Comprehensive evaluation of water resources carrying capacity in Henan Province based on entropy weight TOPSIS — coupling coordination — obstacle model

This study aims to investigate the water resource carrying capacity (WRCC) of Henan Province, identify its main obstacles, and provide suggestions for optimizing its WRCC. The article constructs a WRCC evaluation system with 20 indicators for the four subsystems of water resources, economy, society, and ecology based on literature and the actual situation of Henan Province. The entropy weighted TOPSIS method is used to calculate the WRCC of Henan Province from 2005 to 2021. The coupling coordination model is used to explore the degree of coupling coordination among internal systems, while the obstacle model is used to study its restrictive influencing factors. The study found that (1) the WRCC fluctuated in a U-shaped pattern around 0.5 during the study period; (2) the coupling and coordination degree of each subsystem is generally good, except for 2012 and 2013, which showed basic coordination; (3) currently, the main obstacles to the WRCC are ecosystems and water resources. The main indicators are afforestation area, proportion of the tertiary industry, fertilizer usage, and urban sewage treatment rate. Therefore, Henan Province should take measures such as reducing fertilizer usage, standardizing urban sewage treatment, improving water efficiency, and optimizing industrial structure to optimize its WRCC and promote comprehensive utilization of water resources.