Investigating Eco-Environmental Vulnerability for China-Pakistan Economic Corridor Key Sector Punjab Using Multi-Sources Geo-Information

China-Pakistan economic corridor (CPEC), a critical part of the Belt and Road initiative (BRI), is subjected to rapid infrastructure development, which may lead to potential eco-environmental vulnerability. This study uses multi-source geo-information, and the multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM)-based best-worst method (BWM) to quantify the baseline eco-environmental vulnerability of one key CPEC sector-the Punjab province. The Punjab province is an important connection between northern and southern CPEC routes in Pakistan. In this study, we have established an indicator system consisting of twenty-two influential factors in a geospatial database to conduct eco-environmental vulnerability analysis. The overall setup is supported by a geographic information system (GIS) to perform spatial analysis. The resulting map was categorized into five vulnerability levels: very low, low, medium, high, and very high. The results revealed that the overall eco-environmental health of the Punjab province is reasonably good as 4.64% and 59.45% area of the key sector lies in 'very low' and 'low' vulnerability categories; however, there also exist highly vulnerable areas, particularly in the proximity of CPEC projects. Although high vulnerability areas constitute a very small percentage, only 0.08% of the Punjab province, still, decision-makers need to be aware of those regions and make corresponding protection strategies. Our study demonstrated that the MCDM-BWM-based EVA model could be effectively used to quantify vulnerability in other areas of CPEC. The findings of the study emphasize that management policies should be aligned with research-based recommendations for ecological protection, natural resource utilization, and sustainable development in regions participating in BRI.

Automated summary

This study used multi-source geo-information and the BWM method to quantify eco-environmental vulnerability in the Punjab province of the China-Pakistan economic corridor. The results showed relatively good overall environmental health in the province, but highlighted the presence of vulnerable areas near CPEC projects. Decision-makers should be aware of and protect these regions, aligning management policies with recommendations for ecological protection, resource utilization, and sustainable development.