China's environmental challenges and implications for the world

Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology

Volumn 40, Issue 9-10, 2010, Pages 823-851

  Liu, Jianguo ^a   Raven, Peter H ^b  

^a MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY   (United States)

^b MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN   (United States)

Author keywords

China; coupled human and natural systems; economic development; envionment; sustainability; world

Indexed keywords

CHINA; ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT; ENVIONMENT; NATURAL SYSTEMS; SUSTAINABILITY; WORLD;

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION; SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT;

ECONOMICS;

CARBON DIOXIDE; DOMESTIC CHEMICAL;

ECONOMIC GROWTH; ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUE; ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION; FINANCIAL CRISIS; GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT; INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT; NATURE-SOCIETY RELATIONS; RESOURCE SCARCITY; RESOURCE USE; SOCIOECONOMIC IMPACT; SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS; SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT; TRADE-ENVIRONMENT RELATIONS; WELFARE IMPACT;

AGRICULTURAL MANAGEMENT; AIR POLLUTION; CHINA; CLIMATE CHANGE; CONSUMER; DEVELOPED COUNTRY; ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT; ECOSYSTEM RESTORATION; EDUCATION; ENERGY CONSUMPTION; ENERGY CONVERSION; ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE; ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT; ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION; ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY; GLOBAL CHANGE; GLOBAL CLIMATE; GREENHOUSE EFFECT; HEALTH CARE POLICY; INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION; INDUSTRIALIZATION; LAW; POLLUTION; RENEWABLE ENERGY; REVIEW; SCALE UP; SOCIAL CHANGE; SOCIOECONOMICS; SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT; UNITED NATIONS; WASTE MANAGEMENT; WELLBEING;

CHINA;

EID: 77955120581     PISSN: 10643389     EISSN: 15476537     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/10643389.2010.502645     Document Type: Review

References (126)

