JOURNAL OF NATURAL RESOURCES ›› 2019, Vol. 34 ›› Issue (1): 104-115.

• Orginal Article •

### Ecological efficiency evaluation and spatial evolution in Bohai Rim region

Mei GAI1,2(), Chen NIE2

1. 1. Research Center for Marine Economy and Sustainable Development, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian 116029, Liaoning, China
2. School of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian 116029, Liaoning, China
• Received:2018-06-20 Revised:2018-09-18 Online:2019-01-20 Published:2019-01-20

Abstract:

As the center of economic development in northern China, the coastal areas around the Bohai Sea (Bohai Rim region) have greatly boosted the development in this region. However, in recent years, there are many inharmonious conditions in this region due to various reasons. Applying the three-stage of DEA model, this paper has calculated the eco-efficiency of 17 cities in the Bohai Rim. Combining the standard deviation ellipse and gravity center transfer method, this paper has concluded the evolution law of ecological efficiency space transfer in the 17 cities of the study region. Therefore some conclusions can be drawn as follows: (1) Based on the eco-efficiency result measured by the three-stage DEA model, the eco-efficiency of the 17 cities in the Bohai Rim region is generally above average, and the efficiency value continued to rise from 2006 to 2015. Among the 17 cities, Tianjin, Tangshan, Qingdao, and Dalian rank the top four in the efficiency, and for the rest of the 17 cities, the eco-efficiency is lower than the average, which indicates that there is a significant regional difference. (2) The result of the standard deviation ellipse is in the northeast-southwest direction and has a tendency gradually towards the southwest. On the whole, we have not found an obvious transfer of the eco-efficiency center in the Bohai Rim. (3) There are significant provincial differences in the study region, as well as a big difference between the highest and lowest values. Among them, several provinces with the lowest values have remained unchanged in the ecological efficiency for a long time, and the restrictive factors of different provinces are quite different.