Ecological planning for promoting urban sustainable development: A case study of Shenzhen Special Economic Zone,China

Based on the case study of Shenzhen Special Economic Zone, China, this paper investigates the theories and application of ecological planning for promoting urban sustainable development. The stated significance of such development is to promote the co-ordination of relationships between man and nature, and man and the environment.     

Urban ecological security assessment and forecasting,based on a cellular automata model: A case study of Guangzhou,China

Forecasting changes in urban ecological security could be important for the maintenance or improvement of the urban ecological environment. However, there are few references in this field and no landmark research work has been reported, particularly quantitative research. A forecasting model for ecological security based on cellular automata (CA) was developed using preliminary spatial data from an ecological security assessment of Guangzhou conducted previously (1990–2005). The model was constrained using transformation rules based upon proposed planning for 2010–2020. A simulation accuracy of 72.09% was acquired. Using a one-bit assessment grid for 2005 as the starting state for the simulation, the model was used to forecast ecological security for 2020. This revealed that although the ecological security status would be improved relative to current trends, there would still be an overall decline in ecological security over the next 15 years. Even if new urban plans were implemented, landscape pattern analysis suggested a more scattered and homogenous distribution in the urban landscape of Guangzhou and significant variation in landscape characteristics among districts. This suggests that further measures must be adopted to reverse the current trends in Guangzhou's ecological security. The model highlights the need to make ecological protection an integral part of urban planning. This study demonstrates the potential of CA models for forecasting ecological security. Such models could make an important contribution to decision-making for regional governors and to the development of urban planning incorporating assessment and prediction of ecological security.     

Assessment of regional ecological security based on ecological footprint and influential factors analysis: a case study of Chongqing Municipality,China

In recent years, it has been important to objectively evaluate the degree of regional ecological security with regard to resource depletion and to analyse influential factors to assess sustainable development. This paper tries to assess ecological security in Chongqing while investigating the main influencing factors. Calculations of the consumption footprint, production footprint and ecological capacity for Chongqing from 1996 to 2007 based on an ecological footprint approach were carried out. An ecological security index was also calculated from these results and factors influencing security were analysed using factor analysis. Both the consumption and production footprints present an upward trend, contrary to the gradually decreasing trend of ecological capacity. In addition, the ecological security index shows that Chongqing has deteriorated from a level of less risk to that of risk. Factor analysis suggests that the deterioration of ecological security could primarily be ascribed to socio-economic factors and industrialisation. With socio-economic development and industrialisation, appropriate measures must be taken to improve the ecosystem in Chongqing so as to achieve sustainable development. The limitations of the methodology are also discussed and areas that require further research are presented.     

基于生态足迹模型的贵州省生态可持续性动态分析

生态足迹是定量研究区域可持续发展的一种重要方法。运用生态足迹方法分析了贵州省1999—2008年生态足迹的动态变化,并利用生态足迹指数和生态足迹强度等指标对贵州省1999—2008年的生态可持续性进行了评估。结果表明：10年来,贵州省人均生态足迹由1999年的2.094 28 hm^2上升到2008年的3.613 48 hm^2;人均生物承载力由1999年的0.785 42 hm^2下降到2008年的0.734 81 hm^2;人均生态赤字由1999年的1.308 87 hm^2上升到2008年的2.878 68 hm^2;万元GDP生态足迹由1999年的8.287 91 hm^2下降到2008年的4.111 70 hm^2;生态足迹强度指数由1999年的2.666 46上升到2008年的4.917 61;生态足迹多样性呈现缓慢上升的趋势,社会发展指数总体呈逐年上升趋势;说明发展能力逐年提高,但这是以生态足迹增加为代价的。据此,提出减少了生态足迹和缓解生态环境压力的对策和建议。     

Calculation of the minimum ecological water requirement of an urban river system and its deployment: A case study in Beijing central region

The minimum ecological water requirements of an urban river system and water deployment are key elements in integrated water resources planning and urban ecological construction. Based on a review of ecological water requirement calculation methods and considering the different ecological functions of an urban river system, the ecological function method was used in this paper to calculate the components of the ecological water requirements of an urban river. An envelope curve-based method was proposed for assessing the minimum ecological water requirements of an urban river system. Water resources deployment strategies designed to meet the minimum ecological water requirements were described. Then, the minimum ecological water requirements of the urban river system in Beijing central region, selected as a case study, were investigated. The key parameters for assessing the minimum ecological water requirement in the Beijing urban river system were determined. Based on the ecological objectives and the current status of the different urban river systems within the Beijing central region, the minimum ecological water requirements were calculated. Different types of water sources, including rainwater, upstream water, and reclaimed water, were deployed to meet the ecological water requirements for the urban river system in the Beijing central region.     

Moving towards sustainable development: rhetoric,policy and reality of ecological agriculture in China

Past decades have witnessed the rise of sustainable agriculture movements throughout the world. In parallel with this international trend, ecological agriculture (with essential goals of food security, rural employment, poverty alleviation, natural resource management and environmental protection) has been advocated as a workable approach for the realization of sustainable agriculture in China. Two decades of ecological agricultural development have shown that it not only gained legitimacy at the senior policy level but also became a focus of scientific research in fields such as ecological economics, ecology, and agricultural and environmental sciences. However, this endeavour is hardly known in the West and little attention has been paid so far to examining the broader politico-economic and sociocultural contexts within which it has evolved. This paper attempts to provide a general review of the emerging background, development history, policy initiatives and recent tendencies of ecological agriculture. In addition, the extant problems and potential contributions of this alternative practice to China's sustainable agricultural development are discussed. The purpose of this study is to identify the gap between the policy rhetoric and practical implementation of Chinese ecological agriculture and therefore to facilitate its moving towards sustainable development.     

