Industrial development in the Yangtze River Basin with water resource protection in consideration:A case study

DU Sen; ZHANG Dayong; WANG Guannan; SUN Haonan; JING Bo; HAN Yujiao

doi:10.13522/j.cnki.ggps.2025040

Abstract：[Objective]The Yangtze River Basin is the largest basin in China.Understanding ecological carrying capacity of its water resource and water stress in different sections is important for sustainable development in the basin.Taking the sub-basin of Yibin as an example,this paper analyzes industrial development in this region with water resource protection in consideration.[Method]The analysis was based on energy ecological water footprint model and the Tapio decoupling model.We investigated spatiotemporal variations in the ecological carrying capacity of water resources(WRECC),water stress(WS),and water use efficiency from 2010 to 2023 in the region.[Result]①Economic development in the region was within the sustainable limits of WRECC.Both WRECC and water ecological surplus showed significant dependence on precipitation.② The development of primary industrial sectors and water resource pressure have become increasingly decoupled in the region.From 2011 to 2023,primary industrial sectors and water resource pressure shifted from weak decoupling to almost independent of each other.In the same period,the secondary industrial sectors and water resource pressure shifted from negative decoupling to strong decoupling,and the tertiary industrial sectors and water resource pressure shifted from weak decoupling to negative decoupling.The maximum decoupling elasticity indices of the primary,secondary,and tertiary industrial sectors in the studied period were-6.57,-12.50,and-4.47,respectively.③ At county level,the five-year total decoupling elasticity change in water resource pressure induced by economic development in the primary and tertiary industrial sectors was the highest in Pingshan County,with the indices for the former and the latter being-0.47 and-0.30,respectively.The five-year decoupling elasticity index of the secondary industrial sectors was the highest in Gaoxian County,reaching-23.18.④ To sustainably using water resources,the region can be divided into an agriculture-tourism zone along the river,a Sino-European silk road zone,and a forest zone that includes bamboo and tea trees.[Conclusion]Our results show industrial development in the sub-basin of Yibin in the Yangtze River Basin is within the ecological carrying capacity of its water resources,and industrial and economic development and water resources stress have become increasingly decoupled.