Open pit limit optimization considering economic profit,ecological costs and social benefits

Pit limit design has,up to date,focused mainly on maximization of economic profit alone,with environmental and social issues largely ignored.This paper focuses on incorporating both environmental and social issues in the pit limit design process and provides an approach to pit limit optimization that is in compliance with sustainable development.The case study demonstrates that ecological costs have a substantial down-sizing effect and social benefits have a substantial up-sizing effect on the optimal pit limit.When the ecological costs are factored in,the optimal pit limit is 37.5%smaller than the economically optimal pit limit.However,when the social benefits are factored in,the optimal pit limit is 48.3%larger than the economically optimal one.The overall optimal pit limit,with the economic profit,ecological costs and social benefits simultaneously considered,is a result of balancing conflicting goals of maximizing economic profit,minimizing ecological cost,and maximizing social benefit.

Service Object-based Evaluation Framework of Economic, Social and Ecological Benefits of Urban Green Spaces

Researchers' understandings of economic, ecological and social benefits of urban green spaces were discussed from many perspectives, connotations of such three major benefits were redefined, existing problems in the present evaluation were analyzed. According to service objects of urban green spaces, 6 relationship fields were classified, specifically, global ecology, regional environment, regional health, basic life, spiritual life and material life, a basic framework for evaluating economic, ecological and social benefits of urban green spaces was proposed.

Promoting Sustainability with Ecological,Economic and Social Dimensions in Developing Countries

Sustainable development is one of the most important ideas,and goals of our time.It is defined as"development which meets the needs and aspirations of the current generation and develops safe and sound society for future generation".Achieving sustainable development thus involves a vigorous and urgent debate on different dimensions.The different dimensions of sustainability as a framework involve all issues such as science,technology,economic growth and development,health,education,finance investment and trade,politics,natural disasters,population growth and terrorism,etc.No single dimension is responsible to develop sustainable society.This article mainly described the integrated relationship among the three dimensions of sustainability.

Development of living floor spaces on the basis of ecological economic and social programs

Human activities moves to an ecological disaster. The technocratic approach to the organization of activity breaking environment ecology forces to defend the Nature accidents. The mankind crossed line of technological development when the Planet became vulnerable. Will help to rescue mankind from an ecological disaster, ecological thinking and behavior of people, and their ecological responsibility, the moral relation to the nature;harmonization of vital system by waste-free industrial cycles of the combined productions;eco-world formation. The problem of global ecological stabilization can be solved by implementation of social and economic interdisciplinary programs, such as, first, the ecological program “Clean Air, Clear Water, Pure Food, Net Energy, Pure Cities and Villages, Pure Nature”, secondly, the program of development ecological and health the preserving with the filled economy resources, thirdly, the “Development Health of the Preserving Medicine and Health System” program, fourthly, the program of the ecological focused interdisciplinary education, fifthly, the program of peaceful, humane environmental policy, sixthly, the program of civil education of harmonious life for a sustainable development, seventhly, the program of formation of fair democracy as way of life of society. Social and economic programs for stabilization of ecology need to be realized under the competent direction and control of the institutionalized infrastructure of scientific and educational society and on the basis of ecological thinking and behavior of all segments of the population. World community will have to undertake decisive measures to stabilize the environmental ecological processes in order to keep modern and future generations supplied with a harmony between the meeting of their reasonable needs, social and economic problems decision, with the life on the Earth being preserved.

A STUDY ON STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS OF SUBURBAN ECOLOGICAL AND ECONOMIC SYSTEM ─Taking Tianjin Suburbs and Counties for Example

Along with the development of urban economy. the growth of urban population and the increase of needs of urban society, the suburban ecological and economic system changes constantly and profoundly in its structure and function.Intensifying the research on structural analysis of suburban ecological and economic system is of great significance for grasping light the laws governing the development and evolution of the suburban ecological and economic system and leading this system onto a path of sound circle. By making comprehensive use of the cluster analysis and latent structural analysis the author attempts to explore a new avenue of revealing the structure of suburban ecological and economic system, taking Tianjin suburbs and counties as an example. The results obtained from the above-stated analyses show that it is entirely possible and extremely effective to study the structure and function of suburban ecological and economic system and provide scientific evidence for control of this system by using mathematical methods and statistical analyses.

The Baikal Basin as a Transboundary Ecological and Economic System

This article considers a necessity to assign the Baikal basin as an integrated transboundary ecological-economic system where an incongruity of global ecological and local economic interests is observed. The existing problems and limitations of further development of the Baikal ecological-economic system are singled out.

