Search Results (9)

Human needs alter ecosystem services (ESs), which then affect human needs. Based on the human needs theory, human needs in ESs are classified into four major categories of needs. A monetization method was used to quantify the ecosystem service need value (ESNV), the ES value equivalent method was used to calculate the ES supply value (ESSV), and the correlation coefficient method was used to understand the relationships and mutual influences among human needs. Finally, the supply and demand relationships were compared to obtain the gap between the supply of and demand for ESs. Taking Hechi City, a city with a predominantly karst landscape, as an example, we found that: (1) the total area of high-value areas and generally high-value areas in Hechi City increased by 10,935.15 km², whereas the total area of low-value areas decreased by 11,094.07 km². (2) A positive correlation exists between the various demands. Spiritual needs and material needs are moderately significantly positively correlated, with a correlation coefficient of 0.54. Security needs are positively correlated with material needs, with a correlation coefficient of 0.6. (3) The ESNV and ESSV in Hechi City are slightly imbalanced. Du’an requires an external ecosystem supply of CNY 21.9192 million for living material, while Jinchengjiang has the potential to export a water supply value of CNY 22.9934 million to external ecosystems. (4) The centers of gravity of various types of supply and demand are distributed primarily within Jinchengjiang District, only the center of gravity of production material needs is in the northern part of Du’an County. The distance between the centers of gravity of the demand and supply for living materials increased by 2100.44 m, the distance between the centers of gravity of the demand and supply for oxygen security increased by 639.15 m. The results are complementary to current research on ESs from the perspective of ES demand. These findings can thus provide scientific foundational information to help decision makers understand the balance between the supply and demand of ESs in a region and promote the construction of a human-harmonious ecosystem. Full article

Oasis cities are central to the economic and social development as well as ecological sustainability in the arid region in Northwest China. This study aims to explore the balance between river health and human well-being of local residents in the Hexi River oasis, while also enhancing the effectiveness of water resource management within the basin. Utilizing the SMI-P method, we construct a ‘Happy River’ evaluation system that integrates goals, criteria, and indicators. We analyze the evaluation index system for ‘Happy River’ construction in the study area, specifically the Zhangye City section of the Heihe River Basin, and derive a comprehensive evaluation value for the ‘Happy River’ initiative. Additionally, we assess the fit attribute of the evaluation system using the coupled coordination degree model and harmony degree theory, thereby enhancing the rationality of the evaluation method and ensuring a more thorough examination process. The results indicate that from 2017 to 2021, the urban wastewater treatment rate and the degree of water quality excellence in the Zhangye City section of the Black River Basin represent the highest and lowest weights, respectively, within the evaluation system. This suggests that improving the quality of the urban water environment has emerged as the primary factor influencing the assessment of the Happy River during the construction of the Happy River and Happy Lake. Moreover, ecological health is identified as the most significant criterion in the evaluation system, serving as the main factor affecting residents’ perceptions of happiness related to rivers and lakes. Over the five-year period, the happiness level in the study area improved from “relatively happy” to “very happy”, while the coupling coordination degree increased from 0.605 to 0.687, indicating a gradual progression toward coordinated development. Simultaneously, the harmony degree rose from 0.527 to 0.601, suggesting a tendency towards a condition of basic harmony. Additionally, the happiness index increased from 76.71 to 81.97, transitioning from a state of happiness to one of very high happiness. The composite index also improved, rising from 0.459 to 0.526, which demonstrates the preliminary success of the ‘Happy River’ construction efforts in the study area. The evaluation system and model of the ‘Happy River’, along with the final results of this study, can serve as theoretical references for the development of similar initiatives in typical characteristic rivers within the arid region of Northwest China. Full article

As a predominant ecosystem-providing area and distinctive landscape in arid regions, an oasis plays an important role in maintaining land stability, human production, and daily activities. Studying the dynamics of oasis and its driving factors is vital to supporting arid regions’ sustainable development. As a typical mountain–desert–oasis landscape, the Turpan–Hami (Tuha) Basin, located in Xinjiang, China, includes complex interactions among different land types. For this study, we revealed the spatio-temporal patterns and transition processes of the oasis using a complex network method between 1990 and 2020 in the Tuha Basin. In the oasis transition network, the degree value, betweenness centrality, and average path length were calculated to express the transition relationship, key oasis type, and oasis structural stability, respectively. Six factors related to climate change and human actives were selected to investigate the driving forces behind oasis transitions, including the average temperature and precipitation in the growing season, the total power of agricultural machinery (TAMP), the production of raw coal (PRC), the total output value of the plantation industry (TPI), and the population (Pop). Our results show that the oasis area of the Tuha Basin, including the natural oasis and artificial oasis, all grew from 1990 to 2020, with the natural oasis expanding more than the artificial oasis. The transitions between oasis types became more frequent as the area of oasis land types increased throughout the study period. Grassland acted as the most important oasis type in the network, with the highest betweenness centrality, but its importance declined due to the increasing complexity of the oasis transition network from 1990 to 2020. The transitions between oasis types became simpler, and the oasis structural stability decreased. Through driving force analysis, the oasis changes showed a positive correlation with the temperature (p-value < 0.05, r = 0.88), and urbanization and industrialization factors prompted transitions to built-up areas and cropland from grassland and shrubland. In summary, our results suggest that to create a harmonious symbiotic relationship between the natural environment in dryland and human activities, preventing grassland degradation and excessive reclamation of land cover is an available way. Meanwhile, the protection of shrubland and water resources is also important. This study provided reference and theory support for promoting the sustainable development of oases. Full article

