Dual Method for Comprehensive Evaluation of Sustainable Water Resources’ Utilization Capacity in Huangshui River in Yellow River Basin, China
Thurasamy Ramayah
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsManuscript title: Evaluation of the Sustainable Utilization Capacity of Water Re-sources Based on Two Evaluation Methods in the Huangshui 3 River of the Yellow River, China
The evaluation of the paper presented as follows:
1. Keywords in the abstract should be added: Originality value of the study ; Social Implications ;
2. Introducation: The introduction should present the objective of the current study. As well the research question. The structure of the sections. Authors had presented few literature studies related to the water resource scarcity. We recommend to renforce the theoritical context of the study iwth new section ( Literature review section) in witch authors collected all relevent cited references papers to inhance more the theoritical body of the paper.
To improuve more the literature review, recent nature resources governace studies are interesant: Mohsen B. and Luigi A. 2022. Governance of abundant natural resources, mining and energy, and their economic impacts on developing countries: Theoretical controversies, International Journal of Public Sector Performance Management, Vol.12, Nos.1/2,pp.275-314. DOI: 10.1504/IJPSPM.2022.10038757 (Scopus)
Sherin M., Mohsen B. Dakheel A., Economic impacts assessment of saline agriculture on marginal lands in Egypt: Case study, International Journal of Public Sector Performance Management, 2022, Vol.12, Nos.1/2,pp.76-82. DOI: 10.1504/IJPSPM.2022.10038750 (Scopus)
3. Materials and Methods
* The method used (Fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method ) : authors maybe provide other statistical method used in other studies, than they argument why they preferend to use this method Fuzzy CEM? What are the main advantages, etc.
* The region choice: Specify compard to other region in China?
* Table1 and table 2: Evaluation of sustaina-ble utilization capacity of water resources: We remark that authors used just 03 Indicators (e.i: climatic factors , water resources systems , Socio-Economic). But there are more Indicators to add in your model to get statistical significant results.
4. Results and Discussion sections :
* Line 282 ; 'degree, the evaluation results indicate a maximum membership degree of 0.507'. Authors argumented this level as Medium sustainable utilization capacity in Huangshui River Basin's. But is very lower tah the medium? Revise this result.
* Line 297: This indicates that the sustainable utilization capacity of the Huangshui River Basin's water resources is classified at the first Level Ⅲ using the ELECTRE III method. Is it hazard to obtain the same results ( Medium) by Fuzzy and Electric III methods? Argument?
* Figure 3. 'Influence Factor Diagram' : Provide as the input data of the C15 index indices fro the two methods Fuzzy and ELECTRE.
Did the divergence of results using baisis data? Or each method have main gap error to be revised by the other method? explain.
5. Limitation and implication policies: this section should be joined afther the discussion secion.
6. Spelling and grammer: Moderated english language revision required.
7. Reference section : The new cited references should be added according the reference modl of the journal.
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Comments on the Quality of English Language
Moderate english language revision required.
Author Response
RESPONSES TO REVIEWER #1
We are grateful to Reviewer #1 and the editor for their careful and insightful review. The comments and suggestions have contributed much to improving the article. According to the reviewers’ professional suggestions, we have made moderate modifications to our manuscript.
Point 1#
Comment: Keywords in the abstract should be added: Originality value of the study ;Social Implications .
Response: Thank you for your valuable feedback on my manuscript. I appreciate your suggestion to include keywords such as "Water resource management" and "ELECTRE III" in the abstract. I will incorporate these keywords to enhance the clarity and relevance of the paper.
Point 2#
Comment: Introducation: The introduction should present the objective of the current study. As well the research question. The structure of the sections. Authors had presented few literature studies related to the water resource scarcity. We recommend to renforce the theoritical context of the study iwth new section ( Literature review section) in witch authors collected all relevent cited references papers to inhance more the theoritical body of the paper.
Response: Thank you for your valuable input into our research. We take your suggestions very seriously and will strengthen the introduction in the revision of the version. We collected relevant literature and added a new literature study on water scarcity to the introduction. "
(on Page1-2, lines 36-57 of the revised manuscript).
Point 3#
Comment: The method used (Fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method ) : authors maybe provide other statistical method used in other studies, than they argument why they preferend to use this method Fuzzy CEM? What are the main advantages, etc.
Response: We are very thankful to the reviewer for the insightful comment and agree with the reviewer’s comments. The fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method can quantify the indicators qualitatively and quantitatively, and use the fuzzy mathematical model to comprehensively evaluate the evaluation objects. In this paper, we summarize the advantages and disadvantages of typical evaluation methods for sustainable use of water resources, and demonstrate the rationality of using the fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method.
(on Page2-3, lines 58-82 of the revised manuscript).
Point 4#
Comment: The region choice: Specify compard to other region in China?
