| Sustainable development has been becoming one of the most important basic national policies in our country. With the development of China's reform and opening, remarkable achievements of economic and social development has been achieved. However, this kind of rapid development was combined with high resource consumption and serious environmental pollution. As an important producer of energy, forestry, farming products and heavy industrial products in China, resource consumption and environmental damage in Heilongjiang Province were much more serious. Therefore, it has important practical and instructional meaning to quantitatively assess the situation of sustainable development in Heilongjiang Province.In this paper, traditional ecological footprint, improved ecological footprint and ecological footprint based on emergy method were used to quantitatively assess the production, consumption and output ecological footprint, ecological capacity, ecological deficit and ecological surplus, which are all related to ecological security in Heilongjiang Province. Meanwhile, the Heilongjiang Province ecological security assessment system based on P-S-R model was constructed to assess the ecological pressure,state and responsing index in Heilongjiang Province .On the basis of the study above, the sustainable development issue in Heilongjiang Province was analyzed and the corresponding solutions were put forward.The paper drawed an inference following conclusions from analysis above:1. During the last 26 years, the productive ecological footprint in Heilongjiang Province has shown an annual increase, from 45.3375million ha in 1980 to 142.3435 million ha in 2005, increasing by 2.1 times. Illustrated by the changing trend, the productive ecological footprint displayed an almost linear rise, increasing at a rate of 3.9602 million ha/ year.2. The total ecological capacity in Heilongjiang Province has decreased from 1980 to 2005, from 79.2779 million ha in 1980 to 76.8337 million ha in 2005, decreasing by 3%. The ecological footprint increased much faster than the ecological capacity. As a result, the total ecological deficit became more and more larger and the eco-environment took serious pressure.3. Before 1992, Heilongjiang Province had been in ecological surplus, productive ecological footprint supply exceeded the demand. Since 1993, Heilongjiang Province has failed to maintain equilibrium between the supply and the demand of the ecological footprint. This ecological deficit was increasing year by year. The total ecological deficit in 2005 reached 65.5098 million ha, which was equivalent to 85% of the ecological capacity in Heilongjiang Province, which means that the ecological footprint was 0.85 times larger than the ecological capacity. The conflict between human demand and environmental supply was extremely obvious, and the sustainable development of regional society faces serious eco-environmental pressure.4. As the total population in Heilongjiang Province's growth was slow during the last 26 years, however in 2002 the Ecological footprint per capita in Heilongjiang Province reached 2.997 ha, much more than the average global level of 2.2 ha per capita in 2002, and more than the ecological carrying capacity of the average world level of 1.8 ha per capita (Global Benchmark) and the National Benchmark (<0.8 ha per capita). It means that the ecological footprint in Heilongjiang Province is beyond the Global Benchmark and the National Benchmark .5. From the aspect of the ecological footprint per-capita supply and demand, the conflict outdid demand and supply of cropland and fossil fuel land. The deficit of building area and pasture were relatively smaller in Heilongjiang Province. There were always surplus of woodland and fishing ground. The prominent factor for the accelerating ecological deficit is the development of urbanization and industrialization. During this development period, a large number of arable lands were occupied, and the biological capacity of cropland was digressive. The demand of fossil fuel for conventional economic development continued to grow larer. The discharge of carbon dioxide, contributing to the green house effect, increased annually. As a result, the deficit of fossil fuel land increased obviously.6. From 1980 to 2005, ten thousand Yuan GDP ecological footprint in Heilongjiang Province presented a dropping tendency, decreasing progressively 0.717 ha every year. For 26 years the efficiency of its resources enhanced 8 times, which indicated that its benefit of resources has been enhancing.7. As a part of the important energy, forestry, farming products and heavy industry base of China, larger numbers of energy, timber, foodstuff and other resources were exported from Heilongjiang Province. Furthermore, the export ecological footprint accounted for 30% of the productive ecological footprint per year. Though Heilongjiang Province had abundant resources, the resources advantage would gradually recede under the same rate of development. The excessive use of resources will not only affect the sustainable development in Heilongjiang Province, but possibly threat the grain and energy security of China. From a long-term perspective with a premise of not reducing peoples'standard of living, ecological footprint demand should be reduced, research and applications of technology should be increased, and the carrying capacity of area's ecosystem should be increased.8. The total energy ecological footprint in Heilongjiang Province increased from 45.513 million ha in 1980, to 175.3575 million ha in 2005, with an increase of 129.8445 million ha, it had been rosen by 2.8 times. The total energy ecological capacity remained the same, which was 61.5035 million ha. Therefore, as the total energy ecological footprint grew, the energy ecological deficit increased yearly, from ecological surplus 15.9905 million ha in 1980 to in 2005 to an ecological deficit of 113.854 million ha in 2005. Meanwhile, while the energy ecological footprint per capita increased year by year, the per capita energy ecological capacity had a corresponding reduction because of the steadily increasing population in Heilongjiang Province, so the energy ecological deficit per capita continued to augment. In 2005 the energy ecological footprint, ecological capacity and ecological deficit per capita were 4.591 ha, 1.610 ha and 2.980 ha respectively. The results of the energy ecological footprint model and the traditional ecological footprint model were consistent, indicating that the ecological footprint in Heilongjiang Province was beyond the ecological capacity, and its social and economic development was not sustainable.9. With the use of the time-series model of the DPS data processing system, a forecasts was made that in 2015 the consumptive ecological footprint per capita in Heilongjiang Province would be 3.6209 ha, the ecological capacity would be 1.9823 ha. According to the forecast the Ecological footprint per capita would be 1.8 times larger than the ecological capacity per capita. The ecological deficit would further expand, reaching 1.6386 ha. If under the existing development model, the ecological deficit in Heilongjiang Province would continue to expand, and sustainable development would face an austere challenge.10. With the application of an ecological security evaluation based on ecological footprint, it concluded that during the last 26 years, Ecological Tension Index (ETI) in Heilongjiang Province had enhanced, from a very secure level in 1980 to relatively insecurity level in 2005; With economic development, Ecological Occupancy index (EQI) imcreased from a poorer level to a slightly affluent level; Ecological Economic Coordination Index (EECI) basically declined, and ecological economic coordination was relatively poorer.11. With the use of an ecological security evaluation based on P-S-R model to analyze the ecological system status in Heilongjiang Province, it was concluded that in 2002 and 2003, ecological security in Heilongjiang Province was in the grade II (relatively unsafe level). This conclusion was in accordance with the ecological security method based on the ecological footprint. Thus the sustainable development in Heilongjiang Province will face even more austere ecological security challenges.12. On the base of ecological security analysis development trend and ecological security issues in Heilongjiang Province, strategies to guarantee ecological security and achieve sustainable development were put forward, including: reducing ecological deficit, changing the mode of economic growth and consumption patterns; increasing ecological capacity and improving the stability and the production potential in Heilongjiang Province ecosystems; introducing ecological deficit as eco-environmental index into the local government assessment; managing macro-economy according to the law on economic ecology-environment-resources-social compounding systems.
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