A Quantitative Health Evaluation of an Eco-Economy in the Semi-Arid Loess Plateau of China

ABSTRACT

Understanding the factors that affect the health of a semi-arid region's eco-economy is necessary for its sustainable development. The health evaluation, or diagnoses, of an eco-economy at the small watershed scale requires the integrated analysis of ecological, economic, and social factors, yet few studies have achieved this. The health of an eco-economy comprises three components: vigor, organization, and resilience. We use an analytic hierarchy process to develop a health evaluation index system that evaluates the health of an eco-economy system. We then use this diagnostic method to explore the factors affecting the health status of a semi-arid loess watershed in China in 2007 and 2009. The results show that between 2007 and 2009 the health status of the eco-economy improved from the “better” stage to the “benign circle” stage. The primary productivity of grassland, land productivity, rural per capita net income, number of livestock per household, input–output ratio, commodity rate of farm produce, and labor productivity were the main factors influencing the health of this eco-economy. Furthermore, this study shows that the eco-economy depends on material input from regions outside the watershed.

Key Words:

• health evaluation
• health diagnoses
• eco-economic system
• watershed scale
• Loess Plateau