Response: Thank you for your suggestion on the selection of study areas.Located in Qinghai Province, the Huangshui Basin is an important tributary of the Yellow River, with diverse topography and abundant water resources, in contrast to the water resources of other parts of China, such as North and East China. Water resources management in the Huangshui Basin faces special challenges, such as soil and water conservation and water quality conservation in the plateau environment, and the complexity of management strategies and implementation is different from that of other water-stressed areas (e.g., the North China Plain). In terms of social economy, the economic development of the Huangshui Basin is relatively lagging behind, with agriculture as the main focus and a low degree of industrialization. Compared with the developed coastal areas (such as the Pearl River Delta), the economic structure and development model are significantly different. With the "Action Plan for Ecological Protection and Governance of the Yellow River" and other policies, the water resources management in the Huangshui Basin has received more and more attention.
Point 5#
Comment: Table1 and table 2: Evaluation of sustainable utilization capacity of water resources: We remark that authors used just 03 Indicators (e.i: climatic factors , water resources systems , Socio-Economic). But there are more Indicators to add in your model to get statistical significant results.
Response: Thank you for your insightful comments regarding the indicators we used to evaluate the sustainable utilization capacity of water resources. We greatly appreciate your highlighting of this issue. The selection of indicators was based on a thorough review of the literature, optimization through comparison, and the availability of data, ensuring their applicability to the assessment work in the study area. We recognize that considering additional indicators may enhance the comprehensiveness of our model and the statistical significance of our results. Therefore, your suggestion is invaluable in helping us improve our research further. Thank you once again for your valuable feedback, and we look forward.
Point 6#
Comment: Line 282 ; 'degree, the evaluation results indicate a maximum membership degree of 0.507'. Authors argumented this level as Medium sustainable utilization capacity in Huangshui River Basin's. But is very lower tah the medium? Revise this result.
Response: Thank you for your careful examination of our evaluation results. We appreciate your observation regarding the maximum membership degree of 0.507, which we initially categorized as indicating a medium sustainable utilization capacity in the Huangshui River Basin. We acknowledge that this value is indeed on the lower end of the medium range.
Point 7#
Comment:Line 297: This indicates that the sustainable utilization capacity of the Huangshui River Basin's water resources is classified at the first Level Ⅲ using the ELECTRE III method. Is it hazard to obtain the same results ( Medium) by Fuzzy and Electric III methods? Argument?
Response: Thank you for your insightful question regarding the classification of the sustainable utilization capacity of the Huangshui River Basin's water resources. While both the Fuzzy Comprehensive Evaluation Method and the ELECTRE III method may yield similar results in terms of categorizing sustainability levels, they are based on different underlying principles and approaches.
ELECTRE III provides greater flexibility in expressing decision-makers' preferences without requiring all uncertainties to be fuzzified[30]. Significantly, compared to Fuzzy Comprehensive Evaluation method, ELECTRE III is computationally complex, requires high data quality, and subjectivity may lead to bias. In some cases, the Fuzzy Comprehensive Evaluation method may be advantageous.
Point 8#
Comment:Figure 3. 'Influence Factor Diagram' : Provide as the input data of the C15 index indices for the two methods Fuzzy and ELECTRE.
Response: Thank you for your constructive suggestion regarding Figure 3, the "Influence Factor Diagram." We will provide the input data for the C15 index from both the Fuzzy Comprehensive Evaluation Method and the ELECTRE III method.
|
objective |
criterion |
Indicator |
Multi-year averages |
|
Evaluation of sustainable utilization capacity of water resources |
Indicators of climatic factors |
C1 Average multi-year precipitation/ mm |
350 |
|
C2 Concentration of precipitation/ % |
84.2 |
||
|
C3 aridity index |
2.57 |
||
|
C4 Annual Precipitation Extreme Ratio |
5.3 |
||
|
Indicators for water resources systems |
C5 water deficit/ % |
34.4 |
|
|
C6 Surface water resource development and utilization/ % |
35.2 |
||
|
C7 Ratio of inter-basin/regional transfers to local water resources/ % |
6.7 |
||
|
C8 Water quality compliance rate of water functional areas/ % |
41.7 |
||
|
Socio-economic indicators |
C9 Water resources per capita／ｍ3 |
670 |
|
|
C10 water consumption of ten thousand Yuan output value／( m3/ million yuan) |
85 |
||
|
C11 population density / person/ km2 |
196.5 |
||
|
C12 Per capita GDP/ million yuan |
2.01 |
||
|
C13 Average acre-foot water use for irrigated farmland/ m3 |
439 |
||
|
C14 Water consumption of 10,000 yuan of industrial output value/( m3/ million yuan) |
32 |
||
|
C15 Centralized urban wastewater treatment rate/ % |
75 |
Point 9#
Comment: Did the divergence of results using basis data? Or each method have main gap error to be revised by the other method? explain.
