Reservoir basins globally face an intensifying sustainability paradox: balancing economic growth, social welfare, and environmental protection often triggers systemic trade-offs. However, comprehensive assessments revealing these internal imbalances remain scarce, hindering targeted governance. To address this gap, this paper developed a multidimensional framework of Ecological development benefits, integrating Entropy-Weighted AHP and Fuzzy Mathematics. Applying this to 2015–2022 data from the Sanmenxia Reservoir in the Yellow River Basin of China revealed three development paradoxes: Protection-prioritized regions face diminishing returns; growth-driven regions accumulate ecological deficits; and environmentally stagnant regions decline in resilience. Critically, no optimal pathway exists—all subregions exhibited significant imbalances despite aggregate ecological improvements, and policy shocks (e.g., COVID-19, new environmental laws) amplified disparities, exposing institutional fragmentation. Based on the research findings, policy recommendations are proposed for green financing mechanisms, adaptive governance, and region-centered protection, which directly advance SDGs 6 (water security), 8 (inclusive growth), and 13 (climate action), offering a transferable analytical framework for basins like the Mekong and Nile, which are confronting similar paradoxes.

Background: Barong Tongkok Subdistrict, West Kutai Regency, East Kalimantan, is experiencing increasing ecological pressure driven by population concentration, land-use change, and rising resource consumption, raising concerns about the region's environmental carrying capacity and long-term sustainability. Objective: This study aims to assess regional sustainability in Barong Tongkok Subdistrict using a spatially explicit approach that integrates the Ecological Footprint (EF), Carbon Footprint (CF), and Biocapacity (BC). Method: A quantitative approach was applied using household consumption surveys, land-cover data, emission factors, and Geographic Information Systems (GIS). The EF was calculated based on food consumption, resource use, and built-up land. The CF was estimated from household electricity consumption, LPG use, transportation fuel, and waste burning. BC was derived from land-cover-based productivity using yield and equivalence factors. Sustainability was evaluated through a Sustainability Index (SI), defined as the ratio between BC and the combined EF and CF. Result: The results indicate significant spatial variation in sustainability across villages. Geleo Baru Village exhibits the highest SI value (31.57), reflecting a strong ecological surplus supported by extensive natural land cover and low population pressure. Conversely, Rejo Basuki Village records the lowest SI value (0.023), indicating a severe ecological deficit due to limited land availability and intensive residential land use. Peripheral villages tend to show ecological surplus, while densely populated areas exceed local carrying capacity. Conclusion: The integration of EF, CF, and BC within a GIS framework effectively reveals spatial sustainability patterns, providing valuable insights for evidence-based regional planning and targeted strategies to improve local sustainability.

Water ecological compensation standards for the Yellow River Basin from coordinated provider-beneficiary perspectives.

Coal mining activities inevitably disturb the ecosystem and significantly affect the regional carbon pool and carbon storage function. In the context of global efforts to combat climate change and achieve carbon neutrality, accurately assessing the extent of coal mining’s disturbance to regional carbon stocks is particularly important. However, existing research generally fails to fully incorporate the severe surface disturbance caused by mining into land-use change prediction. At the same time, the reclamation of coal mining subsidence land is regarded as an important means to restore ecological functions. However, its potential for carbon storage and restoration, and its contribution to regional carbon neutrality goals, have not been fully discussed. Therefore, this study constructed the PIM-PLUS-InVEST model framework to assess how coal mining and land reclamation affect the carbon storage function of 51 coal mines in Shandong Province. Through quantitative analysis, the following conclusions are drawn: (1) Mining of 51 coal mines in Shandong Province will cause 861,073.81 Mg of carbon storage loss, while reclamation can recover 62.12% of carbon storage loss. (2) The main reason for the decrease in carbon storage is that a large amount of cultivated land area is transformed into water body due to coal mining. (3) The variations in carbon storage disruption caused by mining and reclamation differ significantly across coal mining areas in Shandong Province, with most highly disrupted coal mines concentrated in Jining City. This study provides a quantitative framework for assessing carbon storage and reclamation in coal-mining areas. Specifically, by quantifying the ‘ecological debt’ associated with mining activities, the findings offer a scientific reference for clarifying ecological restoration responsibilities and supporting sustainable land management.

