A Study On Western Region Sustainable Development Based On The Ecological Paradox

Ecological paradox is the inevitable theoretic expression, results from the development of the fundamental contradiction in the social and ecological economic system, which shows the conflict between the infinitive need and limited supply in the relationship between social economic development, and ecosystem. The study of ecological paradox is helpful for people in the ways of understanding, utilizing and constructing nature. Economic activities of human society can cause directly or indirectly disasters. As a long-term development strategy, western region development has great significance in enhancing economic development and promoting local coordinated and sustained development. It is one of the important work for strengthening ecological protection and construction. The preliminary move is to reinforce the protection and construction of ecosystem. However it is not an easy challenge in solving the problems of ecological paradox in the progression of achieving the ecological goals. The existence of ecological paradox will also restrict the western region even the country's sustained development. Accordingly from the perspective of ecological paradox, this article researches into western development and sustainable development.In the first place, this paper reviews the domestic and foreign literature about ecological paradox, western development and the sustainable development. Then it describes the ecological paradox and reviews the relevant theories of sustainable development so as to provide a theoretical basis for the analysis below. Thirdly it analyzes the ecological paradox phenomenon of the western region and the reason of western development has failed to effectively eliminate these phenomena. By applying the ecological footprint analysis, it calculates the data of ecological footprint, ecological carrying capacity, and ecological deficit during 2000-2008, which deduce the potentiality of the region's sustainable development. The results show that: in China's western regions the per capita ecological footprint shows a distinctly growing trend, while the per capita ecological capacity is increasing slowly in 2000-2008. In this comparison, it finds out the per capita ecological footprint has been in deficit during 2000-2008, moreover, it mounts up to 1.217hm2, 82% growth since 2000. And it is still widening, the ecological pressure is raising and ecological paradox phenomenon is not yet eliminated .Western continued ecological deficit presents that the development pattern in this region, has not been a sustainable state. To achieve the sustainable state requires the elimination of ecological deficit and ecological paradox, and alleviating the conflict between ecosystem and social economy development so as to seeking the critical point of dynamic balance between the reasonable ecological cost and the moderate ecological carrying capacity.This last chapter, providing the theoretical and empirical analysis, recommends the corresponding policy about how to overcome the ecological paradox and actualize the policy of sustainable development in the western region.