Resource Flow: Theoretical Framework and Application for Decision Making
资源流动研究的理论框架与决策应用

industry sector over a set period of time. The outcomes of a resource flow analysis provide an opportunity for a betterunderstanding of how and where to target activities to manage material consumption and minimization. It is essential for dematerialization between resources use and economic development, particularly for developing countries like China, where economic development is coupled with an intensive consumption of natural resources, affecting coordinated development between socio-economy, environment and institutions. The paper exams the progresses in resource flow analysis made by developed countries, including theoretical background, methodology applied, major results and their socio-economic implications. Relevant experiences for China to conduct this sort of research are summarized and recommendations made. It is concluded that proper understanding of the concept, identification of major resources related closely to socio-economic development and involved in the flow process are fundamental basis for resource flow analysis, spatial-temporal scales should be taken into consideration, vertical and horizontal flows of resources over time and its ecological and environmental effects will have to be emphasized. Most importantly, resource flow accounting system and database should be established for a long-term research and monitoring. Those aspects have already been successfully tackled in developed countries, particularly in European countries and the results been used for decision-making of dematerialization between economic and ecological development. At the initial stage of resource flow analysis, China will have to identify key resources consumed in economic process, and establish or assign governmental agencies or institutions to take responsibilities for data collection and manipulation and the standards for data management should be unified and consistent. The output of this work is the establishment of resource flow accounting system in corresponding agencies which will serve as a powerful basis for dynamic monitoring and assessment of resource flow, its ecological and environmental effects and counter measures.