The European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), enacted in mid-2023, marks a definitive paradigm shift in global environmental governance, moving from the era of voluntary market- based sustainability standards to a new regime of mandatory state-led due diligence. While framed by Brussels as a critical, non-discriminatory intervention to halt global biodiversity loss and curb greenhouse gas emissions, this article critiques the regulation through the theoretical lenses of political ecology and Third World Approaches to International Law (TWAIL). Adopting a Qualitative Literature Review (QLR) methodology, this study synthesizes findings from 85 peer- reviewed articles and authoritative policy reports published between 2020 and 2025. We analyze the structural mechanisms that disproportionately burden smallholder farmers in the Global South, with a specific focus on the Indonesian palm oil sector. The analysis identifies three primary mechanisms of exclusion: (1) Technocratic Exclusion, wherein prohibitive costs of digital traceability and geolocation create a "digital apartheid" for resource-poor farmers; (2) Legal Entrapment, where supranational legality requirements effectively criminalize informal land tenure systems common in the tropics; and (3) Discursive Violence, which frames tropical producers as environmental liabilities while obscuring the historical ecological debt of the Global North. The findings suggest that without robust "Just Transition" mechanisms—such as jurisdictional certification and direct financial transfers—deforestation-free regulations function as a form of "green protectionism," displacing the cost of climate action onto the world’s most vulnerable populations. The article concludes by proposing a framework for trade justice centered on distributive equity and mutual recognition.

Rapid urbanization in emerging economies frequently outpaces environmental planning, creating severe ecological deficits. In Indonesia, Law Number 26 of 2007 mandates that local governments maintain at least 30% of their urban area as green open space (RTH). However, compliance remains critically low in secondary cities. This study employs a Sequential Explanatory Mixed-Methods design to evaluate the implementation gap in Banyumas Regency, Indonesia. Utilizing longitudinal policy data from 2019 to 2023, a stratified random survey of 300 residents, Geographic Information System (GIS) analysis, and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), this research quantifies the divergence between statutory targets and spatial reality. Results indicate a critical implementation gap, with Public RTH covering only 2.23% of the urban area, far below the 20% public target. While the total RTH area increased by 11.05% over five years, the growth rate is insufficient. Spatial analysis reveals a Gini coefficient of 0.65, highlighting severe inequality where green space is concentrated in administrative cores while peri-urban districts remain green deserts. Structural Equation Modeling confirms that Political Will (beta = 0.62) significantly influences implementation success, while Resource Constraints (beta = -0.48) act as a critical inhibitor. Qualitative analysis identifies a resource trap, where decentralized governance incentivizes revenue-generating infrastructure over environmental assets. The study concludes that achieving the 30% target requires a paradigm shift from state-centric planning to collaborative governance and the establishment of a municipal Land Banking Agency.

ABSTRACT A considerable vacuum in the literature exists regarding empirical evaluations of the link between agricultural growth and environmental concerns in India. Although several studies address this problem, they often present a narrow view by focusing on carbon emissions. The main contribution of this work is the use of the ecological deficit as a broad indicator, which had previously not been investigated in the Indian agricultural setting to assess environmental repercussions. Such an approach allows for a more in‐depth comparison with greenhouse gas emissions and provides a more nuanced view of agricultural development's sustainability. By utlizing annual data from 1990 to 2019 and the Autoregressive Distributed Lag model, the findings show that agricultural development has a negative impact on environmental outcomes, implying that a declining share of agricultural GDP is harmful to environmental well‐being. These results underline the agriculture sector's vital role in reducing environmental deterioration, as well as the importance of improving India's performance in the Environmental Performance Index 2022. To realize the sector's carbon sequestration potential and improve environmental performance, it is critical to promote sustainable agriculture methods such as organic farming, micro‐irrigation, and renewable energy production. A version of this abstract was previously published in the proceedings of [International Summit Scientific Research Congress, Turkiye, 2024] https://www.gapzirvesi.org/_files/ugd/614b1f_fc7851ac06414bd3a07132647afd3463.pdf .