Response: Thank you for your thought-provoking question about the difference in results between the two methods. Each method may rely on a different type of data or data processing technology, which can lead to changes in results. For example, the fuzzy comprehensive assessment approach takes into account uncertainty and subjective evaluation more explicitly, while the ELECTRE III approach focuses on going beyond alternatives based on defined criteria. However, in the results analysis in this paper, the results are the same for both methods.
Point 10#
Comment: Limitation and implication policies: this section should be joined afther the discussion secion.
Response: Thank you for your valuable suggestion regarding the structure of our manuscript. We agree that the "Limitation and Implication Policies" section would be more appropriately placed after the discussion section. This arrangement will allow for a more cohesive flow of ideas, connecting the findings and their implications more effectively.
Point 11#
Comment: Limitation and implication policies: this section should be joined afther the discussion secion.
Response: Thank you for pointing out the need for a moderated English language revision. We will ensure that the manuscript undergoes a thorough review for spelling and grammar to enhance clarity and readability. Your feedback is invaluable in helping us improve the overall quality of the paper.We appreciate your input and look forward to any further suggestions you may have.
Point 12#
Comment: Reference section : The new cited references should be added according the reference modl of the journal.
Response: Thank you for your feedback regarding the reference section. We will ensure that the newly cited references are formatted according to the journal's reference style. This will help maintain consistency and adhere to the publication guidelines.We appreciate your guidance on this matter and will make the necessary adjustments in the revised manuscript.
Reviewer 2 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsThe paper although interesting needs more workl as follows:
1. The abstrcat is not informative and needs to be rewritten.
2. The introduction need to highligh why this research is needed currently in the context of research, ie; contextualization.
3. There was no review of the literature.
4. How ere the indicators derived is left to guess as there was no review.
5. There is a need to develop the literature and in the discussion to compare and contrast with existing methods.
6. What was found surprising and how these will help which stakholders needs more work.
7 Check completeness and format of references.
8. References are also mostly dated and needs to be updated.
Comments on the Quality of English LanguageAcceptabel level of English.
Author Response
RESPONSES TO REVIEWER #2
We are grateful to Reviewer #2 and the editor for their careful and insightful review. The comments and suggestions have contributed much to improving the article. According to the reviewers’ professional suggestions, we have made major revisions to our manuscript.
Point 1#
Comment: The abstrcat is not informative and needs to be rewritten.
Response: Thank you for your valuable feedback regarding the abstract. We recognize the importance of a well-crafted abstract in conveying the essence of our study. We will rewrite the abstract to ensure it is more informative, clearly outlining the objectives, methods, key findings, and implications of our research.We appreciate your input and look forward to your further suggestions.The new changes are as follows
“The assessment of sustainable water resource utilization in the Huangshui Basin is essential for effective management and development in the water-scarce regions of Northwest China. This research provides valuable insights into the basin's potential for sustainable resource use by developing a comprehensive evaluation index that addresses three critical aspects: climate factors, water resource systems, and socio-economic conditions. To conduct this assessment, two distinct methods were employed: the fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method and the ELECTRE III evaluation method. Remarkably, both approaches yielded consistent results, reinforcing the conclusion that the sustainable utilization capacity of water resources in the Huangshui Basin is at a medium level. The analysis revealed that climatic factors and socio-economic characteristics significantly influence this capacity. In light of these findings, several recommendations are proposed, including enhancing the introduction of external water resources, improving management strategies, and implementing comprehensive remediation efforts aimed at boosting sustainable water use. This research not only contributes to a deeper understanding of the basin's water resource dynamics but also serves as an important reference for informed decision-making regarding sustainable utilization in the Huangshui Basin.”
(on Page1 , lines 17-31 of the revised manuscript).
Point 2#
Comment: The introduction need to highligh why this research is needed currently in the context of research, ie; contextualization.
Response: Thank you for your insightful comments on the introduction. We agree that contextualization is essential to emphasize the relevance of our research. In the revised edition, we will enhance the introduction by clearly highlighting the current importance of this research in the broader context of global sustainability challenges and water resources issues in the Huangshui Basin. This will help to highlight the need for our research and its contribution to the field. We appreciate your feedback and look forward to any further suggestions you may have.
(on Page1-2 , lines 36-57 of the revised manuscript).
Point 3#
Comment: There was no review of the literature.
Response: Thank you for your important observation regarding the literature review. We acknowledge that a thorough review of relevant literature is essential to provide context and support for our study. In the revised manuscript, we will include a comprehensive literature review section that discusses existing research related to water resource sustainability, highlighting key findings and gaps that our study aims to address.We appreciate your feedback and look forward to your further suggestions.
(on Page2-3 , lines 58-82 of the revised manuscript).
