich in wetland resources, including surface water resources and wetlands. There are about more than 100 rivers belonging to one and two branch rivers, wetlands are mainly distributed in the Sanjiang Plain in China, which is the largest marsh area in China, with an area of 114 million ha. Human activities and agriculture reclamation for many years have led to many environment problems: 1)decreasing of wetland area led to loss of wetland environment functions, decreasing of biodiversity and increasing the number of natural disasters such as disastrous drought and waterlogging, which affect directly sustainable utilization of resources and economical development. 2) water supply is not evenly distributed, water pollution in rivers, marshes and lakes are more serious than before. Based on above study, some suggests of sustainable development in the basin have been made, which include: 1) developing the international wetland natural reserve and domestic comprehensive protected area to prevent wetlands from destruction and disturbance by human activities, 2) strengthening the protection and management of wetlands in lake shorelines and riparian zones (rivers and streams) to prevent water quality of rivers and lakes from pollution, 3) restoring the destroyed marsh in riparian zones and the  island like forests" of wetlands 4) developing positively transnational ecological tourist trade to promote the economic development in the river basin scope, 5) developing international cooperation research to promote sustainable utilization and protection of wetland resources.

Sufficiency Economy for Sustainable Human Resource Development in Tourism Business

The purpose of this paper is to suggest the concept of sufficiency economy philosophy to be used in tourism business,especially in human resource development(HRD).This paper covers the analysis and synthesis from literature review,the meaning of sufficiency economy philosophy,sustainable development and human resource.The result has shown that the sufficiency economy philosophy is a measure of well-being(Nothing can be developed sustainably like HRD.Tourism business is a service product that depends on human resources).That is the reason why the sufficiency economy philosophy should be implemented for sustainable HRD in tourism business.

Knowledge Economy-The Sustainable Development Economy

Reviewing evolution of natural resources utilization mode in different economic formation, the paper elaborates the meanings of knowledge economy, and points our that the cause of unsustainabte development is the acute contradiction between the taw of ecosystem and the law of economy. It also points out that the essence of sustainable development is the harmonious relation between economy and the ecosystem. Therefore. the resources allocation should be considered from the aspect of the market demand and the aspect of the supply of t he ecosystem. That is to say, firsthy, the scale and pace of economy growth must be adapted to the supply capability of the ecosystem under the current technology, Secondly, based on the supply ability of the ecosystem, we should make it clear how to make limited resources allocation attains equilibrium between market supply and demand. The paper clarifies that in the mode of knowledge economy; we may transform the way of economy growth, form optimum economy structure, change the base of resource supply, strengthen the supply capability of ecosystem expand the production-possibility frontier, and finally accomplish the eco-economy coordinated development through the innovation of institution and technology. The essence of sustainable development and the sustainable characteristics of knowledge economy that were discussed above determine that knowledge economy is an economy of sustainable development.

A system dynamics approach for water resources policy analysis in arid land:a model for Manas River Basin

The Manas River Basin in Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, similar to other arid regions, is facing water constraints which challenge decision-makers as to how to rationally allocate the available water resources to meet the demands from industries and natural ecosystems. Policies which integrate the supply and demand are needed to address the water stress issues. An object-oriented system dynamics model was developed to capture the interrelationships between water availability and increasing water demands from the growth of industries, agri- cultural production and the population through modeling the decision-making process of the water exploration ex- plicitly, in which water stress is used as a major indicator. The model is composed of four sectors： 1 ） natural surface and groundwater resources; 2） water demand; 3） the water exploitation process, including the decision to build reservoirs, canals and pumps; 4） water stress to which political and social systems respond through increasing the supply, limiting the growth or improving the water use efficiency. The model was calibrated using data from 1949 to 2009 for population growth, irrigated land area, industry output, perceived water stress, groundwater resources availability and the drying-out process of Manas River; and simulations were carried out from 2010 to 2050 on an annual time step. The comparison of results from calibration and observation showed that the model corresponds to observed behavior, and the simulated values fit the observed data and trends accurately. Sensitivity analysis showed that the model is robust to changes in model parameters related to population growth, land reclamation, pumping capacity and capital contribution to industry development capacity. Six scenarios were designed to inves- tigate the effectiveness of policy options in the area of reservoir relocation, urban water recycling, water demand control and groundwater pumping control. The simulation runs demonstrated that the technical solutions for im- proving water availability and water use efficiency are not sustainable. Acknowledging the carrying capacity of water resources and eliminating a growth-orientated value system are crucial for the sustainability of the Manas River Basin.

