Work

Simulation of regional green development policies under the nexus of water-energy-food-ecology: A case study of the Yangtze River economic Belt

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: • Treating the ecosystem as a key node in the WEF-Nexus. • Stock and flow diagrams of WEFE system for YREB is developed. • Green development policies have varying impacts on the WEFE nexus. • Relying solely on the strength of a single policy is inadequate. • Chinese solutions for achieving SDGs were provided. Green development, as a development strategy in China, imposes higher demands on the water-energy-food-ecosystem (WEFE) nexus. To alleviate resource and ecological pressures, this study constructs a complex mega-system that focuses on water, energy, food, and ecology as well as economic, social, and environmental aspects based on complex systems science. Taking the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB) as an example, system dynamics is used to establish the causal feedback mechanisms of the WEFE system. The study simulates the supply–demand and ecological changes of water, energy, and food in the YREB from 2020 to 2030, and conducted a simulation of regional green development policy under the WEFE nexus. The results showed that under the ecological priority policy, the green space area increased by 3.4%, and food production rose by 1.7%, significantly enhancing the ecological environment and increasing food yields. It is estimated that by 2030, the energy self-sufficiency rate will reach 60.2% with the implementation of strengthened hydroelectric energy policy, reducing industrial SO 2 emissions by 36,000 tons and reversing the declining trend of energy self-sufficiency while controlling industrial SO 2 emissions. However, the challenge of insufficient energy supply during the “transition period” remains significant. Under the policy of technological innovation, water usage decreased by 26.6%, energy consumption decreased by 11.2%, and food production increased by 20.827 million tons, resulting in varying degrees of improvement in water, energy, food, and ecology subsystems. Nevertheless, technological innovation policies cannot reverse the continuing decline in energy self-sufficiency. The policy of comprehensive coordinated development significantly improves ecological quality, the development and utilization rate of water resources, energy self-sufficiency, and food surplus.

Source: Ecological Indicators

DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolind.2025.113364

Authors: Liming Liu, Chunbao Wang, Junfei Chen

Institutions: Hohai University, Anhui University of Science and Technology, State Key Laboratory of Hydrology-Water Resources and Hydraulic Engineering

Language: English

Topic: Water-Energy-Food Nexus Studies

Subfield: Water Science and Technology

Field: Environmental Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDGs: Climate action, Clean water and sanitation, Responsible consumption and production, Industry, innovation and infrastructure

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,650