Research on the construction of a human-water harmony model in the Yellow River Basin

Human-water harmony in the Yellow River Basin has an important influence on promoting ecological protection and high-quality development in the Yellow River Basin. This paper explores the degree of harmony between humans and water in the provinces of the Yellow River Basin. Based on the provincial-level data of nine provinces from 2001 to 2020, a human-water harmonious coupling coordination degree model was constructed, and the spatial and temporal analysis of the coupling coordination characteristics of nine provinces was carried out utilizing ArcGIS software. The results revealed that: (1) From the point of view of human-water harmony, from 2001 to 2020, China's human-water relationship was on the rise, from reluctant coupling coordination to good coupling coordination. (2) Qinghai, Gansu, and Sichuan provinces have the most significant increase in human-water harmony, from on the verge of a dysfunctional decline to quality coupling coordination. (3) From 2001 to 2011, the human system's comprehensive index was inferior to that of the water system's comprehensive index. In 2003, the comprehensive index of human and water systems was the largest. From 2012 to 2020, the human system's comprehensive index was higher than the water system. However, in 2015, the two indices diverged significantly