Analysis of the trade-off between economic growth and the reduction of nitrogen and phosphorus emissions in the Poyang Lake Watershed, China

Xiangzheng Deng, Yonghong Zhao, Feng Wu, Yingzhi Lin, Qi Lu and Jing Dai

Ecological Modelling, 2011, vol. 222, issue 2, 330-336

Abstract: Lake eutrophication leading to water pollution is a major global concern. In recent years, rapid economic growth and the increase in the intensity of resource exploitation in China have caused the influx of nitrogen and phosphorus into lakes. This in turn has led to more severe lake eutrophication, more frequent outbreaks of algal blooms, and the degradation of lake ecosystems. An effective plan balancing economic growth with the reduction of nitrogen and phosphorus emissions is greatly needed. The design and implementation of such a plan requires the collection and analysis of pertinent data. In this paper, we use the environmental computable general equilibrium (ECGE) model to identify the most effective way to balance economic growth with the reduction of nitrogen and phosphorus emissions. For the multiregional analysis, we use social accounting matrices (SAMs) and a provincial trade matrix based on the assumptions of the gravity model. We consider the Poyang Lake Watershed as a case study to illustrate the utility of the model. Based on present conditions in the Poyang Lake Watershed, restricting nitrogen and phosphorus emissions from sectors with the highest emissions is more effective for balancing economic growth and the reduction of nitrogen and phosphorus emissions than restricting nitrogen and phosphorus emissions from all sectors.

Keywords: Lake eutrophication; Environmental computable general equilibrium; Emission reduction; Poyang Lake Watershed; Jiangxi (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2011
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S030438001000445X
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:ecomod:v:222:y:2011:i:2:p:330-336

DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2010.08.032

Access Statistics for this article

Ecological Modelling is currently edited by Brian D. Fath

More articles in Ecological Modelling from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().