Multi-objective optimization of water resources allocation in Han River basin (China) integrating efficiency, equity and sustainability

Lele Deng,Jiabo Yin,Shenglian Guo,Kebing Chen,Yujie Zeng

doi:10.1038/s41598-021-04734-2

Abstract

The hydrological cycle, affected by climate change and rapid urbanization in recent decades, has been altered to some extent and further poses great challenges to three key factors of water resources allocation (i.e., efficiency, equity and sustainability). However, previous studies usually focused on one or two aspects without considering their underlying interconnections, which are insufficient for interaction cognition between hydrology and social systems. This study aims at reinforcing water management by considering all factors simultaneously. The efficiency represents the total economic interests of domesticity, industry and agriculture sectors, and the Gini coefficient is introduced to measure the allocation equity. A multi-objective water resources allocation model was developed for efficiency and equity optimization, with sustainability (the river ecological flow) as a constraint. The Non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm II (NSGA-II) was employed to derive the Pareto front of such a water resources allocation system, which enabled decision-makers to make a scientific and practical policy in water resources planning and management. The proposed model was demonstrated in the middle and lower Han River basin, China. The results indicate that the Pareto front can reflect the conflicting relationship of efficiency and equity in water resources allocation, and the best alternative chosen by cost performance method may provide rich information as references in integrated water resources planning and management.

Highlights

Water resources play key roles in feeding human beings and maintaining sustainable development of a socioeconomic system, which serve as public resources for the whole society
Facilitating sustainable development is urgent for our social community
Balancing these three factors is the fundamental premise for optimal allocation of water resources, which can effectively maintain healthy social development

Summary

Introduction

Water resources play key roles in feeding human beings and maintaining sustainable development of a socioeconomic system, which serve as public resources for the whole society. The safe minimum standard[7] is adopted to estimate the minimum ecological water demands Equity, as another vital index in sustainable socioeconomic development, advocates a fair access to certain living standards and natural resources. Park and K im[13] developed a water-energy nexus system in South Korea and examined the regional equity issue within such a system Despite they employed different approaches to evaluating the equity qualitatively and quantitatively, the optimization solution is not involved. Shilling et al.[22] put forward a framework involving a suite of indicators to measure sustainability relative to targets Even though it has been evaluated in different facets, the selection of indicator set is still not clear for water resources allocation.

Methods

Results

Conclusion