Fairness analysis and compensation strategy in the Triangle of Central China driven by water-carbon-ecological footprints

Abstract

This study proposes water-carbon-ecological footprints to form footprint family indicators for identifying the ecological compensation and regional development equilibrium in the Triangle of Central China (TOCC). The occupation of natural capital stock and flow consumption can be illustrated through a three-dimensional ecological footprint model, and Gini coefficient is integrated into the evaluation framework for fairness measurement from various aspects.Quantificational ecological compensation standards can be given with concerns of ecological resource conversion efficiency and willingness to pay indicators. Results reveal that there exit rising trends in ecological and carbon footprints in the TOCC from 2000 to 2015, while its water footprint presents a fluctuating trend. A majority of average Gini coefficients exceed the warning value (i.e., 0.4) under different footprints, implying a relatively poor overall fairness of regional development. In terms of water footprint, the relatively higher compensation expenses exist in Jingmen, Xiangtan, and Yichun, while Yichang, Zhuzhou, and Fuzhou have higher received compensation values as compared with other cities. When it comes to carbon footprint, Wuhan, Loudi, and Xinyu should pay higher compensation expenses due to their overuse of biological resources. The highest amounts of compensation expense appear in Nanchang and Wuhan from the perspective of ecological footprint.

Assessment of the Sustainable Utilization Level of Water Resources in the Wuhan Metropolitan Area Based on a Three-Dimensional Water Ecological Footprint Model

“…In terms of the urban areas which consumed water resources NCF and occupied water resources NCS, water resources utilization was unsustainable. The reason is that the supply of NCF would decrease over the following year, and reduce WECC by the accumulative nature of WED [10]. Adverse effects on local water environment, such as aquifer depletion [31,32], are caused.…”

“…Rapid urbanization has increased the demand of human society for water resources and its related ecosystem services [9][10][11][12][13] and further increases this challenge. Metropolitan areas, as regional units which generally exist in developed nations and participate in global competition and international division of labor [14][15][16][17][18], are the most concentrated areas of human activities.…”