Research On The Coupling And Coordination Relationship Of Regional Resources And Environment And Social Wellbeing In China

Since the Reform and Opening-up,the economic and social development in China has achieved extraordinary achievements to create the so-called "China miracle" with significantly elevated living standard.During the fast development,resources and environment play the critical role in providing necessary and suitable material conditions for development,on one hand,and imposing limits on development through environmental capacity,on the other hand.To find the relationship between regional resources and environment and social development,spatial and temporal variations of resources and environment carrying capacity(RECC)and social wellbeing level(SWL)from 2000 to 2015 were analyzed in this research,based on country-region-province multi-scale research method,comprehensive evaluation index system and coupled coordination model.The results show,firstly,the RECC and the SWL have been both increasing on all three scales since 2000,but with slowing down tendencies in recent years.Secondly,the average annual growth rate of the RECC was greater than that of the SWL on countrywide scale;the regional spatial patterns of the RECC and the SWL were relatively stable,the scores decreased,in order of Eastern China,Northern China,Southern China,Northeastern China,Southwestern China and Northwestern China;on provincial scale,there was a significant character of spatial pattern of RECC that high scoring provinces were mostly allocated in southeastern coastal areas and the Yangtze river economic belt.On the same scale,the score of the SWL was degressive from southeast to northwest in China.Finally,the coordination degree and coupling degree of resources and environment and social wellbeing on three scales were all increasing,with synchronous and stable incremental tendencies.The mean of coupling degree mean was greater than that of coordination degree,but the average annual growth rate of coordination degree was greater than that of coupling degree.At provincial level,different coupling and coordination situations were observed: high coordination degreehigh coupling degree in Beijing,Tianjin,Shanghai,Guangdong and Zhejiang,and low coordination degree-low coupling degree or high coordination degree-low coupling degree in other provinces which is not reasonable.The mechanisms of coupling and coordination in these provinces remain to be improved.