Degree of coupling and coordination of eco-economic system and the influencing factors： a case study in Yanchi County, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China

Based on the statistical data, we analyzed and evaluated the degree of coupling and coordination of the eco-economic system in Yanchi County for the period spanning from 1983 to 2014. The eco-economic system can be divided into socioeconomic and ecological sub-systems and their relationship can reveal the interaction state between the two sub-systems and help the local government to establish a coordinated development mode. An index system was constructed to assess the development of the two sub-systems before the evaluation of the degree of coupling and coordination. The principal component regression analysis was adopted to quantitatively assess the influences of natural, economic and social factors on the degree of coupling and coordination of the eco-economic system. Results showed that, from 1983 to 2014, the development trends of both sub-systems were increasing with the ecological sub-system having more fluctuations. The degree of coupling and coordination of the eco-economic system in the study area increased gradually from 1983 to 2014, but experienced five different development stages from the verge of disorder to favorable coordination. The development of the local social and economic conditions was the most important factor influencing the degree of coupling and coordination. The second most important factor was the financial support from the local government. In addition, the environment protection policies also played undeniable roles. Due to the diversity of the influence factors, the government should take comprehensive measures to promote the sustainable development of the eco-economic system.

The Dynamic Analysis of Agro-ecological Economic System on the Basis of Emergy: A Case Study of Wu'an City in Hebei Province

Using the method of emergy analysis, we analyze the input and output of agroecological economic system, and select five indicators (net emergy yield ratio, emergy investment ratio, environmental loading ratio, emergy sustainability index, and dominance of emergy yield system) for assessment. The results show that the emergy input-output in Wu'an City is in general on the rise; the emergy investment ratio rises constantly, but the net emergy yield ratio decreases, and the comparative advantage in the prices of agricultural products is gradually lost. At the same time, with increase in the non-renewable industrial support emergy, the environmental pressures are also mounting. In the future agricultural development, it is necessary to pay more attention to the coordination between agricultural development and ecological environment, achieving sustainable development of agriculture.

Topology of economic systems

An economic topology can have many uses to the academician, student and practitioner. Refining a topology of economic systems helps to bring together seemingly disparate characteristics and to point out potential long run trends. The progression of economic systems over time and also brief explanations of each system are given. We argue that most modem economic systems have some remnants of earlier forms, that is, most economies today are some mixture of what might be considered pure systems. Measurable characteristics to identify a particular system are developed that allows progress to or from a particular classification to be charted for individual countries.

Evaluation of Fragility of the Economic System in Poyang Lake Ecological Economic Zone

From two aspects,namely the sensitivity of regional economic system to internal and external interference,and its resilience,we establish the evaluation indicator system of fragility of the economic system in Poyang Lake Ecological Economic Zone,and evaluate the internal differences in fragility of the regional economic system,using set pair analysis method. The results show that there is a great difference in fragility of the economic system between different administrative units; the difference in resilience is the major factor responsible for difference in fragility of the economic system in various cities and counties within the region; according to the difference in fragility characteristics,we conduct classification as follows: Nanchang City is a low-sensitivity and high-resilience type; Jiujiang City is a high-sensitivity and high-resilience type; Jiujiang County,Xingzi County,Yongxiu County,Hukou County,Duchang County,Ruichang County,De'an Xian,Wuning County,Pengze County,Leping City, Dongxiang County,Fengcheng City and Gao'an City are a high-sensitivity and low-resilience type; other cities and counties are a low-sensitivity and low-resilience type.

On Deng Xiaoping＇s important contribution to the construction of socialist economic system with Chinese characteristics

Deng Xiaoping is the founder of the theory of socialism with Chinese characteristics,and made important contributions to the construction of the system.Among them,his theoretical achievements and practical exploration of the economic system construction had played an important role in the formation of the socialist system with Chinese characteristics.

Actual Costs of Uneconomic Growth of Marine Fisheries in China’s Pearl River Delta

As traditional economic theory is mainly based on neoliberal principles, whose failure is to ignore the ecological component in value assessment methods, it assumes that continuous economic growth exists with high level of employment and low inflation rate. Many ecological economists have criticized the blind pursuit of short-term economic interests in the last 30 years for leading to loss of natural capital and ecosystem services. This study demonstrates the concept of?“uneconomic growth”?by measuring the actual costs of fishing activities and fishery policy implemented in China’s Pearl River Estuary from economic, social, and ecological aspects. The results show that the costs of economic growth exceed the benefits of additional growth because of the limits of the ecosystem. The ecological system of the Pearl River Estuary has been degraded significantly by overfishing and is regarded to be under non-optimal conditions regarding both ecological and socio-economic objectives.