Existing Problems in Energy Exploitation and Eco-environment Sustainable Development and Their Countermeasures in Northern Shaanxi

The exploitation of coal, petroleum and natural gas in northern Shaanxi not only promoted the rapid development of economy, but also brought about enormous pressure to fragile ecology and resulted to severe water pollution, water and soil loss, vegetation destruction and other ecological environmental problems, so many countermeasures were put forward according to these problems, such as greatly developing circular economy, conducting cleaner production in petroleum enterprises, continuously renewing mining technology and so on.

High speed railway promoting development of low-carbon economy in China

Low-carbon Economy is a kind of economic developing mode which takes low energy consumption,low pollution and low discharge as its foundation. It is another important revolution of the human society after the agriculture civilization and industry civilization. It deals with various fields including low-carbon energy,low-carbon agriculture,low-carbon industry,low-carbon transportation and low-carbon life,etc. Among those,low-carbon transportation is one of the important contents. Since high speed railway uses electricity as driving force,it runs without discharging waste gas,and it is a kind of clean and green transportation with little dust and smoke black. Therefore,the study of the relationship between the high speed railway and low-carbon economy is becoming one of the important frontier problems that confronting the theoretic circle. With demonstration analysis and comparative analysis,this paper discusses the comparative advantages of high speed railway in terms of energy saving and environment protection,treatment of sound pollution,land saving and reduction of external cost(mainly pollution treatment cost) ,etc. compared with the other transportation modes and ordinary railway. Taking Beijing-Tianjin Intercity Railway as an example,the paper further demonstrates the distinctive advantages in respect of energy conservation and emission reduction. Besides,the paper also predicates the low-carbon effects after several high speed railways is put into operation in a few years. It is concluded that the development of high speed railways will meet the need of low-carbon economy and is significant for sustainable and steady development of economy and society.

Study of Chinese Sustainable Developing Project for Energy Resources

Since the last half century,the world has been being in theme of peace and development,and passed through another glorious period with the rapid development of the economy,science and technology. In the energy field of the globe,as the fuel with superior quality,the petroleum and gas gradually replaced the coal of the leading role in energy resources’ consumption,after the mineral energy replaced firewood.Moreover,various types of new energy are beginning to get application。

Mathematical Model of the Geothermal Water Resources in the South Hot Spring System in Chongqing

The geothermal waters of south hot spring, small hot spring and Qiaokouba in Chongqing, are all part of the south hot spring geothermal water system. Exploitation has caused a decline in the water levels of the south and small hot springs, which have not flowed naturally for 15 years. Now, bores pump geothermal water to the springs. If the water level drops below the elevation of the rivers, river-water will replenish the geothermal water, destroying this resource. It is therefore an urgent task to model the geothermal water system, to enable sustainable development and continued use of the geothermal water in Qiaokouba. A numerical simulation of the geothermal water system was adopted and a quantitative study on the planning scheme was carried out. A mathematical model was set up to simulate the whole geothermal water system, based on data from the research sites. The model determined the maximum sustainable water yield in Qiaokouba and the two hot springs, and the south hot spring and small hot spring sustainable yields are 1 100 m^3/d and 700 m^3/d from 2006 to 2010, 1 300 m^3/d and 1 000 m^3/d from 2011 to 2015, and 1 500 m^3/d and 1 200 m^3/d from 2016 to 2036. The maximum exploitable yield is 3 300 m^3/d from 2006 to 2036 in Qiaokouba. The model supplies a basis to adequately exploit and effectively protect the geothermal water resources, and to continue to develop the geothermal water as a tourist attraction in Chongqing.

Latent dimensions between water use and socio-economic development: A global exploratory statistical analysis

Water use and socio-economic development are interconnected in complex ways.Causalities are not easy to identify but it is evident that a nexus between water use and socio-economic development does exist.Considering the diversity of national situations relating to these interrelated phenomena,its study should be considered from a global perspective.This article critically reviews the literature and information from official sources on the relevance of water use and circular economy in order to create a global picture,linking water with socio-economic development.Data from 195 countries were analyzed statistically.A factor analysis defined five essential latent dimensions on the nexus between water use and socio-economic development:development and basic services,population and resources,economic volume,health and well-being,and population density.Based on the identified factors,countries were classified into six groups:Global South in difficulty,global semi-periphery,advanced economy,Middle East and other Global South developing economy,global weight,and small highly developed economy.The clustering results clarify connections between water use conditions and socioeconomic development.Understanding the variety of national profiles is helpful to reveal the magnitude and urgency of dealing with the nexus between water use and socio-economic development for many countries.