1. Project Team on Retrospectives and Perspectives on China's Environment and Development. 2007. Retrospectives and Perspectives on China's Environment and Development. Beijing, China: China Environmental, Science Press [in Chinese].
2. Smil, V. 1984. The bad earth. Armonk, NY: Zed Press.
3. Department of Nature Conservancy (SEPA). 1999. Report on China's ecological issues. Beijing, China: China Environmental, Science Press [in Chinese].
4. Zhu, T. (ed.). 2007. China environmental protection and sustainable development. Beijing, China: Science Press [in Chinese].
5. Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy, Center for International Earth Science Information Network at Columbia University. 2005. 2005 Environmental Sustainability Index. New Haven, Conn.: Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy.
6. Xinhua News Agency. 2010. National Bureau of Statistics: China's GDP growth rate is 9.1% last year. Retrieved July 2010 from http://news.xinhuanet. com/fortune/2010-07/02/c 12291285.htm [in Chinese].
7. Liu, J., and Diamond, J. 2005. China's environment in a globalizing world. Nature, 435, 1179-1186.
8. Smil, V. 2004. China's past, China's future. New York, NY: Routledge.
9. China's National Climate Change Programme. 2007. National Development and Reform Commission of China, Beijing, China.
10. Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific. 2009. Review of developments in transport in Asia and the Pacific. New York, NY: United Nations.
11. Yu, E., and Liu, J. 2007. Environmental impacts of divorce. PNAS, 104, 20629-20634.
12. Liu, J., Daily, G., Ehrlich, P., and Luck, G. 2003. Effects of household dynamics on resource consumption and biodiversity. Nature, 421, 530-533.
13. Smil, V. 1993. China's environmental crisis. Armonk, New York: M.E. Sharpe.
14. Center for National Economic Accounting and Economic Growth at Beijing University. 2009. Report on China's economic growth 2009. Beijing, China: China Development Press.
15. World Bank. 2001. China: Air, land, and water. Washington, D.C.: World Bank.
16. Ministry of Environmental Protection of China. 2009. 2008 Report on the State of Environment in China. Retrieved May 2010 from http://nwpcp.mep.gov. cn/jqyw/200906/t20090608 152519.htm [in Chinese].
17. Kitzes, J., Buchan, S., Galli, A., Ewing, B., Shengkui, C., Gaodi, X., and Shuyan, C. 2008. Report on ecological footprint in China. Beijing, China: CCICED-WWF.
18. China's National Assessment Report on Climate Change. 2007. Beijing, China: Science Press [in Chinese].
19. Ge, Q. (ed.). 2007. China's climate resources and sustainable development. Beijing, China: Science Press [in Chinese].
20. 2 emissions from fuel combustion 2008. Paris, France: IEA.
21. 2 emissions from developing countries overtake those from industrialised countries. Bilthoven, the Netherlands.
22. Feng, Z. W., Miao, H., Zhang, F. Z., and Huang, Y. Z. 2002. Effects of acid deposition on terrestrial ecosystems and their rehabilitation strategies in China. Journal of Environmental Sciences-China, 14, 227-233.
23. Xinhua News Agency. 2007. Ma Kai: The consequences of limitation in development due to climate change will be worse. Retrieved May 2010 from http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2007-06/04/content 6196397.htm [in Chinese].
24. Xinhua News Agency. 2008. Second west-to-east gas pipeline project launched. Retrieved May 2010 from http://www.china.org.cn/english/business/ 243613. htm.
25. Ni, C. 2009. China energy primer. Retrieved May 2010 from http://china.lbl. gov/sites/china.lbl.gov/files/LBNL-2860E.China Energy Primer.Nov2009.pdf.
26. Economy, E. C. 2004. The river runs black. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press.
27. Xie, J., Liebenthal, A., Warford, J. J., Dixon, J. A., Wang, M., Gao, S., Wang, S., Jiang, Y., and Ma, Z. 2009. Addressing China's water scarcity. Washington, DC: World Bank.
28. Gleick, P. 2008. The world's water 2008-2009. Washington, DC: Island Press.
29. China Elections and Governance. 2009. The water crisis in China is unprece-dentedly severe. Retrieved May 2010 from http://www.shwd.net/shownews. asp?newsid=2966 [in Chinese].