Trade-offs in microbial-assisted restoration under recurring drought.

Effect of environmental tax reform on the green development of Shanghai: Taxation design based on ecological deficit value compensation.

Drivers of biocapacity and global impact of the world's largest mangrove in ecological footprint accounting.

<p>In order to investigate the ecological surplus and deficit of each province in China and dissolve the ecological deficit, this paper uses the improved three-dimensional ecological footprint (EF) model to measure the ecological deficit in each province, estimates the value of ecological services by using the equivalent factor method, and measures the value of ecological services corresponding to inter-provincial trade by using the inter-provincial input-output table, and thus constructs two kinds of vertical and horizontal ecological compensation mechanisms. The research conclusion is as follows: ecological deficits exist in all provinces of China from 1990 to 2019, and the vast majority of provinces are experiencing an upward trend in ecological deficits. The footprint depths are all greater than 1, and there is always an overdraft of the ecological capital stock by economic development, particularly in the developed eastern regions. From the perspective of vertical compensation, the cumulative average number of overdraft years in each province during the study period is 87.3 years, which is very high, and the willingness and ability to compensate for future generations are limited. From the perspective of horizontal compensation, except for Tibet, Qinghai, Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang, most provinces receive less compensation than they pay, which can be moderately compensated through central financial transfers payments.</p>

This paper critically examines carbon offset markets through a postcolonialism lens, ‎arguing that these mechanisms embody a form of climate colonialism. Although often ‎presented as pragmatic solutions to global climate change, carbon offsets tend to reproduce ‎entrenched patterns of exploitation and inequality. Specifically, carbon offsets enable the ‎Global North to continue emitting greenhouse gases while outsourcing environmental ‎responsibility to the Global South, which effectively becomes a carbon sink. Drawing on ‎qualitative analysis on policy discourses, real-world case studies, and postcolonial theory, ‎this research examines how carbon markets facilitate land dispossession, resource ‎extraction, and the accumulation of ecological debt. These processes echo historical colonial ‎structures of domination and dependency. The paper foregrounds critical perspectives from ‎the Global South, highlighting resistance to carbon offset practices and emphasizing the ‎need for decolonial approaches to climate governance. Ultimately, it challenges dominant ‎‎“green economy” narratives and advocates for climate justice rooted in equity, historical ‎accountability, and non-market-based alternatives.‎

The rich repository of natural resources in tropical zones of Africa places environmental conservation at a critical crossroads with development goals. Effectively reconciling biodiversity preservation with sustainable development, particularly within the scope of major infrastructure projects, is imperative. This study focused on establishing an ecological baseline of plant diversity and natural regeneration patterns across the sensitive forest-savanna transition zone in Cameroon, using the environmental monitoring framework of the Chad-Cameroon pipeline adaptation project within the Lom Pangar Dam area as a case study. A multi-resource survey methodology was employed for baseline data collection integrating quantitative floristic surveys and regeneration assessments with socio-economic and ethnobotanical appraisals (N=300). Field techniques included line transect methods for broad floristic analysis of over 215 plant species and animals across surveyed areas, established quadrats for detailed assessment of natural regeneration dynamics, and ethnobotanical/social participatory appraisals to document the socio-economic importance of local flora with the Ecotone displaying high species overlap, confirming its role as a biodiversity "crossroads." The results confirmed the presence of significant ecological sensitivities and severe ecological failure within the pipeline’s Right of-Way (ROW). Findings include a high diversity of Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs), alongside various other ecologically and socio-economically important plant and fauna species. The regeneration success ratio for key timber species (Piptadeniastrum africanum) plummeted by 73% (from 0.45 in intact forest to 0.12 in the disturbed ROW), signifying a critical break in the species’ life cycle. The detailed regeneration data underscores the fragility and dynamic nature of this ecotone. The regenerating layer in these disturbed areas was numerically dominated by fast-growing pioneer species (Musanga spp.), comprising up to 45% of the recruits, which arrests natural succession at an early, low-value stage. This ecological failure translates directly into livelihood vulnerability: the significantly lower regeneration of economically important NTFP species (χ2=18.3,p<0.001) has forced local communities to face a near three-fold increase in collection time (from 35 to 95 mins). The findings demonstrate that passive recovery is insufficient to restore the ecological and socio economic value of the transition zone. Hence, resilient, science-backed mitigation must urgently shift toward Active Ecological Restoration, focusing on the reintroduction of valuable climax and NTFP species to counteract the accumulating ecological debt incurred by projects including the integration of local knowledge and enhance stakeholders’ collaboration for prosperity in Cameroon. Integrating community based natural resource management protocols in landscape management approaches at national level has the potential to address both conservation and socio-economic development aims.