Environmental issues and countermeasures in exploiting water resources of rivers

Based on affirming the tremendous benefits that water resources of rivers can provide in their exploitation, main environmental problems and their countermeasures have been proposed and analyzed in this paper. It is argued that multiple measures should be applied to solving those problems by simultaneously carrying out engineering measures, scientific research and also programs to cultivate the society’s awareness, aimed at a sustainable development strategy for exploiting water resources.

Synthesis of Attaining Sustainable Development Goal 6.5: A Case Study of Mano River

The Mano River is a transboundary river that runs through Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone. According to a 2018 United Nation report on Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6.5, which aims to improve the adoption of cohesive water resource management by 2030;the impact of this goal on the Mano River management is minimal. The research summarizes previous studies using an integrative literature review method, drawing general conclusions and identifying unsolved problems with respect to water resources management. The research finding demonstrated that existing water stress and poor management as exacerbated by socioeconomic practices in the region are the major threats to achieve SDG 6.5. As a result of these activities, long-term management of the river basins has become extremely difficult. The research informs a discussion to achieve cooperative water resource management, which is best achieved by shared collaboration and shared interests as described by SDG 6.5.

对复杂水资源系统管理的认知与思考

通过提升管理能力进一步缓解水资源供需矛盾,应对水、经济、社会、生态等关联系统之间的不确定性已经成为新时期水资源可持续发展的必然要求。面对我国水资源系统存在的新老问题,亟须开展新时期反映复杂水资源系统特征的管理研究。基于此,梳理我国水资源管理模式的发展历程,指出我国已经进入面向关联要素的水资源系统综合管理阶段,多属性、全过程和多要素是目前复杂水资源系统管理的基本特征。从管理目标、管理对象和管理路径3个方面对复杂水资源系统管理的基本框架进行详细阐述。最后,对复杂水资源系统管理的关键支撑技术进行探讨,提出水资源监测技术、水循环模拟技术、水资源配置与调度技术、水生态环境过程模拟技术是我国水资源科学管理的关键支撑。

中国水-能-粮耦合系统协同安全发展战略研究

水是水-能-粮(WEF)耦合系统的核心要素,为保障国家粮食和能源安全,必须加强水资源管理,坚持水资源、能源和粮食协同安全发展。在系统总结国内外WEF耦合系统纽带关系研究进展、科学认识WEF基本内涵的基础上,分析了我国各省份水资源、能源、粮食开发利用过程中存在的问题,揭示当前WEF耦合系统发展面临的能源需求持续增长与能源安全结构性矛盾日益凸显、不稳定因素加剧粮食安全风险、资源不匹配带来水资源约束趋紧、高质量发展对水-能-粮-生提出更高要求四大挑战,围绕区域特点和高质量发展目标,针对性提出了区域可持续发展模式与策略。研究建议,在西北资源富集地区,通过“四水四定”、水权交易及调水工程缓解水资源短缺;在京津冀地下水超采区,优化粮食安全布局,强化水与能源协同调控;在东北粮食增产区,拓展粮食生产空间,保护水资源合理开发利用;在南方水资源丰沛区,深化农业供给侧结构性改革,统筹“水风光储”一体化开发,以期为实现绿色低碳的可持续发展路径提供科学支撑与决策参考。

基于淮安市淮阴区“四水四定”试点的水资源刚性约束制度探讨

建立水资源刚性约束制度,落实以水定城、以水定地、以水定人、以水定产,对于实现区域水资源的可持续利用具有重要意义。以江苏省首批水资源刚性约束试点地区淮安市淮阴区为例,分析了淮阴区可持续发展与水资源刚性约束制度建设的必要性。以水资源为刚性约束,构建了淮阴区“四水四定”13项指标体系,解析了刚性约束制度体系内涵,构建了淮阴区水资源刚性约束制度体系,提出制定水资源调度制度、建立淮阴区水资源费征收准则等建议。

农村水资源可持续发展治理研究

农村生活污水是水环境的重要污染源之一,生活污水治理是实现乡村振兴战略的重中之重。由于中国农村地区生活生产环境因素复杂等原因,在污水治理水平、治理理念等方面与城市地区相差甚远。文章针对中国目前农村水污染防治与可持续发展治理现状,对农村水资源污染问题进行分析,并有针对性地提出了相应的对策措施。