Sustainability Evaluation Based on a Three-Dimensional Ecological Footprint Model: A Case Study in Hunan, China

Chuxiong Deng, Zhen Liu, Rongrong Li and Ke Li
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Chuxiong Deng: College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Hunan Normal University, Changsha 410081, China
Zhen Liu: College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Hunan Normal University, Changsha 410081, China
Rongrong Li: College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Hunan Normal University, Changsha 410081, China
Ke Li: Key Laboratory of Computing and Stochastic Mathematics (Ministry of Education of China), School of Mathematics and Statistics, Hunan Normal University, Changsha 410081, China

Sustainability, 2018, vol. 10, issue 12, 1-22

Abstract: Under the concept of green development, the promotion of ecological sustainable development capability has become an important policy objective of the Chinese government. Based on the three-dimensional ecological footprint model, this paper analyzes the ecological footprint, ecological carrying capacity, and ecological sustainable development capacity of Hunan province from 2005 to 2015. The results show that the total ecological footprint of Hunan increases from 2005 to 2015, in which the forest land ecological footprint accounts for the largest proportion. The ecological footprint depth is always greater than 1, indicating that Hunan has been in a state of ecological deficit; in the context of the distribution, the ecological pressure of Hunan shows a “high in surround while low in central” pattern. The results about the ecological footprint diversity index show that although the ecosystem of Hunan is stability, the level of eco-economic development ability is low. The ecological efficiency represented by GDP per unit of ecological footprint shows that Hunan’s ecological efficiency increases with an average rate of 13.12% annually during 2005–2015 because of the improvement of the factor substitution.

Keywords: ecological footprint; ecological carrying capacity; ecological sustainable development capacity; ecological efficiency; Hunan (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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