The study constructs a decoupling evaluation model, taking Nanjing City as an example. It contributes to a deeper understanding of the sustainable utilization of water resources and the coordination between regional economic development and ecological preservation. In addition, Nanjing’s water resource endowment, social background, economic foundation, and ecological environment have unique characteristics and significance. The results show that (1) the water resource ecological footprint tended to gradually decrease and level off. Water consumption in industry and agriculture was relatively high, and there were imbalances in the consumption and distribution of water resources across different social and economic sectors. (2) The carrying capacity of per capita water resources in Nanjing presented a gradual upward and downward trend, roughly resembling an “M” shape. (3) The average ecological deficit of per capita water resources over the recent 10 years was −0.53 hm2/person. The average ecological pressure index was 4.54. Therefore, this suggests significant pressure on water resource utilization and ecological environment protection. (4) The decoupling rate between water resource utilization and economic development has reached approximately 100%, indicating that economic development can help a city reduce its dependence on water resources. However, the relationship between the development of industry and agriculture and water resource utilization was not well coordinated.

Against the backdrop of climate change and the accelerated process of urbanization, the risks of extreme weather and natural disasters that cities are facing are increasing day by day. Based on the framework of the local climate zone (LCZ), this paper studies the spatio-temporal evolution of the urban surface morphology and the heat island effect of Tongren City. Using the comprehensive mapping technology of remote sensing and GIS, combined with the inversion of surface temperature, the distribution of LCZs and the changes in heat island intensity were analyzed. The results show that: (1) The net increase in forest coverage area leads to a decrease in shrub and grassland area, resulting in an ecological deficit. (2) The built-up area expands along transportation routes, and industrial areas encroach upon natural space. (3) The urban heat island pattern has evolved from a single core to multiple cores and eventually becomes fragmented. (4) Among the seasonal dominant driving factors of urban heat islands, the impervious water surface is in summer, the terrain roughness and building height are in winter, and the building density is in spring and autumn. These findings provide feasible insights into mitigating the heat island effect through climate-sensitive urban planning.

The ecological footprint (EFP) is an important measure reflecting the interaction between humans and the environment. It provides the requirements to absorb the waste and emissions generated by humans in terms of pressure on natural resources. Therefore, an accurate prediction of EFP is vital to develop an understanding of sustainable development, the ecosystem, environmental protection, and resource utilization, especially in India, which has one of the highest total ecological deficits. This study applies various machine learning (ML) models to predict EFP in India based on 11 potential predictors covering trade openness (TO), urban population (UP) and renewable and fossil-fuel energy consumption over the period 1980–2017. The results show that the Random Forest (RF) model generates the lowest errors for prediction among the considered models and that five variables, namely inflation, renewable energy consumption (REC), role of primary sector in the economy, UP and human capital (HC), are the most crucial predictors of EFP. JEL Classifications: C19, D70, P18, Q59

