Comprehensive evaluation of ecological environment quality of mining area based on sustainable development indicators: a case study of Yanzhou Mining in China

In order to explore the effective method for the comprehensive evaluation of ecological environment quality of environmental pollution governance in China’s coal mining areas, based on the review of domestic and foreign research literature and the requirements and actual situation of environmental pollution control in China’s coal mining areas, this paper selects four categories of 20 evaluation indicators, including land resource, water resource, air, and sustainable development status. According to the land, surface water, air quality standards, and China’s sustainable development strategy issued by the Chinese government, and drawing on the latest research results at China and the world, taking the Yanzhou Mining in China as an example, the traditional niche model is introduced to reconstruct the spatial niche model for the case evaluation. It is found that the evaluation results of the spatial niche model lie between the evaluation results of the absolute niche model and the relative niche model. According to the evaluation results, during 2010–2018, the quality of land resources, water resources, and sustainable development in Yanzhou Mining has been upgraded from level IV to II, and the air quality has been upgraded from level IV to level III, which is still the focus of improving the ecological environment quality in Yanzhou Mining. The research findings are significant for guiding the Yanzhou Mining to improve the quality of the ecological environment and promote sustainable development. The conclusion of this paper has guiding significance for the improvement of ecological environment quality of other similar coal mining areas and provides empirical support for the government to formulate environmental pollution governance and ecological environment quality policy.