Synergetic Network Evolution of Mineral Exploitation on the Water Environment in the Yangtze River Economic Belt

Abstract

Achieving the coordinated development of mineral exploitation and the water environment (the mine–water system, MWS) is an urgent difficulty in the construction of China’s ecological civilization. Based on the theory of synergy, a synergetic model was used to construct a network of the MWS, and then, social network analysis was applied to study the network characteristics for ten provinces of the Yangtze River Economic Belt. The research results show that the natural water system has always been at the center of the MWS, and water conservancy construction is particularly critical. However, the synergistic effect is not strong between the water environmental stress system and other systems, and as a result, the water environment is under great pressure. Among the crucial factors, the discharge of wastewater and solid waste is at the core of the network and directly affects the coordinated development trend of the MWS. However, the sustainable development of the water environment is better achieved by the treatment of solid waste than by the control of wastewater discharge. Generally, the synergistic relationship based on the natural water system is very important. At the same time, the core role of the water environmental protection system should be strengthened by adjusting sequence parameters to promote the overall coordinated development of the MWS.