Water resources, energy, and food are fundamental resources for ensuring human social development. The coordinated development of these resources contributes to improving the quality of the social environment, promoting harmony between humans and nature, and achieving economic, social, and ecological sustainability. This study utilizes panel data from 30 provinces in China from 2003 to 2020. Using a coupled coordination degree model, the coupling coordination degree of the Water–Energy–Food (WEF) system is calculated, and the spatiotemporal evolution and social network connections of WEF coupling coordination are analyzed. The spatial Durbin model is employed to investigate the spatial spillover effects of heterogeneous environmental regulation on the coordinated development of the WEF system. The mechanism model is used to explore the pathways through which heterogeneous environmental regulation influences the coordinated development of the WEF system. The results of this study demonstrate that the coupling coordination index of China’s provincial-level WEF system has shown a steady upward trend, except for a slight decline in a few years. Over the research period, there has been a significant improvement in regional coupling coordination levels. There are large differences in the level of WEF coupling coordination among different regions, with a distribution pattern of south > north and east > west. Both formal and informal environmental regulations have significant positive effects on the coupling coordination development of the WEF system, as well as significant positive spatial spillover effects. Formal environmental regulation has a stronger impact compared to informal environmental regulation. Foreign direct investment and industrial structural upgrading are important pathways for environmental regulation to promote the coordinated development of the WEF system. Both formal and informal environmental regulations can promote the coordinated development of the WEF system by facilitating foreign direct investment and industrial structural upgrading. This study not only provides important scientific evidence and decision-making references for policymakers in formulating environmental regulation policies but also offers new evidence support for the theory of regional development disparities. Full article

Chile is facing an environmental crisis and the territory of the Mapuche people is no exception. This is largely due to extractivism, which refers to the massive extraction and exploitation of natural resources in an indiscriminate manner. The objective of this study was to reveal the implications of extractivism and environmental pollution in Mapuche territories in the Araucanía region. The methodology used was qualitative, based on constructivist grounded theory. In-depth interviews and participant observation were used to collect data. The participants were 46 kimeltuchefes. The main results revealed extensive monocultures of non-native trees: pine and eucalyptus, which consume large amounts of water. They also revealed environmental pollution and indiscriminate forestry extractivism related to these trees, which generate soil degradation and water pollution. These consequences reduce biodiversity and disturb the ngenh (spiritual beings and protectors of nature). They also affect the Mapuche’s agricultural activities and, in turn, their health and subsistence. In addition, non-native tree monocultures, environmental pollution and forestry extractivism transgress the az mapu (Mapuche code of ethics and behaviour), which disturbs the ethical, moral and spiritual relationship between the Mapuche and nature. They also have negative implications for the küme mogen (good living of the Mapuche), since they violate the balance and harmony between the Mapuche and all living beings, elements and spiritual beings that are part of nature. This also violates the reciprocity between the Mapuche and nature. It was concluded that there have been violations of the human rights of the Mapuche people, given that they are exposed to harmful environmental conditions that put their health and subsistence at considerable risk. In this sense, the Mapuche are experiencing a spiritual, physical, cognitive, attitudinal, affective and material imbalance. Ultimately, the state of Chile must generate intercultural environmental public and educational policies aimed at generating environmental awareness and creating actions to solve environmental problems in order to protect Mapuche and non-Mapuche territories. Full article

Considering the issues of water scarcity, water environment deterioration, and unreasonable allocation of water resources in the urban area of the Yellow River Basin, this paper introduces the human–water harmony theory to the allocation of regional water resources. Based on an analysis of the structural characteristics of the regional water resource system, the harmonious water resource allocation (HWRA) model—which includes three sub-systems (i.e., the water service system, ecological environmental system, and economic and social system)—is established. In addition, considering the uncertain factors in the HWRA model, the inexact fuzzy multi-objective programming (IFMOP) method is used to solve the model, aiming at achieving the minimum amount of regional water scarcity, the minimum amount of sewage discharge, and the maximum total economic benefit. A case study of water resource allocation of Binzhou, a city located in the Yellow River Basin, is conducted to validate the model. The model solution results show that the water resource system in Binzhou in 2025 and 2035 could be optimized after harmonious allocation, especially in terms of the water service and ecological environmental systems. Compared with the optimal water resource allocation (OWRA) model, the HWRA model has a more scientific water supply structure, and a smaller amount of sewage discharge. The HWRA model solves the variables using an interval number, so it can flexibly and scientifically reflect the decision-making process. Full article