30. Ministry of Environmental Protection of China. 2008. 2007 annual statistic report on environment in China. Beijing, China: China Environmental Science Press.
31. China Youth Online. 2010. Ecological environment in China's coasts will face new pressures. Retrieved May 2010 from http://zqb.cyol. com/content/2010-05/12/content 3226421.htm [in Chinese].
32. Huang, L. (ed.). 2007. China's ocean resources and sustainable development. Beijing, China: Science Press [in Chinese].
33. Cheng, S. 2007. China's land resources and sustainable development. Beijing, China: Science Press [in Chinese].
34. Liu, J., Liu, M., Zhuang, D., Zhang, Z., and Deng, X. 2003. Study on spatial pattern of land-use change in China during 1995-2000. Science in China Series D: Earth Sciences, 46, 373-384.
35. Zhang, Y. 2009. China's cultivated land reduced 8 million ha in 12 years and reduced 19333 ha in 2008 alone. Retrieved May 2010 from Error! Hyperlink reference not valid.www.dw news.com/gb/MainNews/Forums/BackStage/2009 2 27 2 30 33 469.html [in Chinese].
36. Liu, J., Li, S., Ouyang, Z., Tam, C., and Chen, X. 2008. Ecological and so-cioeconomic effects of China's policies for ecosystem services. PNAS, 105, 9477-9482.
37. Xinhua News Agency. 2009. China's forest coverage exceeds target ahead of schedule. Retrieved May 2010 from http://news.xinhuanet. com/english/2009-11/ 17/content 12474411.htm.
38. Zhang, X., and Liu, Y. 2009. Forest cover in China has increased to 20.36% and forest resources enter the phase of fast development. Retrieved May 2010 from http://www.gov.cn/jrzg/2009-11/17/content 1466826.htm [in Chinese].
39. China Economic Review. 2009. Forest cover target. Retrieved May 2010 from http://www.chinaeconomicreview.com/china-eye/2009 12 21/Forest cover target.html.
40. Huang, M., Ji, J., Li, K., Liu, Y., Yang, F., and Tao, B. 2007. The ecosystem carbon accumulation after conversion of grasslands to pine plantations in subtropical red soil of South China. Tellus, 59B, 439-448.
41. Cyranoski, D. 2009. Putting China's wetlands on the map. Nature, 458, 134.
42. Ni, J. 2001. A biome classification of China based on plant functional types and the BIOME3 model. Folia Geobotanica, 36, 113-129.
43. Raven, P. H., and Yeates, D. K. 2007. Australian biodiversity: Threats for the present, opportunities for the future. Australian Journal of Entomology, 46, 177-187.
44. Liu, J., Ouyang, Z., Pimm, S., Raven, P., Wang, X., Miao, H., and Han, N. 2003. Protecting China's biodiversity. Science, 300, 1240-1241.
45. Xu, H., Tang, X., Liu, J., Ding, H., Wu, J., Zhang, M., Yang, Q., Cai, L., Zhao, H., and Liu, Y. 2009. China's progress toward the significant reduction of the rate of biodiversity loss. BioScience, 59, 843-852.
46. Xu, H., Wu, J., Liu, Y., Ding, H., Zhang, M., Wu, Y., and Wang, L. 2008. Biodiversity congruence and conservation strategies. BioScience, 58, 632-639.
47. Li, Z., Zimmermann, F., Hebblewhite, M., Purekhovsky, A., Mörschel, F., Zhu, C., and Miquelle, D. 2010. Study on the potential tiger habitat in the Chang-baishan area, China. Beijing, China: China Forestry Publishing House.
48. Viña, A., Bearer, S., Zhang, H., Ouyang, Z., and Liu, J. 2008. Evaluating MODIS data for mapping wildlife habitat distribution. Remote Sensing of Environment, 112, 2160-2169.
49. Judd, A. 2010. WWF says China's wild tiger population down to 50. Retrieved May 2010 from http://www.nowpublic.com/environment/wwf-says-chinas- wild-tiger-population-down-50-2559730.html.
50. Xinhua News Agency. 2002. The south-to-north water diversion project. Retrieved May 2010 from http://news.xinhuanet.com/ziliao/2002-12/27/content 672194.htm [in Chinese].
51. Office of South-to-North Water Diversion. 2003. Brief introduction to the overall plan of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project. Retrieved May 2010 from http://www.nsbd.gov.cn/zx/gcgh/20061018/200308250041.htm [in Chinese].
52. Kahrl, F., and Roland-Holst, D. 2008. China's water-energy nexus. Water Policy, 10, 51-65.
