The Ecological Footprint and Allocation of Guangxi Beibu Gulf Urban Agglomeration

Abstract

To understand the allocation efficiency and fairness of natural capital in the Guangxi Beibu Gulf urban agglomeration, its ecological footprint from 2007 to 2020 was calculated based on the emergy ecological footprint (EEF) model, and the 10,000 Yuan GDP and Gini coefficient were introduced. The results show that (1) in the past 14 years, the per capita ecological footprint of the urban agglomeration slowly increased, the ecological pressure index rapidly increased with an average annual growth rate of 6.55%, and the regional ecological safety showed an unsafe trend. (2) The regional ecological footprint was mainly based on cultivated land, construction land and fossil energy land, of which the latter two significantly increased. For construction land, the average annual per capita growth rate in the central city of Nanning and the coastal cities (Fangchenggang, Beihai and Qinzhou) exceeded 10%, ranging from 11.39%–25.70%. For fossil energy land, the annual average per capita growth rate in Fangchenggang and Chongzuo exceeded 10%, at 19.64% and 11.40%, respectively. During urbanization, increasing population density leads to increased regional consumption of electricity and energy, thus affecting the regional ecological security. (3) The resource utilization efficiency improved annually, and the resource allocation was generally fair. Nanning and Beihai had high economic contributions and low ecological carrying capacities, Qinzhou and Chongzuo had low economic contributions and high ecological carrying capacities, and Yulin and Fangchenggang had low economic contributions and low ecological carrying capacities. These results clarify the differences among cities in the development of the Guangxi Beibu Gulf urban agglomeration, improve the efficiency of natural resource allocation, and provide a reference for the achievement of regional sustainable development.