“The methods for assessing water resource sustainability can be broadly categorized into two main types: indicator-based evaluation methods and model simulation methods[9-12]. Indicator-based methods assess sustainability by establishing a set of quantitative or qualitative indicators[13]. Common indicators include water availability, water quality, and ecological flow[14]. Li et al. proposed an evaluation method for the sustainability of water resources in typical karst areas, and selected four aspects to evaluate water resources: water resources system, water demand system, ecosystem and socio-economic system, and studied the sustainability of water resources in Zunyi City, Guizhou Province[15]. Additionally, Mehri et al. evaluated the sustainability of large-scale water resource systems by considering quantitative and qualitative aspects of environmental, economic, and water productivity[16]. Model simulation methods employ tools such as hydrological and ecological models to simulate the flow and distribution of water resources, allowing for an assessment of the impacts of different management strategies on sustainability[9, 17].
As statistical methods continue to evolve, various new evaluation approaches have emerged, including the Analytic Hierarchy Process, Fuzzy Comprehensive Evaluation method, Data Envelopment Analysis, Composite Index, Ecological Footprint, Projection Pursuit, and Entropy Value Method[18, 19]. The Fuzzy Comprehensive Evaluation method was first proposed by Zadeh. It is now widely used by academics[20]. Previous studies have focused on qualitative descriptions of water sustainability, but there has been a lack of quantitative research on the topic[21]. Yang et al. combined an improved fuzzy comprehensive evaluation model with the TOPSIS evaluation model, to evaluate the sustainability of water resources in Yulin City[22]. The Fuzzy Comprehensive Evaluation method can solve the problems associated with qualitative evaluation, but it is constrained by the weights of variables when considering multiple factors[23].”
Point 4#
Comment: How are the indicators derived is left to guess as there was no review.
Response: Thank you for your insightful comments regarding the indicators we used to evaluate the sustainable utilization capacity of water resources. We greatly appreciate your highlighting of this issue. The selection of indicators was based on a thorough review of the literature, optimization through comparison, and the availability of data, ensuring their applicability to the assessment work in the study area. We recognize that considering additional indicators may enhance the comprehensiveness of our model and the statistical significance of our results. Therefore, your suggestion is invaluable in helping us improve our research further. Thank you once again for your valuable feedback, and we look forward.
Point 5#
Comment: There is a need to develop the literature and in the discussion to compare and contrast with existing methods.
Response: We are very thankful to the reviewer for the insightful comment and agree with the reviewer’s comments. In this paper, we summarize the advantages and disadvantages of typical evaluation methods for sustainable use of water resources, and demonstrate the rationality of using the fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method.
(on Page2-3, lines 52-81 of the revised manuscript).
Point 6#
Comment: What was found surprising and how these will help which stakholders needs more work.
Response: Thank you for your profound questions about the surprising findings and their impact on stakeholders. When discussing the key issues of sustainable water resources utilization and water resources management in the Huangshui Basin, we must focus on a series of core indicators, which not only directly reflect the current status of water resources management in the basin, but also indicate the potential and challenges for its future development.
The results of this study show that the overall performance of water resources in the Huangshui Basin is medium sustainable utilization capacity. Climatic factors and socio-economic characteristics are the main factors affecting the sustainable utilization of water resources in the Huangshui Basin, and the main controlling factors are the degree of rainfall concentration, the ratio of annual precipitation extremes and the average water consumption per mu of irrigated farmland. Measures to strengthen the introduction of external water resources, water resources management and comprehensive improvement efforts in the basin are proposed to improve the level of sustainable use of water resources. The research results can provide a reference for decision-making for the evaluation of sustainable utilization capacity of water resources in water-scarce areas and the optimization of water resources management in the Huangshui Basin.
(on Page13, lines 375-387 of the revised manuscript)
Point 7#
Comment: Check completeness and format of references. Check completeness and format of references.
Response: Thank you for emphasizing the importance of checking the completeness and format of the references. We will ensure a comprehensive review to verify that all references are complete and correctly formatted according to the journal’s guidelines. This attention to detail is crucial for maintaining the manuscript's integrity.
(on Page14-15, lines 431-506 of the revised manuscript)
Point 8#
Comment: References are also mostly dated and needs to be updated.
Response: Thank you for your valuable feedback regarding the references. We acknowledge that many of the cited works are dated and that updating them is essential to reflect the most current research in the field. In the revised manuscript, we will conduct a thorough review of the literature and include more recent studies to enhance the relevance and credibility of our references.
(on Page14-55, lines 431-506 of the revised manuscript)
Round 2
Reviewer 1 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsDear Authors,
Make sure before the the submission of the final revised vesion that all content is well revised fro the english language.
Comments on the Quality of English LanguageMinor english language revision required.
