The efficient use of water resources directly affects environmental, social, and economic development; therefore, it has a significant impact on urban populations. A slacks-based measure for data envelopment analysis ...The efficient use of water resources directly affects environmental, social, and economic development; therefore, it has a significant impact on urban populations. A slacks-based measure for data envelopment analysis (SBM-DEA) has been widely used in energy efficiency and environmental efficiency analyses in recent years. Based on this model, data from 316 cities were examined and a category method was employed involving three different sorting techniques to empirically evaluate the efficiency of urban water re- source utilization in China between 2000 and 2012. The overall efficiency (OE) of urban water resource utilization in China was initially low, but has improved over the past decade. The scale efficiency (SE) was higher than the pure technological efficiency (PTE); PTE is a major determining factor of OE, and has had an increasingly significant effect. The efficiency of water resource utilization varied ac- cording to the region, urban scale, and economic function. The OE score for the eastern China was higher than for the rest of the region, and the OE score for the western China was higher than for the central China. The OE score for urban water resource utilization has improved with urban expansion, except in the case of small cities. The SE showed an inverted U-shaped' trend with increasing urban expansion. The OE of urban water utilization in comprehensive functional cities was greater than in economic specialization cities, and was greater in heavy industry specialization cities than in other specialization cities. This study contributes to the field of urban water resource management by examining variations in efficiency with urban ~ezle展开更多
Improving the efficiency with which natural resources are utilized is an indispensable for achieving sustainable development and carbon neutrality. By analyzing the utilization efficiency of energy, water, and land, w...Improving the efficiency with which natural resources are utilized is an indispensable for achieving sustainable development and carbon neutrality. By analyzing the utilization efficiency of energy, water, and land, we established a comprehensive natural resource utilization efficiency index(NRUEI). We then calculated the 2016 index for 165 cities in China,and investigated what caused it to vary. We found three main results:(1) the NRUEI varied greatly across China and there were significant positive correlations between urban energy utilization efficiency(EUE), water utilization efficiency(WUE) and land utilization efficiency(LUE);(2) the NRUEI showed a significant positive correlation with a city’s population size,economy(Gross Domestic Product(GDP)), and the level of urban social development(GDP per capita);(3) cities in East China have the highest natural resource utilization efficiency,while cities in Northeast China have the lowest. These results indicate that China’s increasing urban development is associated with rising natural resource utilization efficiency and that the city’s endowment of natural resources is an important factor affecting that efficiency. Further, the results showed that the determinants of a city’s NRUEI differed in large and small cities. Lastly, our results suggest that improving EUE is key for improving NRUEI in urban China, and different efficiencies can be improved intertwined. A major takeaway of this study is that there is great potential for improving natural resource utilization efficiency in Chinese cities and we include city-specific suggestions for efficiency improvements.展开更多
基金Key Research Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences(No.KZZD-EW-06-03-03)
文摘The efficient use of water resources directly affects environmental, social, and economic development; therefore, it has a significant impact on urban populations. A slacks-based measure for data envelopment analysis (SBM-DEA) has been widely used in energy efficiency and environmental efficiency analyses in recent years. Based on this model, data from 316 cities were examined and a category method was employed involving three different sorting techniques to empirically evaluate the efficiency of urban water re- source utilization in China between 2000 and 2012. The overall efficiency (OE) of urban water resource utilization in China was initially low, but has improved over the past decade. The scale efficiency (SE) was higher than the pure technological efficiency (PTE); PTE is a major determining factor of OE, and has had an increasingly significant effect. The efficiency of water resource utilization varied ac- cording to the region, urban scale, and economic function. The OE score for the eastern China was higher than for the rest of the region, and the OE score for the western China was higher than for the central China. The OE score for urban water resource utilization has improved with urban expansion, except in the case of small cities. The SE showed an inverted U-shaped' trend with increasing urban expansion. The OE of urban water utilization in comprehensive functional cities was greater than in economic specialization cities, and was greater in heavy industry specialization cities than in other specialization cities. This study contributes to the field of urban water resource management by examining variations in efficiency with urban ~ezle
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 42101290 and 71533005)the Special Project on National Science and Technology Basic Resources Investigation of China (No. 2021FY100703)。
文摘Improving the efficiency with which natural resources are utilized is an indispensable for achieving sustainable development and carbon neutrality. By analyzing the utilization efficiency of energy, water, and land, we established a comprehensive natural resource utilization efficiency index(NRUEI). We then calculated the 2016 index for 165 cities in China,and investigated what caused it to vary. We found three main results:(1) the NRUEI varied greatly across China and there were significant positive correlations between urban energy utilization efficiency(EUE), water utilization efficiency(WUE) and land utilization efficiency(LUE);(2) the NRUEI showed a significant positive correlation with a city’s population size,economy(Gross Domestic Product(GDP)), and the level of urban social development(GDP per capita);(3) cities in East China have the highest natural resource utilization efficiency,while cities in Northeast China have the lowest. These results indicate that China’s increasing urban development is associated with rising natural resource utilization efficiency and that the city’s endowment of natural resources is an important factor affecting that efficiency. Further, the results showed that the determinants of a city’s NRUEI differed in large and small cities. Lastly, our results suggest that improving EUE is key for improving NRUEI in urban China, and different efficiencies can be improved intertwined. A major takeaway of this study is that there is great potential for improving natural resource utilization efficiency in Chinese cities and we include city-specific suggestions for efficiency improvements.