Performance Management of Natural Resources: A Systematic Review and Conceptual Framework for China

Abstract

In recent decades, the issue of “Performance management of natural resources” has received increasing attention. To explore the optimization of performance management of natural resources is of great significance to the sustainable development of a country’s society and economy. Based on the relevant literature of “Performance management of natural resources” and “performance management and evaluation of nature resources” in Web of Science from 1990 to 2021, this study reviews the research progress of performance management of natural resources (including water resources) with the help of the CiteSpace V. Through literature review and inductive analysis, the authors found that the pursuit of sustainable utilization and management of natural resources has become the frontier direction of research. However, performance management of natural resources still lacks a general conceptual interpretation and analysis framework, and its evaluation system and methods still need to be further improved. The existing research on influencing factors of natural resources management performance still lacks depth, and the application of quantitative models needs to be strengthened in the future. The combination of research and quantitative models also needs to be further strengthened. Based on the existing literature and the practical experience of countries all over the world, this study constructs the research framework of performance management of natural resources for China. On the basis of multiple evaluation objectives, subjects and means, the authors describes the process and mechanism of performance management of natural resources, and gives some feasible evaluation methods for the performance management of natural resources, in order to provide decision support for the sustainable utilization of natural resources for China.