Wujin District Research Articles

An Integrated Approach for Assessing Aquatic Ecological Carrying Capacity: A Case Study of Wujin District in the Tai Lake Basin, China

Aquatic ecological carrying capacity is an effective method for analyzing sustainable development in regional water management. In this paper, an integrated approach is employed for assessing the aquatic ecological carrying capacity of Wujin District in the Tai Lake Basin, China. An indicator system is established considering social and economic development as well as ecological resilience perspectives. While calculating the ecological index, the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) is extracted from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) time-series images, followed by spatial and temporal analysis of vegetation cover. Finally, multi-index assessment of aquatic ecological carrying capacity is carried out for the period 2000 to 2008, including both static and dynamic variables. The results reveal that aquatic ecological carrying capacity presents a slight upward trend in the past decade and the intensity of human activities still exceeded the aquatic ecological carrying capacity in 2008. In terms of human activities, population has decreased, GDP has quadrupled, and fertilizer application and industrial wastewater discharge have declined greatly in the past decade. The indicators representing aquatic ecosystem conditions have the lowest scores, which are primarily attributed to the water eutrophication problem. Yet the terrestrial ecosystem is assessed to be in better condition since topographic backgrounds and landscape diversity are at higher levels. Based on the work carried out, it is suggested that pollutant emission be controlled to improve water quality and agricultural development around Ge Lake (the largest lake in Wujin District) be reduced.

Material flow analysis (MFA) of an eco-economic system: a case study of Wujin District, Changzhou, China

The economic and ecological aspects of a social system are coherently linked and can be examined by its material and energy flows. In this study, we used the material flow analysis (MFA) to model the material input and output of the Wujin District of Changzhou City, Jiangsu Province in China. It was revealed that: (1) total material input and material input per capita increased with economic development, while the total material output and material output per capita decreased consistently; (2) except for water, the total material input continued to increase. Input of solid materials grew faster than that of gaseous materials, while the total material output declined. The gas output accounted for the largest proportion of the output resulting in primary environmental pollution as burned fossil fuel; (3) water use in agriculture continued with an increasing trend while that in industrial and residential sectors decreased per capita. The total wastewater discharge and wastewater discharge per capita decreased with a faster decreasing rate of residential wastewater discharge followed by industrial wastewater discharge; (4) material input per unit GDP fluctuated and material output per unit GDP decreased. A decreasing trend in both water use and wastewater discharge per unit GDP was disclosed. These results suggest that the efficiency of resource use in the Wujin District has improved. This weakened the direct link between economic development and environmental deterioration. Additionally, we discussed the harmonic development between environment and economy. Potential limitations of MFA’s application were also discussed. It is suggested that effective measures should be taken for the enforcement of circular economic strategies and the construction of a resource-saving economy

From Local Experiments to National Policy: The Origins of China's Distinctive Policy Process

China's national policy formulation undergone economic transformation and shaped the making of policies in promotion of private business and stock market regulation. China's distinctive process of central-local interaction in policy generation is one of its core strengths in reforming its economy.