Assessing adaptability of the water resource system to social-ecological systems in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region: Based on the DPSIR-TOPSIS framework

Abstract

To optimize the overall layout of water resource allocation in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the adaptability of the water resource system to the regional social-ecological systems has to be enhanced. Based on the driver-pressure-state-impact-response (DPSIR) framework, this study constructs an evaluation index system to analyze the adaptability mechanisms of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei’s water resource system according to the three major constituent social-ecological systems (i.e., economic, social, and ecological systems). Moreover, it adopts the technique of order preference similarity to the ideal solution (TOPSIS) to comprehensively evaluate the adaptability of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei’s water resource system based on three constituent social-ecological systems (i.e., economic, social, and ecological systems) and identifies the spatiotemporal differentiation characteristics of the region. Our results showed that, ① from 2000 to 2020, the adaptability of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei’s water resource system, as a whole, significantly improved. In terms of stages, from 2000 to 2007, the adaptability of the water resource social system was significantly higher than that of economic and ecological systems in the region. From 2008 to 2015, by accelerating the transformation and upgrading of industrial structures, improving the efficiency of economic water utilization, and strengthening the governance of the water ecosystem, the adaptability of water resource economic and ecological systems rapidly improved; however, that of the water resource ecological system was still the lowest. Additionally, the adaptability of the water resource economic system exceeded that of the social system. From 2016 to 2020, the gap in adaptability of the water resource system to all three major constituent systems gradually narrowed. By 2020, the three systems entered a relatively balanced development stage, with the adaptability of the entire water resource system and the three major constituent systems maintaining a high level. ② The economic system was significantly affected by per capita GDP, per capita water resources, and the efficiency of economic water utilization. Additionally, the social system was significantly affected by water consumption per unit of irrigation area. Meanwhile, the ecological system was significantly influenced by precipitation, water pollution discharge performance indicators, and the structure optimization indicators of water supply. According to the evaluation results, we propose countermeasures and provide recommendations to optimize the overall layout of water resource allocation and promote the coordinated management of water resources in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.