Evaluation of the sustainability of eco-economic system in a mining city based on emergy theory ——a case study of Wu'an city in China

摘要

The sustainability of eco-economic system is one of the most important factors for the sustainable development in a mining city. The study was based on emergy theory,and set a mining city—Wu'an city as an example. The paper analyzed the sustainability of the eco-economic system in Wu'an city from the year 1997 to 2006,based on the calculation of emergy input structure,emergy density,emergy investment ratio,emergy yield ratio,emergy dollar ratio,environmental loading ratio,emergy-based sustainability index and so forth. The result shows that the major driver of economic development in Wu'an city is mineral resources extraction and because of the large environmental loading ratio,the sustainability of eco-economic system is relatively weak. Therefore,Wu'an should use the mineral resource reasonably,vigorously develop recycling economy,speed up industrial restructuring,and strengthen arable land protection to promote the sustainable development.