Carrying capacity for SDGs: A review of connotation evolution and practice

The integration of carrying capacity and sustainable development (sustainability) has prevailed since the end of the 20th century, but the connotation evolution and practice of carrying capacity for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have not been fully reviewed. Scientific measurement analysis and visualization are helpful to reflect the global picture of the connotation evolution and the practice in the field of carrying capacity for SDGs. This work retrieved the literature in the core collection database of Web of Science with topic words carrying capacity and sustainable development or carrying capacity and sustainability from 1985 to 2020. A set of 897 records were obtained as the data source. First, the evolution trend and mutation point detection, the theme mining and clustering, the citation chronology chart were visualized using the bibliometric analysis. Then, the focus of carrying capacity for SDGs and the main way to improve were summarized from the economic, environmental and social dimensions by researchers' intervention. This work examined the connotation and practice of carrying capacity for SDGs as thoroughly as possible, we attempted to supplement more meaning understanding, nuances, and critical thinking, and the current challenges and future prospects were summarized. It is expected that it will inspire new opportunities for academic research and practical applications, as well as enable policy managers to pay full attention to the potentially important value of carrying capacity in promoting the realization of SDGs.

Automated summary

This study utilized bibliometric analysis and visualization to examine the evolution and practice of carrying capacity for SDGs, highlighting improvements in the economic, environmental, and social dimensions. It also discussed the current challenges and future prospects in this field.