MODEL OF AGRICULTURAL ECOLOGIC-ECONOMIC SYSTEM IN THE INTERMONTANE BASINS OF XUEFENG MOUNTAIN REGION

The area of the intermontane basins in the Xuefeng Mountain region is 4,000 km2. These basins are the most favourable area for agriculture in the mountainous region. Unfortunately, in each basin the eco-environment has gradually worsened because of the irrational utilization of natural resources. A rational model of agro-ecologic- economic system of intermontane basin must be formed so as to exploit and utilize rationally the natural resources. The intermontane basins may be divided into 3 ecologic belts of agriculture. Here are some ecologic-economic problems in the development: The resources of the outer mountains lie waste, but the valley basins in centre are over-development; the low mountains and hillocks are cultivated for dry crops so that the water and soil losses are serious and the natural disasters are frequent. Therefore, the agro-economic, agro-biologic and eco-environmental subsystems form a complete agro-ecologic-economic system of intermontane basins. Developing rationally the

COMPLEX ECOLOGIC－ECONOMIC SYSTEM OF AFFORESTATION－AN EXAMPLE OF SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE

The paper deals with a transformation model of a backward distric into a prosperous one. The district is geographically located in Lixiahe region, Jiangsu Province. The region had long ben known as one of the poorest area in China, and had been alternatively attacked by flood, waterlogging, drought, salinzation, and plague of insect. Since the seventies of this centruy efforts to open up trenches on lowland and to level up the shoaly land have been made. A kind of tree, which is tolerable to high watertable, was used to afforest the land. Cereal crop, vegetable and beaus are grown. In some cases, the shoaly land is used for sheep grazing and fishery. A favorable combination of forestry, agriculture, animal husbandry and fishery has been set up in the region. There are five type of managements in the system: 1) forestry-agriculture comPlex management. 2) forestry-fishery complex management, 3) forestry-aquatic plan-fishery complex management, 4) forestry-animal husbandry complex management, and 5) forestry-edible mushroom complex management. The principles and ecological benefits of this system can be identitied: 1) Increase soil fertility by piling mud from marsh land on top soil, and thicken the arable layer. 2) Enhance the utilization rate of sunlight and energy, due to the change of microclimate in field. 3) As a result of multiple layer cultivation and multi-cropping, the production has been greatly increased. 4) Accelerate the cycling of matter and conversion of energy and nutrient of the system. 5) Decrease the consUmption of soil fertility and increase the capability of controlling insect pests. 6) Improve ecological environment by afforestationl. 7) Raise income and provide jobs for local peasants, even some ones from other part of this province.

On Approach of Quantifying Economic Benefits of Urban Green Space:A Case Study of Wuxi City

Urban green space has its important social, economic and ecological benefits. Quantifying of those benefits helps healthy development of urban green space. The essay discusses approach of quantifying direct economic benefits of land utilizing and construction derivated from urban green space system itself through the optimization of space structure and ecological function. It is the affirmation and promotion of the achievements of urban greening industry.

SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC MEASURES FOR THE ECOLOGICAL ENVIRONMENT CONSTRUCTION IN THE LHASA AREA,TIBET

Human activities, especially the irrational exploitation and utilization of resources, are one of the roots of the ecological environmental problems, so the ecological environment construction needs a series of auxiliary social, economic and institutional measures to ensure its smoothly fulfillment. The Lhasa area is being confronted with such major environmental problems as grassland degeneration, land desertification, shrubbery damage and wetlands degeneration. Besides the role of the natural environment itself, the main social and economic roots of these ecological environmental problems are the rapid population growth, the disordered economic expansion, the imperfect managerial system and the backward grassland construction. Based on the analysis of the above-mentioned causes, this article suggests such social, economic and institutional measures as the control of the rural population growth, the perfection of the grassland management, the acceleration of the pasture construction, the integration of agriculture and animal husbandry, the rational planning of land use for urban construction, to ensure the economic feasibility and social acceptability of the ecological environment construction.