53. Hughes, S., Partzch, L., & Gaskell, S. 2007. The development of biofuels within the context of the global water crisis. Sustainable Development Law & Policy, 62, 58-62.
54. Gerbens-Leenes, W., Hoekstra, A. Y., and Van Der Meer, T. H. 2009. The water footprint of bioenergy. PNAS, 106, 10219-10223.
55. CCTV. 2009. China will reclaim 150 square kilometers of land from the sea in 2009, with investment of two trillion yuan. Retrieved May 2010 from http://news.cctv.com/china/20090216/110719.shtml [in Chinese].
56. Kahn, J., and Yardley, J. 2007. As China roars, pollution reaches deadly extremes. Retrieved May 2010 from http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/26/world/asia/ 26china.html? r=4&pagewanted=4.
57. NetEase. 2007. The yearly deaths caused by air pollution in China rank first in the world, with 650,000 each year. Retrieved May 2010 from http://discover. 163.com/07/0710/22/3J2RDEI1000125LI.html [in Chinese].
58. Don't drink the water and don't breathe the air. 2008. The Economist, 386, 42.
59. Ministry of Environmental Protection of China. 2004. Pan Yue, deputy director of SEPA: Environmental protection and social equity. Retrieved May 2010 from http://www.mep.gov.cn/gkml/hbb/qt/200910/t20091030 180603.htm [in Chinese].
60. Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). 2007. OECD Environmental Performance Review of China. Paris, France: OECD.
61. World Health Organization. 2008. Traditional medicine. Retrieved May 2010 from http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs134/en/.
62. UK Trade and Investment. 2008. Market opportunities in environmental goods and services, renewable energy, carbon finance and CATs\country report: China. Retrieved May 2010 from https://www.uktradeinvest.gov. uk/ukti/ShowDoc/BEA+Repository/345/424983.
63. Environmental Economics. 2006. Environmental costs in China. Retrieved May 2010 from http://www.env-econ.net/2006/12/reducing enviro.html.
64. Hu, Y. 2009. One-third of China's territory is desertified: Unsustainable development has paid a heavy price. Retrieved May 2010 from http://politics. dwnews.com/news/2009-06-17/4969749.html [in Chinese].
65. Ding, J., Mack, R. N., Lu, P., Ren, M., and Huang, H. 2008. China's booming economy is sparking and accelerating biological invasions. BioScience, 58, 317-324.
66. Invasive species causing annual loss of 200 billion yuan. 2009. Retrieved May 2010 from. http://finance.people.com.cn/GB/1045/9388084.html [in Chinese].
67. Xinhua News Agency. 2009. The wide invasion of the hyacinth again interferes the navigation in Ming River. Retrieved May 2010 from http://news.backchina. com/2009/4/28/38770.html [in Chinese].
68. Ning, Z., Deng, Y., Pan, J., Wang, H., and Grigg, J. 2008. Climate change\the Chinese challenge. Science, 319, 730-731.
69. Oriental Daily News. 2009. Soil erosion in 40% of China's territory: About 100 million people hardly survive. Retrieved May 2010 from Error! Hyperlink reference not valid.w.dw news.com/gb/MainNews/Forums/BackStage/2009 1 29 19 33 6 614.html [in Chinese].
70. Hong Kang Wen Wei Po. 2009. With a loss of more than 5 billion yuan, central government urgently grants 86.7 billion yuan for spring ploughing. Retrieved May 2010 from http://www.dwnews.com/news/2009-02-08/4717056.html [in Chinese].
71. Weber, C. L., Peters, G. P., Guan, D., and Hubacek, K. 2008. The contribution of Chinese exports to climate change. Energy Policy, 36, 3572-3577.
72. Piao, S., Fang, J., Ciais, P., Peylin, P., Yao, H., Sitch, S., and Wang, T. 2009. The carbon balance of terrestrial ecosystems in China. Nature, 458, 1009-1013.
73. Bawa, K. S., Koh, L., Lee, T., Liu, J., Ramakrishnan, P. S., Yu, D. W., Zhang, Y.-P., and Raven, P. H. 2010. China, India, and the environment. Science, 327, 1457-1459.
74. Laurance, W. F. 2008. The need to cut China's illegal timber imports. Science, 319, 1184-1185.
75. Li, W. 1994. Sustainable development and natural resource strategy for natural resource management. Journal of Natural Resources, 9, 88-106 [in Chinese].
76. Zhu, D. (ed.). 2007. China's circular economy and sustainable development. Beijing, China: Science Press [in Chinese].
