Integrated Evaluations of Resource and Environment Carrying Capacity of the Huaihe River Ecological and Economic Belt in China

Abstract

The evaluations of resource and environment carrying capacity and territorial development suitability, also referred to as “double evaluations”, have been taken by China as an important direction in territorial space planning. Based on the evaluation of resource and environment carrying capacity, the double evaluations can contribute to protecting ecological safety and territorial safety and promoting regional sustainable development. The focus of this study was to integratedly evaluate the resource and environment carrying capacity of the Huaihe River Ecological and Economic Belt. First, the overall weights of the factors at the dimension level and the index level in the established integration evaluation system were calculated with the fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (FAHP) method; and then, using the linear weighted function, the overall resource and environment carrying capacities of 25 cities in the belt were calculated. On that basis, the resource and environment carrying capacity evaluation model was established. Through model analysis, this study comprehensively investigated the resource and environment carrying capacity of the Huaihe River Eco-economic Belt and provided a foundation for the future territorial space planning and layout of the Huaihe River Eco-economic Belt.