IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v12y2020i2p562-d307733.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Natural Capital Evolution and Driving Forces in Energy-Rich and Ecologically Fragile Regions: A Case Study of Ningxia Province, China

Author

Listed:
  • Shanshan Guo

    (School of Environment Science and Spatial Informatics, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou 221116, China)

  • Yinghong Wang

    (School of Environment Science and Spatial Informatics, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou 221116, China)

  • Huping Hou

    (School of Environment Science and Spatial Informatics, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou 221116, China)

  • Changyue Wu

    (School of Environment Science and Spatial Informatics, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou 221116, China)

  • Jing Yang

    (School of Environment Science and Spatial Informatics, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou 221116, China)

  • Wei He

    (School of Environment Science and Spatial Informatics, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou 221116, China)

  • Lan Xiang

    (School of Environment Science and Spatial Informatics, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou 221116, China)

Abstract

Ningxia Province is rich in energy but fragile in ecology. How to coordinate sustainable utilization of natural capital and the fragile ecological environment is a significant guarantee for social-economic development. This study uses the improved three-dimensional ecological footprint to characterize the utilization status of natural capital flows and stocks in Ningxia Province from 2004 to 2017. Additionally, the driving factors behind changes in the natural capital stock are revealed by the partial least squares method (PLS). The results are as follows: (1) From 2004 to 2017, ecological footprint increased rapidly in Ningxia Province at an annual rate of 4.52%, resulting in a increase of the ecological deficit from 1.64 to 3.85 gha/cap at an annual rate of 6.8%, among which, Yinchuan city and Shizuishan city had the largest ecological deficit, while Guyuan city basically maintained ecological surplus. The fossil energy land and cropland were the main components of ecological footprint. (2) The consumption of capital stock in Ningxia Province continued to grow at an annual rate of 3.12%, from a value of 2.28 times overusing the existing area in 2004, increasing to 3.41 times in 2017. While the EF size increased slightly with an annual rate of 1.95%. The capital stock consumption was concentrated in Yinchuan and Shizuishan, and the capital flow consumption was concentrated in Wuzhong, Guyuan, and Zhongwei. (3) The capital flows of forest land and built-up land basically meet consumption demand, while the capital stock occupation of grassland, water and fossil energy land was serious. By 2017, the capital flow of cropland could basically satisfy people’s consumption demand. (4) The urbanization rate, GDP, the secondary industry output value and per capita consumption expenditure of urban residents were the main influence factors on the natural capital stock consumption. These findings not only are of real significance in promoting the coordinated development between economy and natural capital utilization in Ningxia Province but also have policy implications in improving the utilization efficiency of natural capital in energy-rich ecologically fragile regions.

