Abstract:

Shaanxi, Gansu, Qinghai, Ningxia, and Xinjiang are the five provinces of northwest China. This area is the starting point of the westward extension of the Silk Road Economic Belt in China. The coordination of water resource utilization is the most important issue here and is also one of the important contents of the construction of modern water ecological civilization. On the basis of the annual data of total water resources, total water consumption, agricultural water consumption, industrial water consumption, domestic water consumption, and ecological water consumption of the five northwest provinces from 2003 to 2018, the utilization ratio of water resources (CP_j) and the ecological water use ratio (EP_j) are calculated. The above j=1, 2, 3, 4, 5 represent Shaanxi, Gansu, Qinghai, Ningxia, and Xinjiang, respectively. With the use of the synergy analysis method and the coupling coordination degree model, the regional synergy and coupling coordination degree between CP_j and EP_j are analyzed. The results are as follows: (1) The variances of CP_j and EP_j of the five northwest provinces are the same. No significant regional difference exists between any two provinces. Thus, CP_j and EP_j have regional synergy in the five provinces. (2) The fluctuation of EP_j in the five provinces depends on whether the local agricultural water use management policy is timely and effective. (3) The coupling coordination degree levels of CP_j and EP_j are very low in the five northwest provinces and is at the level of “barely coordinated” in Xinjiang only. These levels are generally far away from the “coordination pole” and inclined to the “imbalance pole” in the other four provinces. (4) A positive correlation exists between the level of coupling coordination degree and EP_j in the five northwest provinces. (5) The results of coupling coordination degree in 2018 show that the three status levels of “mild imbalance” in Shaanxi, “on the verge of imbalance” in Gansu, and “barely coordinated” in Xinjiang are relatively easy to adjust and increase. The key is to improve the EP_j. However, the two status levels of “serious imbalance” in Qinghai and “moderate imbalance” in Ningxia must be given more attention and comprehensively reversed to prevent them from worsening.

Key words: water resources utilization, coupling coordination, optimize water use structure, ecological water use, the five provinces of northwest China