77. Zafar, A. 2007. The growing relationship between China and Sub-Saharan Africa: Macroeconomic, trade, investment, and aid links. World Bank Research Observer, 22, 103-130.
78. Gratwicke, B., Mills, J., Dutton, A., Gabriel, G., Long, B., Seidensticker, J., Wright, B., You, W., and Zhang, L. 2008. Attitudes toward consumption and conservation of tigers in China. PLOS ONE, 3, e2544.
79. Li, Y., Gao, Z., Li, X., Wang, S., and Niemela, J. 2000. Illegal wildlife trade in the Himalayan region of China. Biodiversity and Conservation, 9, 901-918.
80. Liu, J. 2010. China's road to sustainability. Science, 328, 50.
81. World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED). 1987. Our common future. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
82. State Planning Commission of China. 1994. China's agenda 21. Beijing, China: China Environmental Science Press.
83. Zhang, K. M., and Wen, Z. G. 2008. Review and challenges of policies of environmental protection and sustainable development in China. Journal of Environmental Management, 88, 1249-1261.
84. Sustainable Development Strategy Group of Chinese Academy of Sciences. 2008. China Sustainable Development Strategy Report 2008. Beijing, China: Science Press [in Chinese].
85. Xinhua News Agency. 2009. Scientists make first satellite map for China's wetlands. Retrieved May 2010 from http://english.peopledaily.com. cn/90001/90776/90881/6596132.html.
86. Niu, W. (ed.). 2007. The pandect of China's sustainable development. Beijing, China: Science Press [in Chinese].
87. Liu, J., Dietz, T., Carpenter, S., Alberti, M., Folke, C., Moran, E., Pell, A., Deadman, P., Kratz, T., Lubchenco, J., et al. 2007. Complexity of coupled human and natural systems. Science, 317, 1513-1516.
88. Liu, J., Dietz, T., Carpenter, S. R., Folke, C., Alberti, M., Redman, C. L., Schneider, S. H., Ostrom, E., Pell, A. N., Lubchenco, J., et al. 2007. Coupled human and natural systems. Ambio, 36, 639-649.
89. Liu, J. 2001. Integrating ecology with human demography, behavior, and so-cioeconomics. Ecological Modelling, 140, 1-8.
90. Chinese Academy of Science. 2009. Releasing strategic research series report on "Innovation 2050: Science and Technology and China's Future." Retrieved May 2010 from http://www.cas.cn/xw/zyxw/yw/200906/ t20090610 2313751. shtml [in Chinese].
91. Chen, X., Lupi, F., He, G., and Liu, J. 2009. Linking social norms to efficient conservation investment in payments for ecosystem services. PNAS, 106, 11812-11817.
92. Friedman, T. L. 2009. The inflection is near? Retrieved May 2010 from http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/08/opinion/08friedman.html? r=2&em.
93. United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). 2009. Global trends in sustainable energy investment 2009. Nairobi, Kenya: UNEP.
94. Ministry of Environmental Protection of China. 2008. Ministry of Environmental Protection kept "Seven Promises" in Environmental Impact Assessment and opened "Green Channel" to stimulate domestic demand. Retrieved May 2010 from http://www.mep.gov.cn/gkml/hbb/qt/200910/t20091023 179590.htm [in Chinese].
95. Ministry of Environmental Protection of China. 2009. Ministry of Environmental Protection decided to suspend the process of approving projects including the Jinsha River Hydropower Development Project. Retrieved May 2010 from http://www.mep.gov.cn/gkml/hbb/qt/200910/t20091023 179606.htm [in Chinese].
96. Ansfield, J. 2009. Slump tilts priorities of industry in China. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/19/world/asia/19china.html? r=2&hp.
97. Fang, Y., and Côte, R. P. 2005. Towards sustainability. International Journal of Sustainable Development and World Ecology, 12, 443-460.
98. Jones, V. 2008. The green collar economy. New York, NY: Harper One.
99. Cao, S., Zhong, B., Yue, H., Zeng, H., and Zeng, J. 2009. Development and testing of a sustainable environmental restoration policy on eradicating the poverty trap in China's Changting county. PNAS, 106, 10712-10716.
100. Qu, G. 2000. Dream and expectation. Beijing, China: China Environmental Science Press [in Chinese].