Suggested Citation

  • Shanshan Guo & Yinghong Wang & Huping Hou & Changyue Wu & Jing Yang & Wei He & Lan Xiang, 2020. "Natural Capital Evolution and Driving Forces in Energy-Rich and Ecologically Fragile Regions: A Case Study of Ningxia Province, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-16, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:2:p:562-:d:307733
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/2/562/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/2/562/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jia, Junsong & Deng, Hongbing & Duan, Jing & Zhao, Jingzhu, 2009. "Analysis of the major drivers of the ecological footprint using the STIRPAT model and the PLS method--A case study in Henan Province, China," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(11), pages 2818-2824, September.
    2. Maes, Joachim & Egoh, Benis & Willemen, Louise & Liquete, Camino & Vihervaara, Petteri & Schägner, Jan Philipp & Grizzetti, Bruna & Drakou, Evangelia G. & Notte, Alessandra La & Zulian, Grazia & Bour, 2012. "Mapping ecosystem services for policy support and decision making in the European Union," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 1(1), pages 31-39.
    3. Paoli, C. & Povero, P. & Burgos, E. & Dapueto, G. & Fanciulli, G. & Massa, F. & Scarpellini, P. & Vassallo, P., 2018. "Natural capital and environmental flows assessment in marine protected areas: The case study of Liguria region (NW Mediterranean Sea)," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 368(C), pages 121-135.
    4. Buonocore, Elvira & Picone, Flavio & Donnarumma, Luigia & Russo, Giovanni F. & Franzese, Pier Paolo, 2019. "Modeling matter and energy flows in marine ecosystems using emergy and eco-exergy methods to account for natural capital value," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 392(C), pages 137-146.
    5. Arrow, Kenneth & Bolin, Bert & Costanza, Robert & Dasgupta, Partha & Folke, Carl & Holling, C.S. & Jansson, Bengt-Owe & Levin, Simon & Mäler, Karl-Göran & Perrings, Charles & Pimentel, David, 1996. "Economic growth, carrying capacity, and the environment," Environment and Development Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 1(1), pages 104-110, February.
    6. Daly, Herman E., 1990. "Toward some operational principles of sustainable development," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 2(1), pages 1-6, April.
    7. Seton, Francis, 2000. "Scissor crises, value-prices, and the movement of value-prices under technical change," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 11(1-2), pages 13-24, July.
    8. Crane, Bret & Hartwell, Christopher J., 2019. "Global talent management: A life cycle view of the interaction between human and social capital," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 54(2), pages 82-92.
    9. Yue, Dongxia & Xu, Xiaofeng & Li, Zizhen & Hui, Cang & Li, Wenlong & Yang, Hequn & Ge, Jianping, 2006. "Spatiotemporal analysis of ecological footprint and biological capacity of Gansu, China 1991-2015: Down from the environmental cliff," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(2), pages 393-406, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ji, Zhonglin & Pan, Yaozhong & Li, Nan, 2021. "Integrating the temperature vegetation dryness index and meteorology parameters to dynamically predict crop yield with fixed date intervals using an integral regression model," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 455(C).
    2. Wei Sun & Junli Li & Wenxi Qu, 2022. "Sustainability evolution and factors based on ecological footprint: A case study of Rizhao, China," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(1), pages 132-150, March.
    3. Shuangao Wang & Rajchandar Padmanaban & Mohamed Shamsudeen & Felipe S. Campos & Pedro Cabral, 2022. "Landscape Impacts on Ecosystem Service Values Using the Image Fusion Approach," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-18, July.
    4. Hao Liu & Haiguang Hao & Lihui Sun & Tingting Zhou, 2022. "Spatial–Temporal Evolution Characteristics of Landscape Ecological Risk in the Agro-Pastoral Region in Western China: A Case Study of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-23, October.
    5. Shanshan Guo & Yinghong Wang & Jiu Huang & Jihong Dong & Jian Zhang, 2021. "Decoupling and Decomposition Analysis of Land Natural Capital Utilization and Economic Growth: A Case Study in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(2), pages 1-18, January.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Toman, Michael & Pezzey, John C., 2002. "The Economics of Sustainability: A Review of Journal Articles," RFF Working Paper Series dp-02-03, Resources for the Future.
    2. Lange, Steffen & Pohl, Johanna & Santarius, Tilman, 2020. "Digitalization and energy consumption. Does ICT reduce energy demand?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    3. Toman, Michael, 1998. "Sustainable Decisionmaking: The State of the Art from an Economics Perspective," RFF Working Paper Series dp-98-39, Resources for the Future.
    4. Figge, Frank & Hahn, Tobias, 2004. "Sustainable Value Added--measuring corporate contributions to sustainability beyond eco-efficiency," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(2), pages 173-187, February.
    5. Tilman Santarius & Johanna Pohl & Steffen Lange, 2020. "Digitalization and the Decoupling Debate: Can ICT Help to Reduce Environmental Impacts While the Economy Keeps Growing?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-20, September.
    6. Paolo Vassallo & Claudia Turcato & Ilaria Rigo & Claudia Scopesi & Andrea Costa & Matteo Barcella & Giulia Dapueto & Mauro Mariotti & Chiara Paoli, 2021. "Biophysical Accounting of Forests’ Value under Different Management Regimes: Conservation vs. Exploitation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-20, April.
    7. Scruggs, Lyle A., 1998. "Political and economic inequality and the environment," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 26(3), pages 259-275, September.
    8. Yue, Dongxia & Xu, Xiaofeng & Hui, Cang & Xiong, Youcai & Han, Xuemei & Ma, Jinhui, 2011. "Biocapacity supply and demand in Northwestern China: A spatial appraisal of sustainability," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(5), pages 988-994, March.
    9. Haider Mahmood & Maham Furqan & Muhammad Shahid Hassan & Soumen Rej, 2023. "The Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) Hypothesis in China: A Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-32, April.
    10. V. K. Shrotryia & Shashank Vikram Pratap Singh, 2020. "Measuring Progress Beyond GDP: A Theoretical Perspective," Emerging Economy Studies, International Management Institute, vol. 6(2), pages 143-165, November.
    11. Buonocore, Elvira & Appolloni, Luca & Russo, Giovanni F. & Franzese, Pier Paolo, 2020. "Assessing natural capital value in marine ecosystems through an environmental accounting model: A case study in Southern Italy," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 419(C).
    12. Zhiqiang Zhang & Ling Li & Qiuyu Guo, 2022. "The Interactive Relationships between the Tourism-Transportation-Ecological Environment System of Provinces along the ‘Silk Road Economic Belt’ in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-33, March.
    13. Halkos, George & Paizanos, Epameinondas, 2015. "Environmental Macroeconomics: A critical literature review and future empirical research directions," MPRA Paper 67432, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Chiara Paoli & Paolo Povero & Ilaria Rigo & Giulia Dapueto & Rachele Bordoni & Paolo Vassallo, 2022. "Two Sides of the Same Coin: A Theoretical Framework for Strong Sustainability in Marine Protected Areas," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-20, May.
    15. Liming Zhao & Ling Li & Yujie Wu, 2017. "Research on the Coupling Coordination of a Sea–Land System Based on an Integrated Approach and New Evaluation Index System: A Case Study in Hainan Province, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(5), pages 1-25, May.
    16. Frank Figge & Tobias Hahn, 2004. "Sustainable Value Added: ein neues Maß des Nachhaltigkeitsbeitrags von Unternehmen am Beispiel der Henkel KGaA," Vierteljahrshefte zur Wirtschaftsforschung / Quarterly Journal of Economic Research, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research, vol. 73(1), pages 126-141.
    17. Ming Zhong & Qi Tang & Xiaofeng Ma & John Douglas Hunt, 2019. "Scissors Difference of Socioeconomics, Travel and Space Consumption Behavior of Rural and Urban Households and Its Impact on Modeling Accuracy and Data Requirements," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(19), pages 1-18, October.
    18. Buonocore, Elvira & Donnarumma, Luigia & Appolloni, Luca & Miccio, Antonino & Russo, Giovanni F. & Franzese, Pier Paolo, 2020. "Marine natural capital and ecosystem services: An environmental accounting model," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 424(C).
    19. Norton, Bryan & Costanza, Robert & Bishop, Richard C., 1998. "The evolution of preferences: Why 'sovereign' preferences may not lead to sustainable policies and what to do about it," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 24(2-3), pages 193-211, February.
    20. Kofi Akamani, 2020. "Integrating Deep Ecology and Adaptive Governance for Sustainable Development: Implications for Protected Areas Management," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(14), pages 1-21, July.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:2:p:562-:d:307733. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.