Detailed Ecological Footprint Accounting of Liaoning in 2006

Ecological footprint （EF） has received considerable attention as a useful indicator in the context of sustainable development. So far, EF has been used in numerous studies by academies, organizations and government authorities. However, the results of these studies failed to be comparable directly with each other due to imprecise data sets, unmodified accounting methods of pasture and fossil energy, ignored secondary products, undefined process Of calculating yield factors and improper biocapacity for biodiversity. In this paper, we elaborated on EF estimating methods from six categories of consumption in order to overcome the limitations above. We adopted precise data and revised methods, calculated EF of some secondary products, introduced weighted factor to calculate yield factors and adjusted biocapacity by an appropriate amount. Meanwhile, we investigated the resource consumption of Liaoning Province in 2006 to assess EF. Its results showed that Liaoning Province overused its natural capital and was in an unsustainable state. We concluded that two specific problems that had arisen in EF assessment and gave some suggestions for Liaoning Province to improve its unsustainable state.     

Detailed Ecological Footprint Accounting of Liaoning in 2006

Abstract

Ecological footprint (EF) has received considerable attention as a useful indicator in the context of sustainable development. So far, EF has been used in numerous studies by academies, organizations and government authorities. However, the results of these studies failed to be comparable directly with each other due to imprecise data sets, unmodified accounting methods of pasture and fossil energy, ignored secondary products, undefined process of calculating yield factors and improper biocapacity for biodiversity. In this paper, we elaborated on EF estimating methods from six categories of consumption in order to overcome the limitations above. We adopted precise data and revised methods, calculated EF of some secondary products, introduced weighted factor to calculate yield factors and adjusted biocapacity by an appropriate amount. Meanwhile, we investigated the resource consumption of Liaoning Province in 2006 to assess EF. Its results showed that Liaoning Province overused its natural capital and was in an unsustainable state. We concluded that two specific problems that had arisen in EF assessment and gave some suggestions for Liaoning Province to improve its unsustainable state.     

基于生态足迹方法的中国生态可持续性分析

基于生态足迹和EMD方法,分析了中国1961~2005年生态可持续性的周期性变化,并建立具有周期性波动的非线性动力学模型,预测未来10年中国人均生态足迹和生物承载力的发展趋势。结果发现:44年来,中国人均生态足迹具有明显的4.3年、14.3年和17年3个波动周期,人均生物承载力具有明显的3.5年、8.8年、17.7年和44年4个波动周期;若未来10年中国人均生态足迹和生物承载力均延续过去44年的变化趋势,则2015年人均生态足迹、生物承载力、生态赤字将分别为1.366ghm²、1.108ghm²和0.258ghm²,人均生态足迹和生态赤字较2005年分别下降了0.27ghm²、0.441ghm²,而人均生物承载力增加了0.171ghm²。在保持经济、技术和人民生活水平稳步提高的同时,这种程度的生态超载有可能通过贸易引进生物承载力,通过技术进步、提高管理水平等增加生物承载力得到缓解。     

Trends in per capita ecological footprint and biocapacity in China 1949–2013

This paper proposes two concepts: the ecological footprint component index(EFCI) and the biocapacity component index(BCCI), based on the ecological footprint(EF) and Shannon entropy approaches. Per capita EFCI and BCCI in China 1949-2013 are analyzed using empirical mode decomposition(EMD). Nonlinear models of per capita EFCI and BCCI in China 1949-2013 are presented and their cycles and predictions from 2014 to 2023 are analyzed. The results over the last 65 years show:(1) EFCI in China has increased constantly with fluctuations, while BCCI has slowly decreased. Their annual change rates are 2.81% and-1.26%, respectively. The increasing EFCI indicates a gradual improvement in China's sustainable development potential; the decreasing BCCI indicates severe environmental and population challenges.(2) The cycles of per capita EFCI have periods of 5.4 and 16.3 years, while cycles of per capita BCCI have periods of 3.6, 13,and 21.7 years. The predictive models indicate that EFCI will first decrease, reaching 0.02725 in2014, and will subsequently increase to 0.03261 in 2021. BCCI will increase, reaching 0.01365 in2014 and 0.01541 in 2022. EFCI and BCCI will reach 0.03037 and 0.01537, respectively, in 2023.Policymakers should ensure that the EFCI and BCCI increase in 2023.     

基于生态足迹的苏州市可持续发展动态研究

以苏州市为例,应用生态足迹分析法对苏州市1990~2010年生态足迹及生态承载力进行统计核算,并对苏州市可持续发展程度进行了定量研究和动态分析。研究结果表明,苏州市2010年人均生态足迹为6.48hm2,人均生态承载力为0.27hm2,人均生态赤字高达6.21hm2,远远超出了目前的生态承载力,城市生态系统处于不可持续的发展状态。通过动态分析,结果显示苏州市的生态足迹不断增大,但增长速度正在变缓,生态承载力稳中有降,万元GDP生态足迹也在下降,这表明苏州市的资源利用率不断提高。提出了苏州市需尽快进行社会经济结构调整,控制人口增长,对耕地实行严格的保护,提高能源利用效率和降低能源消耗等措施,以减少生态赤字,促进社会经济可持续发展。     

A bottom-up approach towards the assessment of ecological footprints and biocapacity

The concept of ecological footprint (EF) assessment embeds into the broader concept of sustainable development, relating directly to quality of life and maintaining the natural constraints of the global ecosystem. EFs relate to the balance between the Earth's biocapacity and consumption, measured as land equivalence in global hectares per capita. The majority of studies relating to EF assessments have adopted a top-down methodology in order to assess national and regional EFs. Furthermore, these studies are mainly based upon national accounts of input, output and trade; information which is readily available for most countries, and the EFs usually require an assessment of equivalent land area per capita to maintain the current levels of consumption. Since its inception in the mid-1990s, the EF methodology has been refined and has been widely adopted by many countries and governments as a tool to measure biocapacity, or, the consumption of resources. In this paper, we present a bottom-up methodology to measure the EF of a rural region (near Chennai) in southern India. Advantages and limitations of this approach are then discussed through comparisons with regional and national assessments.