As the principal part of economic and social development, the demographic factor is the fundamental factor driving the change of water resources, and achieving the harmony of human and water has been one of the most important tasks to promote high-quality development. Based on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory, this article applied panel data for 19 years and employed impulse response functions and threshold models to do a mechanism analysis of the impact of population structure changes on the water consumption changes of the three main industries. The study found the following: Firstly, the urban population promotes an increase of the total water consumption, industrial water consumption, and domestic water consumption, which suppresses agricultural water consumption and shows an inverted “N” trend. Secondly, the aging population has expanded the total water consumption, and agricultural and domestic water demand, and reduced industrial water consumption. Thirdly, food consumption helps to reduce the total water consumption and agricultural water consumption, but increases the industrial water consumption and the growth rate rises. Fourthly, the increase in the proportion of agricultural employment reduces the total water consumption, and agricultural and domestic water consumption, and increases industrial water consumption. Fifthly, the total water consumption and domestic water consumption both increase with the improvement of the population education level, while the agricultural water consumption declines first and then rises. The empirical results can provide a reference for analyzing the driving mechanisms of regional water consumption changes. Full article

The conflict of the human-water relationships (HWR) has further increased the water-related risks, such as water environment deterioration, water shortages, and even regional violent conflicts for obtaining usable water resources. Knowing how to evaluate and regulate the discordant HWR to form a balanced growth between sustainable socio-economy and water resources protection has become a critical issue in water resources management. The harmony theory method, which provides a new perspective for solving the conflict between humans and water, has been widely used in current studies. However, this method focuses less on the quantitative study of the balance status of HWR. This study proposes a harmony theory-based HWR evaluation method that contains a systematic process of harmony assessment, indicator identification, harmony balance constraints, and harmony regulation for assessing and regulating the discordant HWR. The Henan Province of China, which has a complicated HWR, was selected as a case study to apply and verify the approach proposed in this study. The results indicated that (1) Henan Province showed a poor harmony status. The human–water harmony degree of 18 distinctions in the province varied from 0.41 to 0.76, showing an increasing trend from 2006 to 2018, indicating that the HWR was gradually improving in recent years. (2) The human–water harmony degree showed that HWR in the southwest part of Henan Province, with less human activities, was better than that in its northeast part, which had faster social development. Sanmenxia City, located in the west part of the province, had the highest human–water harmony degree because of the recent water control projects implemented in the city, indicating that human production measures could effectively help improve HWR. (3) At present, Henan Province has serious discordant indicators in these three aspects (water system health, humanistic system development, and human-water system coordination), which proves that it is still facing pressure from both socio-economy sustainable development and water resources protection. Our results provide insight into water resources management in Henan Province and other similar regions. Full article

River-lake water systems (RLS) are important carriers for matter transformation and energy transmission. Influenced by accelerated social and economic development, the structural, functional, and environmental states of RLS have been seriously damaged. It is an important problem for human beings to coordinate the contradiction between socio-economic development and the protection of RLS. In order to quantitatively study the harmonious relationship between socio-economic development and the state of RLS, the harmony theory method was used to analyze the degree of harmonious development between socio-economy and RLS in this study taking Xiangyang City as an example, and formulating corresponding harmonious optimization schemes. The results indicate that: (1) the state of RLS had a relatively small change during 2009–2014, and its spatial distribution shows a decreasing trend with the Han River as the central axis decreases on both of its sides; (2) before 2011, the driving force of socio-economic development in Xiang yang City mainly originated in the peripheral regions such as Laohekou City, Zaoyang City, and Gucheng County, but after 2011, it migrated rapidly towards Downtown, and reached the maximum in 2014; (3) when the influence of regional socio-economic development on RLS is small, socio-economic development is the main factor driving the change of the overall harmonious development degree of socio-economy and RLS. However when the influence is big, it is combined, driven by socio-economic development and the state of RLS; (4) the main factors affecting the overall harmonious degree of socio-economy and RLS in Xiangyang City include: river length, standard ratio of water quality, water consumption per capita, reservoir regulation capability, farmland irrigation water consumption per Mu (Mu is an area unit in China, 1 Mu approximately equals to 666.67 m²), and sewage treatment rate. This study can provide a reference for the future analysis of the harmonious development between socio-economy and RLS, as well as in formulating corresponding harmonious optimization schemes in China and other countries in a similar situation. Full article