Emergy-based eco-environmental evolution and resources exploitation analysis: Case of Xinjiang

Study on the coupled relations between the eco-environmental evolution and resources exploitation has important significance for the Chinese national strategy and the social economic development in Central Asia. Based on emergy analysis theory, this paper selects 40 more original indices about such as society, ecology, economy etc to analyze the environmental evolutionary characteristics of Xinjiang province during the past 50 years (1949-2002) by means of TM data analysis software. The emergy-based indices used in this paper include the environmental loading ratio (ELR), the environmental population carrying capacity under renewable resources, the net emergy yield ratio (NEYR), Emergy per capita, Emergy density, The ratio of emergy to currency, Emergy-based sustainability index (ESI). By all these indices, we analyze the distinctive characteristics of environmental evolution, resources exploitation and economic development, prove up the trajectory of them, and thereby analyze the trajectory of emergy-based sustainable development indices of Xinjiang province. On the base of all above analysis, we put forward some advices to the Chinese and Xinjiang government that it should attach importance to the rebuilding of the ecological environment and take the harmonious society development path directed mainly by recycle economics principles. At the same time, we make sure that the modes of society and economic development in Xinjiang have great meaning for the whole Central Asia Region.