Water scarcity severely restricts the sustainable development of water-stressed regions like Hebei Province. A scientific assessment of water resource carrying capacity (WRCC) is essential. However, single-weighting methods often lead to biased results. To address this limitation, we propose a combined weighting model that integrates the Entropy Weight Method (EWM), Projection Pursuit (PP), and CRITIC. To support this model, we developed a multi-dimensional, long-term WRCC evaluation dataset covering 11 prefecture-level cities in Hebei Province over 24 years (2000–2023). This approach simultaneously considers data dispersion, inter-indicator conflict, and structural features. It ensures that a more balanced weighting scheme is obtained. The traditional TOPSIS model was further improved through Grey Relational Analysis (GRA), which enhanced the discriminatory power and stability of WRCC assessment. The findings were as follows: (1) From 2000 to 2023, the WRCC in Hebei Province showed a fluctuating upward trend and a “high-north, low-south” spatial gradient. (2) Obstacle analysis revealed a vicious cycle of “resource scarcity–structural conflict–ecological deficit”. This cycle is caused by excessive exploitation of groundwater and low efficiency of industrial water use. The combined weighting–GRA–TOPSIS model offers a reliable WRCC diagnostic tool. The results indicate the core barriers to water use in Hebei and provide targeted policy ideas for sustainable development.

Ecological deficit mitigation in the Tianshan North Slope: network-driven spatial strategies for ecosystem service flows

This review interrogates the historical and ongoing consequences of the Global North’s industrialization trajectory on the Global South, including the industrial agriculture systems subsequently exported to the Global South. These caused significant ecological harms including major impacts on the “triple planetary crisis” of climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss – which were disproportionately caused by the Global North and disproportionately affected the Global South; and other detrimental impacts on human and animal well-being. Africa has been used as a focus for examining these issues, revealing additional harms to traditional African livestock practices and cultural values such as Ubuntu and Ukama, which emphasize interconnectedness and respect for all living beings (and accord with One Health principles). This paper considers the concept of ecological debt in this context, underscoring the moral and financial responsibility of industrialized nations to provide “restorative justice” for these multiple harms, and proposing that this should be used to support just transition toward humane, sustainable and culturally-appropriate food systems in Africa. A 3Rs framework - Reduction, Refinement, and Replacement - is proposed to guide this transition. Reduction includes addressing food waste and rebalancing diets toward plant-based options. Refinement emphasizes regenerative agriculture, animal welfare, and traditional knowledge. Replacement promotes healthy, nutritious alternatives, including indigenous superfoods, plant-based, and cultivated products. However, food systems change is complex, and barriers to change remain – particularly as regards policy, funding, quantifying and securing ecological debt, and dietary change – all of which could benefit from values-based governance, and holistic reform based on further specialist research.

Ecosystem services (ES) serve as a critical link between ecosystems and the sustainable development goals (SDGs). Exploring the relationship between ES and SDGs is of great significance for promoting regional sustainable development. This study proposes a conceptual framework to examine the interlinkages between ES and SDGs. First, the equivalent factor method is employed to estimate the county-level ES value in Jiangsu Province from 2005 to 2020. Second, the entropy-weighted TOPSIS model is used to assess SDG performance. Third, the coupling coordination degree model is applied to quantify the synergistic relationship between ES and SDGs, based on which regional typologies are constructed. Finally, a geographically and temporally weighted regression (GTWR) model is utilized to investigate the spatial–temporal impacts of various ecosystem service functions on SDGs. The results reveal that (1) over the past 15 years, the value of ES in Jiangsu Province has shown an overall upward trend, with a peak followed by a slight decline; (2) that the SDGs performance exhibited an increasing trend until 2015, after which it began to decline; (3) the coupling coordination degree between ES and SDGs has increased annually and that, based on the coupling results, four types of regions are identified: potential development zones, ecological deficit zones, priority improvement zones, and high-quality synergy zones; and (4) that the relationship between different ecosystem service functions and SDGs demonstrates significant regional heterogeneity. Future efforts should focus on enhancing provisioning services in counties within the Yi-Shu-Si River Basin, balancing economic development and ecological protection in the Yangtze River Basin, and improving cultural services in western counties of both the Yangtze River Basin and the Taihu Lake Basin. The findings offer insights for regional SDG strategies from the perspective of ES in Jiangsu Province.