A Ecological Footprint Model-Based Sustainable Development Assessment On Six Economic Zones In Jiangsu Province

With advancement in socio-productivity and increasing progress of science and technology, human beings are faced with a wide range of issues on resource and environment while have obtained spectacular achivement. To deal with these problems, we have to take the relationship between human and nature into consideration correctly, so as to pursuit a coordinated development between socio-economy and eco-evironment. Nowadays, sustainable development, with more extensive research, has been a focus of quantification study in relevant study. As a kind of method for sustainable development quantification featuring visual concept, profound connotation as well as fairly good availability, ecological footprint model has been applied widely in sustainable development assessment. By virtue of its general explanation of various natural resource introducting eco-productive land, this model, further, realizes both aditivity and comparativity of different areas, or even different coutries, thereby, providing us an effective tool to quantify sustainable development.In this study, Jiangsu province, China, was chosen as a sample. In Jiangsu province, due to respective influences of different natural evironment, location, economic and technological condition as well as local policy, in different regions, economy growth, resource utilization and ecological stress are variated, thus constituting a different development pressure. Hence, Jiangsu province was carved up into such 6 economic zones as Xulian, Lianghuai, Ningzhenyang, Taihu, Yanhai and Yanjiang. Meanwhile, based on modified ecological footprint model, a sustainable development assessment index system of 6 economic zones in Jiangsu province was set up, including ecological footprint,10000 RMB ecological footprint, eco-economic elasticity and sustainable capability. Combined with GIS, sustainable developments of 6 economic zones in Jiangsu province was assessed comparatively with the index system, of which, the result is as follows:(1) During a period from 1999 to 2008, progress was witnessed in sustainable development of all 6 economic zones in Jiangsu province; on the other hand, different ecological deficit still exists, resulting in development disparities among these economic zones. Over the matter of resource utilization, the calculation of 10000 RMB GDP ecological footprint showed that resource utilization has improved in all 6 economic zones. In terms of eco-economic coordination, although there are different ecological elasticity indexes in 6 economic zones respectively, generally, representing a sound balance. Guidance of proper policy and advancement in technology inject vital force into economy growth, promote this favorable development situation so that sustainable capability of all economic zones has been upgraded constantly.(2) Development Gaps, however, still lies in 6 economic zones in Jiangsu province. For instance, it was indicated relatively high ecological deficit in Ningzhenyang and Taihu economic zones, but resource utilitation rates of them were higher than other 4 economic zones, accordingly, implying better sustainable capability; In reference to eco-ecnomic coordination, the 2 econimic zones are poorer than other ecomomic zones, resulting from intensified industrial exploitation. With its much lower ecological deficit and third-high resource utiliazation rate, Yanjiang economic zone, thus, enjoys a better eco-economic coordination than Xulian, Lianghuai and Yanhai economic zones, suggesting a more favorable development. In spite of lower ecological deficit, Xulian and Lianghuai economic zones both display a lower resource utilization rate, which would be unavailable for an eco-economic balanced development, illustrating beyond optimistic, regardless of certain amelioration in their sustainable capability. Besides fairly higher ecological deficit and relatively lower resource utilization that arouse dual pressure on its environment, a frequent eco-ecological fluctuation was also found in Yanhai economic zone, which means a slow and unstable incarese of sustainable capability that is weaker in Jiangsu province.In accordance with the above, by means of statistics, a sustainabe development trend of Jiangsu province was estimated. Consequently, sound rise at different speed was confirmed in all 6 economic zones, whereas, the internal factor for sustainable development was undefined. By dint of econometrics, it was analyzed that GDP growth was the main reason for ecological footprint variation, furthermore, impacting on the suatainable development of a certain economic zone. In deed, the effect of GDP growth on each single economic zone is separate, but it behaves long-term and steady on the whole. In conclusion, on the basis of the current sustainable development of Jiangsu province, its trend in future, as well as the predominate cause of sustainable development, a proposal on coordinationg more balanced development among different regions was put forward.