Measurement and Spatiotemporal Differentiation Patterns of Water Resources Utilization Efficiency in Sichuan Province Based on Super-Efficiency SBM Model

Revealing the spatiotemporal differentiation pattern of water resources utilization efficiency in Sichuan Province is of great significance for promoting regional coordinated development. Based on the panel data of 21 cities (prefectures) in Sichuan Province from 2012 to 2022, this study measured the water resources utilization efficiency using the global super-efficiency slack-based measure (SBM) model considering undesired outputs, decomposed regional differences with the Theil index, and revealed its spatial agglomeration characteristics through global spatial autocorrelation and cold and hot spot analysis. The results show that: ① The average value of overall water resources utilization efficiency in Sichuan Province shows a significant positive evolution trend, but there are significant differences in water resources utilization efficiency between different regions and among cities (prefectures); ② The overall difference in water resources utilization efficiency in Sichuan Province is mainly derived from intra-regional differences, but it shows a narrowing trend during the study period; ③ The overall spatial correlation of water resources utilization efficiency in Sichuan Province is not significant, but the local spatial agglomeration characteristics present a distribution pattern of "cold in the east and hot in the west". In general, there is still much room for improvement in water resources utilization efficiency in Sichuan Province. Therefore, it is necessary to carry out precise regulation by city (prefecture) and by region and strengthen cross-regional cooperation to improve water resources utilization efficiency.