Dynamic study on assessments of county’s sustainable development based on ecological Footprint model: a case study of Aluke’rqin Banner of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region

Chinese. 县域（县级区域）是中国同时具备地域、空间和行政独立性的最基本区域单元，对其进行可持续发展评价具有积极的理论和现实意义。运用基于生物物理量计算实现区域可持续发展评价的生态足迹模型，对内蒙古阿鲁科尔沁旗1982and#61566;2003年的发展进行时间序列动态分析。计算结果显示，阿鲁科尔沁旗人均生态足迹以6.01%的年均增速从1982年的1.19gha增长到2003年的4.05gha，从1982年人均0.58gha的生态盈余，转变为2003年的人均生态赤字1.47gha；全旗生物生产性面积供需不对称，存在结构性错位；万元GDP占用生态足迹衡量的资源利用效益一直处于低水平.研究表明，阿鲁科尔沁旗的自然资源消耗、土地利用及对环境的影响已经远超过生态系统的承载力，亟需采取有效措施以扭转长期以来的不可持续状况。

English. As China’s basic regional units characterized with regional, spatial and administrational independence, assessments of county’s (county-level region’s) sustainable development is a matter of importance. The paper took Aluke’rqin Banner of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region as a studied example and assessed its developmental history based on time-series data from 1982 to 2003 by applying Ecological Footprint (EF) Model. The model is a natural capital accounting in biophysical units and a useful indicator for measuring the pressure imposed by humanity on natural capital. The calculated results showed that the EF per person increased at a speed of 6.01% per year from 1.19gha in 1982 to 4.05gha in 2003. The county faced a ecological deficit of 1.47 gha in 2003, though there appeared an ecological reserve of 0.58 gha in 1982. Structural asymmetry existed between demand for and supply of bio-productive areas. Ecological footprints per 104yuan (GDP) had no significant change from 1982 to 2003, which was 20.6 gha in 2003 and also higher than that of average value (EF per 104yuan GDP in 1999) of China, Western China and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, etc.. Human activities in Aluke’rqin Banner had exceeded the biosphere capacity. The county had suffered from ecological overshoot and severe depletion of natural resources. Obviously the way of development of Aluke’rqin Banner was unsustainable and corresponding countermeasures should be taken as soon as possible.