101. Lieberthal, K., and Sandalow, D. 2009. Overcoming obstacles to U.S.-China cooperation on climate change. Washington, D.C.: The Brookings Institution.
102. Guterl, F. 2009. How America can turn China green. Newsweek, 153, 8.
103. Oxfam International. 2009. New Oxfam report says that rich countries have a 'double duty' to act on climate change. Retrieved May 2010 from http://www.oxfam.org/en/pressroom/pressrelease/2009-06-11/new-oxfam-report-says- rich-countries-have-double-duty.
104. Liu, Y., Strangway, D., & Feng, Z. 2009. Building an environmentally-friendly society through innovation. Beijing, China: Science Press.
105. Lieberthal, K. G. 2010. U.S.-China talks should keep an eye to the future. Retrieved May 2010 from http://www.brookings.edu/china.aspx.
106. Butler, D. 2008. The great contender. Nature, 454, 382-383.
107. Dyson, F. 2007. Our biotech future. New York Review of Books, 54, 4.
108. Wu, K., Lu, Y., Feng, H., Jiang, Y., and Zhao, J. 2008. Suppression of cotton bollworm in multiple crops in China in areas with Bt toxin-containing cotton. Science, 321, 1676-1678.
109. Batson, A. 2009. Stimulus dilemma for China\spending on public works risks making production glut worse. Retrieved May 2010 from http://online.wsj. com/article/SB123759537916001075.html.
110. Cao, S. 2008. Why large-scale afforestation efforts in China have failed to solve the desertification. Environmental Science and Technology, 42, 1826-1831.
111. Arnett, E. B., Schirmacher, M., Huso, M. M. P., and Hayes, J. P. 2009. Effectiveness of changing wind turbine cut-in speed to reduce bat fatalities at wind facilities. Austin, Texas: Bat Conservation International.
112. State Environmental Protection Administration of China. 2006. China Green National Accounting Study Report 2004. Beijing, China: National Bureau of Statistics [in Chinese].
113. Liu, J., and Diamond, J. 2008. Revolutionizing China's environmental protection. Science, 321, 37-38.
114. Liu, J., and Savenije, H. H. G. 2008. Food consumption patterns and their effect on water requirement in China. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences Discussions, 5, 27-50.
115. Xinhua News Agency. 2009. China has reached two water-saving targets since the beginning of the Eleventh Five-years. Retrieved May 2010 from http://www.gov.cn/jrzg/2009-05/27/content 1326061.htm [in Chinese].
116. Wang, Q. (ed.). 2009. Report on China green development. Beijing, China: China Modern Economic Publishing House [in Chinese].
117. Hai, Y. 2009. The foreign exchange savings of China surges to 2 trillion U.S. dollars. Retrieved May 2010 from http://www.dwnews.com/gb/Consumer/finance/ 2009 7 15 16 31 53 670.html [in Chinese].
118. United Nations Human Settlements Programme. 2006. Global report on human settlements 2005\financing urban shelter. London and Sterling, Va.: UN-HABITAT.
119. 2 emissions. Retrieved May 2010 from http://www.ucsusa.org/global warming/science and impacts/science/each-countrys-share-of-co2.html.
120. Mingjian. 2005. Air pollution in Beijing ranks first, about 400,000 people in China die each year due to air pollution. Retrieved May 2010 from http://xinsheng.net/xs/articles/gb/2005/10/31/34618.htm [in Chinese].
121. National Bureau of Statistics of China. 1985-2008. China statistical yearbook. Retrieved May 2010 from http://www.stats.gov.cn.
122. Li, J. 2009. Stimulus fund flowing toward sewage upgrades. Retrieved May 2010 from http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2009-06/26/content 8324846. htm.
123. International Energy Agency. 2010. China overtakes the United States to become world's largest energy consumer. Retrieved July 2010 from http://www. lea.org/index info.asp?id=1479.
124. Liu, J. 2010. Sustainability: A household world. Science, 329, 512.
125. Barboza, D. 2010. China passes Japan as second-largest economy. Retrieved August 2010 from http://www.newyorktimes.com/2010/08/16/business/global/16yuan. html.
126. Ministry of Environmental Protection of China. 2010. Construction and management of nature reserves in 2009. Retrieved September 2010 from http://sts. mep.gov.cn/zrbhq/zrbhqgzjb/201006/t20100604 190513.htm.