Coordinating socio-economic development and ecological protection in the Yellow River Basin: Pathways to new quality productivity

作者：Yang Zhao, Pingping Luo, Jianxin Zhang, Peiyao Yan, Madhab Rijal, Zhihui Yang, Jiachao Chen, Ahmed Elbeltagi · 发表于：Environmental and Sustainability Indicators · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1016/j.indic.2025.100987 · 被引用次数：4 · 研究领域：Water Resources and Sustainability

Water scarcity, rapid urbanization, and regional disparities challenge the coordinated development of ecological and socio-economic systems in global river basins. Focusing on Yellow River Basin, this study investigates how “new quality productive forces”—driven by innovation, digitalization, low-carbon transitions, and green growth—can foster synergies between ecological protection and socio-economic progress through historical assessment, spatiotemporal analysis (2000–2020), and comparative case studies. Findings reveal a governance shift from flood control toward integrated management that links ecological restoration, industrial upgrading, and rural revitalization. Concurrent ecological and economic gains are evident: forest, grassland, and water body coverage increased (9.76%→11.41%, 56.86%→57.21%, and 0.59%→0.79%, respectively), impervious surfaces nearly doubled (1.71%→3.06%), and Net Primary Productivity (NPP) improved, with low-NPP areas declining from 55.14% to 44.88% and high-NPP areas more than doubling to 10.40%. However, persistent regional disparities remain—over 85% of the basin is sparsely populated, and 90% falls within low-GDP categories. Drawing on domestic and international insights, we propose spatially differentiated strategies: water-efficient agriculture in the lower reaches, sustainable urban-industrial transformation in the middle reaches, and large-scale ecological restoration with renewable energy deployment in the upper reaches. Policy recommenda...