“Sustainable Water³ Space” network for water sustainability in Yellow River Basin

China's "Three Waters" system (water environment, resource, and ecology) forms a critical foundation for achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, conventional management tools often treat these components in isolation, overlooking their internal and interactive couplings.

In a new study published in Water & Ecology, a research team led by Mimi Gong from Beijing Normal University and Qiang Huang from Beijing Institute of Technology uncovered interactions within and between the "Three Waters" system and sustainable development goals. Based on the information, the researchers identified key policy levers that support water sustainability in the Yellow River Basin and developed a "Sustainable Water³ Space" network—integrating 53 SDG indicators, combining eigenvector centrality and complexity analyses to identify synergistic relationships and critical "bridge" indicators.

Notably, a stable four-cluster structure (Socioeconomic Development, Water Resource, Water Environment, Water Ecology) persisted from 2015 to 2022. However, a significant temporal evolution is observed in the role of specific "bridge" indicators—those with high betweenness centrality that connect different clusters. 

"Initially dominated by socio-economic metrics like consumer expenditure, the role of key bridges shifted by 2022 towards water-related indicators such as water usage per unit of GDP and surface water quality," explains Gong. "This shift signals a move from fragmented growth toward a more integrated model where economic and water systems co-evolve."

The evolution demonstrates that these indicators become the "bridges" linking the socioeconomic system with the "Three Waters" system. "Improvements in these areas can effectively drive positive cross-system synergies, thereby enhancing the overall trajectory of sustainable development," Gong says.

Furthermore, the network demonstrates superior structural stability and predictive power compared to traditional models. "By combining network metrics with regional complexity analysis, the study revealed stark contrasts between high-complexity areas (e.g., Licheng District) with interdependent systems and low-complexity areas (e.g., Wudi County) facing specific bottlenecks," adds Gong.

Consequently, the researchers propose differentiated management strategies: leveraging high-centrality indicators for systemic optimization in advanced regions, and tackling critical bottlenecks while strengthening bridges in struggling regions. 

"Building on this foundation and considering the specific economic, environmental, and resource conditions of a given region, we are able to provide tailored policy priorities that promote coordinated development between its socioeconomic system and the 'Three Water' system," says Gong.

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Contact the author: 

Mimi Gong, gongmimi@bnu.edu.cn

-Advanced Interdisciplinary Institute of Satellite Applications, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China

-Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China

-National Joint Research Center for Ecological Conservation and High-Quality Development of the Yellow River Basin, Beijing 100012, China

Qiang Huang, 3120255092@bit.edu.cn

-Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China

-School of Management, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China

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