ECOLOGICAL LANDSCAPE EFFECTS OF WINDBREAK SYSTEMS IN DESERT ZONE OF WESTERN CHINA

This paper, by applying the theories of landscape ecology, illustrates the role and mechanism of windbreak system in the establishment and maintenance of oasis ecosystem on the basis of systematic analysis of characteristics and ecological crises of China's desert, and especially of desert zone in western China. Furthermore, direct economic benefits are summarized.

Vulnerability and adaptation of an oasis social–ecological system affected by glacier change in an arid region of northwestern China

The Hexi Inland River Basin in an arid region of northwestern China was chosen as the study area for this research. The authors define the vulnerability of an oasis social-ecological system to glacier change; select 16 indicators from natural and socioeconomic systems according to exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity; and construct a vulnerability-assessment indicator system aimed at an inland river basin in the arid region of Northwestern China. Vulnerability of the oasis socialecological system affected by glacier change in the study area is evaluated by Spatial Principal Component Analysis(SPCA) under the circumstance of glacier change. The key factors affecting the vulnerability are analyzed. The vulnerability of the oasis social-ecological system in the Hexi Inland River Basin affected by glacier change is of more than medium grade, accounting for about 48.0% of the total number of counties in the study area. In terms of the spatial pattern of the vulnerability, the oasis economic belt is the most vulnerable. With the rapid development of the area's society and economy, the exposure of the system to glacial changes is significantly increased; and an increase in glacial meltwater is not enough to overcome the impact of increased exposure, which is the main reason for the high vulnerability. Based on the result of the vulnerability analysis and combined with the present industrial structure in the Hexi Inland River Basin, near-,medium-, and long-term adaptation initiatives are put forward in the article.

Role of permafrost in resilience of social-ecological system and its spatio-temporal dynamics in the source regions of Yangtze and Yellow Rivers

Permafrost is one of the key components of terrestrial ecosystem in cold regions. In the context of climate change, few studies have investigated resilience of social ecological system(SER) from the perspective of permafrost that restricts the hydrothermal condition of alpine grassland ecosystem. In this paper, based on the structural dynamics, we developed the numerical model for the SER in the permafrost regions of the source of Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, analyzed the spatial-temporal characteristics and sensitivity of the SER, and estimated the effect of permafrost change on the SER. The results indicate that: 1) the SER has an increasing trend, especially after 1997, which is the joint effect of precipitation, temperature, NPP and ecological conservation projects; 2) the SER shows the spatial feature of high in southeast and low in northwest,which is consistent with the variation trends of high southeast and low northwest for the precipitation, temperature and NPP, and low southeast and high northwest for the altitude; 3) the high sensitive regions of SER to the permafrost change have gradually transited from the island distribution to zonal and planar distribution since 1980, moreover, the sensitive degree has gradually reduced; relatively, the sensitivity has high value in the north and south, and low value in the south and east; 4) the thickness of permafrost active layer shows a highly negative correlation with the SER. The contribution rate of permafrost change to the SER is-4.3%, that is, once the thickness of permafrost active layer increases 1 unit, the SER would decrease 0.04 units.

Functions, Problems and Countermeasures of China’s Rural Ecosystems

At present,the whole country is fully implementing rural revitalization strategy and actively promoting rural ecosystems development in China.From the perspective of ecology and agroecology,the main functions of rural ecosystem in China,the current outstanding problems,and the corresponding countermeasures and measures are discussed in the paper,in order to provide references for promoting the implementation of the strategy of rural revitalization and the sustainable development of rural ecosystem.China’s rural ecosystem has multi-functions such as carrying population,improving environment,providing products,increasing income,expanding employment and tourism,inheriting culture,popularizing science and technology,educating people,training talents,and providing places for the aged urban residents.Currently,there are still many problems and challenges in rural ecosystem in China,such as ecological destruction,waste of resources,environmental pollution,natural disasters,economic poverty,backward science and education,laggard culture and medical care,lack of public services,bad social morality,loss of villagers and disappearance of villages.In order to promote implementation of rural revitalization strategy and to promote sustainable development of rural ecosystems in China,the following measures should be taken based on the principles of integrating “tri-benefits”(economic,ecological and social benefits),gradual progress,comprehensive governance,adaptation to local conditions and long-term efforts and success.Eventually,the following measures are suggested:① enhancing awareness;② planning well;③ improving environment;④ optimizing ecological structure;⑤ improving ecological functions;⑥ improving ecological conditions;⑦ strengthening public services;⑧ improving laws and regulations;⑨ improving great investment;⑩ accelerating personnel training.