Database of human well-being and eco-sustainability under planetary pressures of the Belt and Road 1990–2018

Abstract

The Belt and Road (B&R) Initiative is considered as closely aligned with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 and could have a huge global impact. Its sustainable development issues have attracted worldwide attention. However, both the existing research and data accumulation on this aspect are seriously insufficient. Starting from the logic of the ultimate goal of sustainable development (namely within the ecological limitations, maximizing human well-being with minimum ecological consumption and minimizing the planetary pressures with maximum resource utilization efficiency), we have constructed a comprehensive evaluation method on sustainable development, namely the Consumption-Pressure-Output-Efficiency method in our previous study. Based on it, we provide a database with five datasets, which includes four core datasets (ecological consumption, planetary pressures, human well-being outputs and ecological well-being output efficiency) and a related dataset (biocapacity, ecological surplus/deficit, population), covering 61 B&R countries, B&R regional average and global average from 1990 to 2018. It can be used for further comprehensive research on sustainable development under planetary pressures and others of B&R.

Digitalization and Dependence: Evaluating the Impact of the Belt and Road Initiative on Achieving Sustainable Development Goals 8 and 9 and Shaping Digital Autonomy

“…Beyond direct employment opportunities, regional infrastructure initiatives in Africa also increase the productivity and competitiveness of the workforce through skill training and career development opportunities (Zhao, T.,2022;Zhang, D., 2023). In the Hambantota Port project in Sri Lanka, Chinese companies not only provide employment opportunities but also conduct skill training programs to improve the professional skills of local employees.…”