Ecological well-being and its equity in various economic contexts: Evidence from 130 cities in the yangtze river economic belt

Abstract

Economic development often leads to environmental damage, resulting in the disorder of ecological well-being in various regions and affecting the equity of ecological well-being in multiple areas. However, economic growth and ecological well-being do not always have a single linear relationship. Therefore, exploring the changes in ecological well-being and its equity in different economic growth contexts is a question worthy of study, which will be beneficial to achieving high-quality development. This paper constructs an analytical framework to explore the equilibrium point between economic growth rate and ecological well-being and its equity. It explores the state of ecological well-being and its equity under different economic growth rates by simulating the monetary value of ecological well-being in 130 cities in the Yangtze River Economic Belt under different economic growth scenarios. The results show that: ① The SD-PLUS model has high simulation accuracy and can simulate land-use change and ecological well-being in different scenarios. ② By 2035, the overall ecological well-being and GDP growth will show an inverse U-shaped relationship. Under the six growth rates measured in this article, a 5% GDP growth rate will be closest to the inflection point. ③ By 2035, there will be a U-shaped relationship between ecological well-being equity and GDP growth. Under the six growth rates measured in this article, a 5% GDP growth rate will be closest to the inflection point. Therefore, when formulating policies, the rate of economic development should be planned rationally and kept above 5% as far as possible so that when ecological well-being per capita is relatively consistent, rapid economic development can be maintained while improving the equity of ecological well-being and achieving high-quality development.