Establishment of environmental sustainability assessment indicators based on material flow and ecological footprint model in Tongling city of Anhui Province

Abstract

The study combines the Material Flow Analysis method and the Ecological Footprint Model to establish an indicator system of sustainable development. On the base of the indicator system, the state of ecological sustainable development during 2000-2010 in Tongling City was appraised. The results show that: (1) The direct material input (DMI) keeps increasing averagely, with a value in 2010 2. 65 times higher than in 2000. The proportion of imports goes downward, while the DMI still depends heavily on import activities. Domestic hidden flow takes a large percentage in DPO; (2) The resource productivity of Tongling City has lagged behind the average of the whole country, though a progress has been made in the past decade; (3) Ecological footprint shows an increasing trend, with 7 hm2 per capita in 2010. The gap between the ecological footprint and the ecological carrying capacity has been widening; (4) The indicator system shows that the level of sustainable development of the city is gradually decreasing. To achieve a real sustainable development, it is necessary to adjust the proportions among the primary, secondary and tertiary industries, and transform the mode of economic development by building circulation economy.