Arid Zone Research ›› 2023, Vol. 40 ›› Issue (4): 573-582.doi: 10.13866/j.azr.2023.04.06

• Land and Water Resources • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Coupling relationship and spatiotemporal differentiation of the water-energy-food-ecology nexus in five Central Asian countries

WU Yueting1,2(),GUO Lidan1,2,3(),JING Peiran4,HUANG Feng2,3,5,WANG Haoxuan5   

  1. 1. Business School, Hohai University, Nanjing 211100, Jiangsu, China
    2. International River Research Centre, Hohai University, Nanjing 211100, Jiangsu, China
    3. Jiangsu Provincial Collaborative Innovation Center of World Water Valley and Water Ecological Civilization, Nanjing 211100, Jiangsu, China
    4. School of Water Resources and Hydropower Engineering, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, Hubei, China
    5. College of Hydrology and Water Resources, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, Jiangsu, China
  • Received:2022-09-22 Revised:2023-01-17 Online:2023-04-15 Published:2023-04-28

Abstract:

To shed light on the complex transboundary water problems in Central Asia, a study on water-energy-food-ecology (WEFE) system coordination was conducted from the regional and national levels based on a system coupling perspective. First, the WEFE evaluation index system for coupling and coordination was constructed, and then the coupling coordination degree model was applied to quantitatively evaluate the level of coordinated development of WEFE and its spatial and temporal evolution in Central Asia. The results show that: (1) In the last 20 years, the coupling degree of WEFE in Central Asia basically maintained a high level, and the coupling coordination degree showed a slow growth trend but was barely coordination. (2) The development level of coupling coordination varied greatly among countries, and the coupling coordination level of Kazakhstan was the best, albeit in primary coordination. Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan barely performed coordination, and Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan were on the brink of misalignment. (3) Comparing the development levels of multiple systems, it was found that there was a significant lag in the food system in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, a lag in the water system in Turkmenistan, and a lag in the energy system in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, which failed to achieve a good match among systems and affected the regional coordinated development to a certain extent. The results can provide a basis for decision-making on the synergistic development of WEFE in Central Asia and transboundary river development cooperation among countries.

Key words: water-energy-food-ecology, Central Asia, coupling relationship, spatial-temporal evolution