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An understanding of flood impact in terms of sustainability is vital for long-term disaster risk reduction. This paper utilizes two important concepts: conventional insurance related flood risk for short-term damage by specific flood events, and long-term flood impact on sustainability. The Insurance Related Flood Risk index, IRFR, is defined as the product of the Flood Hazard Index (FHI) and Vulnerability. The Long-term Flood Impact on Sustainability index, LFIS, is the ratio of the flood hazard index to the Sustainable Development Index (SDI). Using a rapid assessment approach, quantitative assessments of IRFR and LFIS are carried out for 2339 counties and cities in mainland China. Each index is graded from ‘very low’ to ‘very high’ according to the eigenvalue magnitude of cluster centroids. By combining grades of FHI and SDI, mainland China is then classified into four zones in order to identify regional variations in the potential linkage between flood hazard and sustainability. Zone I regions, where FHI is graded ‘very low’ or ‘low’ and SDI is ‘medium’ to ‘very high’, are mainly located in western China. Zone II regions, where FHI and SDI are ‘medium’ or ‘high’, occur in the rapidly developing areas of central and eastern China. Zone III regions, where FHI and SDI are ‘very low’ or ‘low’, correspond to the resource-based areas of western and north-central China. Zone IV regions, where FHI is ‘medium’ to ‘very high’ and SDI is ‘very low’ to ‘low’, occur in ecologically fragile areas of south-western China. The paper also examines the distributions of IRFR and LFIS throughout mainland China. Although 57% of the counties and cities have low IRFR values, 64% have high LFIS values. The modal values of LFIS are ordered as Zone I

The uncertainty of the hydrological environment and unbalanced water resource allocation result in a high risk of irrigation water shortages in regional agriculture, which seriously affects the sustainable development of agricultural systems. In this paper, we propose a risk regulation based modeling approach for the optimal allocation of agricultural water resources in a complex stochastic environment. The approach includes a conditional value-at-risk (CVaR) model, two-stage stochastic programming (TSP) model, two-dimensional joint distribution probability (JP) model, fractal criteria, and a multiple forms of chance-constrained programming (CCP) model. The model can weigh the contradiction between the intended target and associated penalties attributed to unknown hydrological events, measure the risk between system benefits and expected losses in agricultural water allocation at different confidence levels, and address the randomness in the objective function and constraints (including the left end term, right end term, and left and right end terms). To verify the applicability of the method, it is applied to the Jinxi Irrigation District in China to optimize the allocation and risk regulation of limited water resources under the variable runoff conditions of the Songhua River and crop water demands in the irrigation area. By adjusting parameters such as risk preference and probability of violation, the risk of water shortages in the irrigation area can be regulated, and the multidimensional impacts of different water allocation schemes on agricultural economic benefits, social benefits, ecology and environment can be determined. The case study reveals that the CTSP-CCJP method is sensitive, applicable to complex and uncertain environments and important for the efficient use of agricultural water resources and risk reduction. • The stochastics of water supply and demand linkage are considered. • The multiparameter stochastic uncertainty is transformed. • The risks between system benefits and expected losses are balanced. • The sustainability of a risk regulation-based water allocation scheme is evaluated. • The impact of water scarcity on sustainable development is mitigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainability assessments of coastal beach exploitation are difficult because the identification of appropriate monitoring methodologies and evaluation procedures is still ongoing. In particular, the most suitable procedure for the application of sustainability assessment to coastal beaches remains uncertain. This paper presents a complete sustainability assessment process for coastal beach exploitation based on the analytic hierarchy process (AHP). We developed an assessment framework consisting of 14 indicators derived from the three dimensions of suitability, economic and social value, and ecosystem. We chose a wind power project on a coastal beach of Yancheng as a case study. The results indicated that the wind power farms on the coastal beach were not completely in keeping with sustainable development theory. The construction of the wind power farms had some negative impacts. Therefore, in the design stage, wind turbines should be designed and planned carefully to minimize these negative impacts. In addition, the case study demonstrated that the AHP was capable of addressing the complexities associated with the sustainability of coastal beaches. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper presents an approach for rapid assessment of sustainability for Mainland China based on a multilayer index system. Efficient assessment is conducted with the basic mapping units at county and city levels. After evaluating a comprehensive sustainable development index, SDI, for each unit, five rankings of sustainability are determined, and a zonation map produced. Regional characteristics and differences are interpreted through macro-analysis of the spatial variation in SDI. A sensitivity analysis is performed by which the weights of the sub-indices are altered by ±20%, and SDI re-evaluated; the resulting grades remain the same, thus confirming the robustness of the technique. Moreover, the accuracy of the proposed approach is indirectly validated by comparison with assessment results from an alternative systems analysis method. It is found that major conurbations such as Beijing have relatively high levels of sustainability, whereas provinces in central and western China require investment to improve their sustainability. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Rapid and large-scale industrial growth has imposed tremendous challenges to the sustainable development of cities in China. The evaluation of the environmental sustainability of industrial planning has become a top priority for improving urban sustainability. In this regard, a goal-oriented framework, called three-line environmental governance, was proposed in the latest Chinese environmental management policy. Three lines, consisting of an ecological conservation red line, an environmental quality bottom line and a resource utilization upper limit line are to be taken into account when evaluating the potential effects of an urban industrial development plan. In this paper, the fuzzy axiomatic design system was applied in the development of an evaluation process and an indicator system that can be used to evaluate industrial alternatives that are established based on the three lines requirement. In an application of this methodology, the Industrial Green Development Plan of the city of Ordos was taken as a case study to recommend an optimal alternative. The target accessibilities of five alternatives were evaluated by conducting a comprehensive comparison among the alternatives meeting the environmental sustainability objectives of all of the indicators. This research shows that the evaluation of environmental sustainability on the basis of the three-line environmental governance policy is an effective way of promoting industrial green development and integrating environmental management requirements into urban industrial planning. It proposes not only a universal process for evaluating the environmental sustainability of urban industrial alternatives, but also a feasible method of tracking and evaluating the performance of industrial green development. • Three-line environmental governance (TLEG) is a new goal-oriented policy in China. • TLEG provides a framework for decomposing environmental sustainability (ES) goals. • A holistic and unified evaluation indicator system is established under TLEG. • Fuzzy axiomatic design is used to evaluate the target accessibility of alternatives. • TLEG based ES evaluation serve as a potential way to promote green industrial growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]