Analysis of regional material flows: The case of the Czech Republic

This article deals with regional material flows and the related environmental pressures and impacts in the Czech Republic. We assess the regional domestic extraction used for groups of materials (DE) such as biomass, fossil fuels, non-metallic minerals and metal ores and examine the inter-regional trade in these materials in terms of physical imports (IMr), Physical exports (EXr) and physical trade balance (PTBr). We further discuss the significance of various material flow indicators including DMI and DMC, their relations to other socio-economic variables and their possible application in policies. We argue that more effort should be put into developing indicators presenting imports and exports in raw material equivalents (RME). (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.