Theory Of Regional Environmental Carrying Capacity And Its Application

The premise for environment to develop coordinative with economy is that we can correctly judge whether the human social activities, especially the economic activities are coordinated with environment. The concept of Environmental carrying capacity (ECC) has been put f9rward for long time, but its theory system has not been formed perfectly yet. Based on the thought of systematic methodology and the summing-up of the research on ECC, this paper elaborates on the theory of ECC, including its definition, connotation, basic characteristics, functions and so on.The concept of ECC is the biggest threshold value of environmental system could bear the regular running of the ecology and human system; it has objectivity, relative static, and capable of adjustment, has many functions such as service, restrict, safeguard, adjust, convey and purify. It embodies the comprehensive structure and synthetical function of environmental system that is its outer sustaining ability to ecology and human system.Quantitative analysis is the core of theory of ECC, so the paper discusses the measurement and applied model of ECC, especially, putts more attention to putting forward the concept of relative surplus ratio of regional ECC (1-environmental carrying quantity/Environmental carrying capacity). Then, a basic framework, content and principle for the evaluate indicator system of regional ECC were put forward. The indicator system consists of weighted coefficient values for evaluate indicators based on the combination of the hierarchy analysis methods as well as the expert opinions methods. This indicator system has four tiers: Target tier A (regional ECC), principle tier B (includes natural environmental carrying capacity index, social and economic resource carrying capacity index), index tier C (includes the carrying capacity index of total amounts of natural resource, biologic environmental carrying capacity index, economic development carrying capacity index, life quality index, foundational installations carrying capacity index), index tier D (a number of material indexes).On the basis of the study of regional ECC theory, this paper takes Fuzhou city as a case study. After giving a deep insight into natural and ecological conditions in research zone and in line with the characteristics of human-environment relation in urban area, the paperconstructed the evaluate indicator system of regional ECC by selecting some special indicator to analyze ECC in Fuzhou city and forecasts its relative surplus ratio of ECC in 2010 according to the quantifying method of regional ECC mentioned above. The conclusion is that the carrying status of resource and environment in Fuzhou city in 2010 will be over-loaded by 17 per or so in view of the present development tendency. Then, the paper propounds the overall strategy of its economic development and environmental protection as follows: (1) making environment planning and actively protecting ecology and environment; (2) seeking continuous, moderate and coordinated economic growth and adjusting the industrial structure and location; (3) enhancing the propagation about the consciousness of sustainable development.Through the study, such research draws the conclusion that the excess of environmental carrying capacity or the extent of coordination of environment and economics can be recognized by calculating the relative surplus ratio of ECC and the indicator system of ECC is more conductive than other indicator systems of sustainable development to the ascertaining of the regularities of the dynamic changes and the trend of evolvement in regional ECC and is also a useful means for the regional sustainable development planning.