Assessing the environmental sustainability of the transnational area of China, North Korea, and Russia using an improved environmental degradation index

Abstract

Timely and effective environmental sustainability assessment is critical for promoting sustainable development in the transnational area of Changbai Mountain (TACM). However, due to the limitations of the existing environmental degradation index, the environmental sustainability in this transnational area was still not comprehensively evaluated. In this study, the main objectives were to construct a comprehensive environmental sustainability index (CESI) by integrating four environmental elements of ecological, soil, water as well as air, and evaluate the environmental sustainability of TACM from 2000 to 2020. The results indicated that the environmental sustainability of the TACM exhibited a significantly degraded trend. The area of degraded environmental sustainability (73147.16 km2) accounted for 44.35 % of the total area of TACM. In the three subregions, the environmental sustainability showed decreasing trends in the subregions of China and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), whereas showed an upward trend in Russia. In particular, the DPRK’s side exhibited the most significant degradation, where the area of reduced environmental sustainability (40405.60 km2) was 1.25 times and 129.98 times larger than that on the Chinese and Russian sides, respectively. Forest loss and cropland expansion were the primary reasons for the degradation of environmental sustainability in the TACM. The major findings of this study could contribute to our understanding of environmental sustainability and will be helpful to promote the sustainable development in this transnational area as well as Northeast Asia.