Spatiotemporal patterns and driving factors of coupling and decoupling in the water-energy-food- ecology nexus in China: A sustainable livelihoods framework approach
Document Type
Research-Article
Journal Name
Journal of Cleaner Production
Keywords
Coupling coordination degree, Decoupling, GTWR, Sustainable development goals, WEFE nexus
Abstract
With global population growth and resource supply-demand conflicts, effective management of the water-energy-food-ecology (WEFE) nexus is critical for advancing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. This study constructed a WEFE nexus indicator system and used coupling coordination degree (CCD) and decoupling models to analyze the spatiotemporal evolution of the WEFE nexus across 30 Chinese provincial-level regions from 2006 to 2021. Furthermore, a geographically and temporally weighted regression (GTWR) model was used to explore the driving factors under a sustainable livelihoods framework. This study revealed that CCD of the WEFE nexus in China showed a fluctuating upward trend, reflecting a shift from imbalance to coupling coordination, with a convex spatial pattern “high in the south, low in the north”. The decoupling relationship between ecology and water, energy, and food shown a gradual expansion of ideal coordination areas, which were less common in the west than in the east. Additionally, GTWR analysis presented that, the regression coefficients were relatively dispersed and fluctuated significantly. Sustainable water had a greater impact in the central region, sustainable energy increased from northeast to southwest, sustainable food increased from north to south, and sustainable ecology had a weaker impact than the other three factors. This study facilitates the coordinated development of the WEFE nexus and offers theoretical guidance for fostering sustainable resource use and enhancing human well-being. © 2026 Elsevier Ltd.