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Marine ecosystems are complex self-organized systems that generate natural capital stocks and vital ecosystem services (ES) for human well-being. However, the assessment of marine natural capital in coastal countries is often overlooked. In this study, we evaluated the value of marine natural capital in mainland China using existing ES classifications and the emergy method. China's marine natural capital was estimated at 3.29E+24 sej/yr, with coastal waters having 3.2 times higher emergy density than terrestrial ecosystems. The annual economic value of marine natural capital in China's coastal water was approximately 8817.42 billion yuan/yr, nearly equal to China's Gross Ocean Product (GOP) in 2019 (8941.5-billion-yuan). Southern China showed significantly higher natural capital values than northern China. These findings highlight regional disparities in marine resource utilization and socioeconomic status, posing challenges to sustainable ocean development. The results provide a reference for policy and strategy development for sustainable marine resource exploitation. • The first natural capital value assessment of China's coastal water ecosystem. • Contributing to understand the link between marine resource and human well-being. • Emergy accounting can be used to sustainable marine resource management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Consumption demands are final drivers for the extraction and allocation of natural resources. This paper investigates demand-driven natural resource requirements and spatial outsourcing within China in 2012 by using the latest multi-regional input-output model. Exergy is adopted as a common metric for natural resources input. The total domestic resource exergy requirements amounted to 125.5 EJ, of which the eastern area contributed the largest share of 44.5%, followed by the western area (23.9%), the central area (23.0%) and the northeastern area (8.6%). Investment was the leading final demand category, accounting for 52.9% (66.4 EJ) of national total embodied resource use (ERU). The total trade volumes of embodied resource were equivalent to 69.6% of the total direct resource input (DRI), mostly transferred from the central and western regions such as Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, Shaanxi and Xinjiang to the eastern regions such as Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Guangdong and Shanghai. The northeastern and eastern areas had physical net imports of 1213.5 PJ and 38452.6 PJ, while the central and western inland areas had physical net exports of 6364.5 PJ and 33301.5 PJ, respectively. Shanghai, Beijing, Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Guangdong had prominent ERUs which respectively were 101.6, 12.6, 11.7, 8.4 and 4.3 times of their DRIs. The ERUs of Inner Mongolia, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Ningxia and Guizhou were equal to only 17.6%, 25.3%, 27.9%, 46.0% and 50.2% of their DRIs, respectively. Regional uneven development resulted in imbalanced resource requirements across China. The findings can provide a deep understanding of China's resource-driven economic development mode, and contribute to reducing regional resource footprints and their environment outcomes under the "new normal economy". Highlights • Outsourcing resource requirements within China 2012 is systematically revealed. • Exergy is adopted as a common metric for various natural resources input. • 69.6% of national total resource requirements were transferred via domestic trade. • Regional resource use patterns under the "new normal economy" are identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Owing to uneven development and unbalanced resource endowments within China, ensuring reliable energy, water and food supply is a core challenge to regional socio-economic development. This study makes a first attempt to examine and compare demand-driven energy, water and arable land (E-W-L) resource outsourcings within China based on the latest multi-regional input-output model. Results show that interprovincial trade reallocated 73.4%, 33.9% and 38.1% of the national total E-W-L resource inputs in 2012, respectively. Investment was the dominant final demand category for driving energy requirements, while consumption was the leading final demand category for water and arable land requirements. Important provincial regions and critical transmission sectors for the trade of embodied E-W-L resources are identified. Substantial E-W-L resources were transferred from the central and western regions to the eastern regions. Especially, Inner Mongolia was the top interregional net exporter of embodied energy, while Jiangsu topped the net importer list. Regarding virtual water transfer, Xinjiang and Shandong were the biggest interregional net exporters and net importers, respectively, while Heilongjiang and Guangdong stood out in the net trade of embodied arable land. Owing to the impact of interprovincial trade, the resource occupancy levels of the eastern developed area were much higher than those of the northeastern, central and western areas. The imbalances in the levels of socio-economic development amongst provincial regions are mirrored by their patterns of E-W-L uses and related trade transfer. Understanding the synchronal outsourcings of E-W-L resource requirements provides important implications for targeted resource management in Chinese interprovincial supply chains. • Energy, water and arable land resource outsourcings within China are examined. • Consumption-based accounting contributes to revealing resource inequality issue. • Eastern developed regions induce large amounts of resource transfers via trade. • Regional uneven development leads to the unequal access to resources. • Managing interprovincial supply chains can reduce resource footprint. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]