生态状况判断的理论基础及在中国的应用

文章系统地总结了影响生态状况判断的六个理论,分别为:可持续发展、跨越式发展、环境库兹涅茨曲线、熵与混沌理论、耗散结构和社会-经济-自然复合生态系统理论。这些理论是人类认识自然的结晶,而且也是区域生态状况判断坚实的理论基础。在阐述理论的基础上,对中国生态状况作出的准确判断,认为中国的生态状况总体上处于治理与破坏的相持阶段,水土流失、土地荒漠化等得到有效遏制、人们的生态意识不断增强,但传统经济结构和发展模式的调整目标尚未完成,退化生态系统还未得到根本恢复,社会经济可持续发展的目标还需很长时间。这些基于理论分析的判断对于对中国生态建设和可持续发展具有重要指导意义。     

小流域可持续发展能力的生态足迹法分析--以重庆市万州区五桥河流域为例

以三峡库区五桥河流域为例,将生态足迹理论与方法运用于小流域尺度的可持续发展研究中,采用问卷调查的数据获取方式,保守地估算了该区居民的生态足迹需求和生态足迹供给,并与其他国家(地区)作比较,分析了该区的资源利用效益.结果表明,五桥河流域人均生态足迹需求为1.020 7 hm2·人-1,而生态承载力仅为0.465 2 hm2·人-1,生态赤字达到-0.555 5 hm2·人-1;生态足迹需求及亏缺主要源于林地和草地类产品的消费;五桥河流域生态足迹赤字已经高于全球水平(-0.4 hm2·人-1),资源利用效率仅为世界平均水平的12%,该区发展呈相对不可持续状态.     

Higher education in urban environmental management: a new programme at the Asian Institute of Technology,Bangkok

Environmental management and planning is now considered as a new field of professional expertise. There are even professional associations for interested professionals. To date, urban environmental management has been regarded as a subdiscipline of environmental management, but since the Rio Conference in 1992, with the new focus of urban management on environmental problems, it can itself be considered as a professional field. This paper traces the emergence of the field and tries to identify the new skills required for it. The question of formal training, in higher education, for a new type of professional is raised and discussed. It refers at length to an initiative taken by the Asian Institute of Technology (Bangkok) to propose and offer a new graduate programme in this discipline, and draws on the author's experience of an Asian workshop (Bangkok, May 1993) aimed at defining the need for such a new profession in Asia.     

Evaluating the environmental impacts of an urban wetland park based on emergy accounting and life cycle assessment: A case study in Beijing

In this paper, emergy accounting (EA) and life cycle assessment (LCA) methods are employed to investigate a typical urban wetland park, the Green Lake Urban Wetland Park (GLUWP) of Beijing, in terms of its environmental and capital inputs, ecosystem services and organic matter yields, environmental support, and sustainability. The LCA method is also used to obtain a quantitative estimation of the environmental impact of discharges during the entire life cycle of the GLUWP. Various emergy-based indices, such as emergy yield ratio (EYR), environmental load ratio (ELR), emergy sustainability index (ESI), net economic benefit (Np), and environmental impacts of process-based LCA, including global warming potential (GWP), eutrophication (EU), nonrenewable resource depletion (RU), energy consumption (EN), acidification potential (AP), photochemical oxidant creation potential (POCP), particulate matter (PM) and wastes (W), are calculated. The results show that the GLUWP has higher proportions of renewable resource input, less pressure on the environment, more environmental support and better ecological and economic benefits, which can be considered as an environment-friendly and long-term sustainable ecological practice, compared with another constructed wetland in Beijing. Meanwhile, the dominant environmental impact is induced by POCP with the construction phase contributing the most on the entire life cycle. It is expected that increasing green area, extensively using environment-friendly materials, optimizing construction techniques and reducing power consumption can promote the sustainability of the GLUWP.     

Evaluation of urban metabolism based on emergy synthesis: A case study for Beijing (China)

Cities (“urban superorganisms”) exhibit metabolic processes. Disturbance of these processes results from the high throughput of the socioeconomic system as a result of the flow of resources between it and its surroundings. Based on systematic ecology and emergy synthesis, we developed an emergy-based indicator system for evaluating urban metabolic factors (flux, structures, intensity, efficiency, and density), and evaluated the status of Beijing's environment and economic development by diagramming, accounting for, and analyzing the material, energy, and monetary flows within Beijing's metabolic system using biophysically based ecological accounting. We also compared the results with those of four other Chinese cities (Shanghai, Guangzhou, Ningbo, and Baotou) and China as a whole to assess Beijing's development status. From 1990 to 2004, Beijing's metabolic flux, metabolic intensity, and metabolic density increased significantly. The city's metabolic processes depend excessively on nonrenewable resources, but the pressure on resources from outside of the city decreased continuously. The metabolic efficiency increased by around 12% annually throughout the study period. Beijing had a highest metabolic fluxes and density compared with the four other cities; its metabolic efficiency was lower, and its metabolic intensity was higher. Evaluating these metabolic indicators revealed weaknesses in the urban metabolic system, thereby helping planners to identify measures capable of sustaining these urban metabolic processes.     

Integrated ecological assessment as the basis for management of a coastal urban protected area: A case study of Xiamen,China

In the process of rapid urbanisation in China, environmental problems have increased, from sewage discharge to climate change. Marine protected areas (MPAs) are widely advocated as a means to comprehensively manage human activities and resources in ocean and coastal areas. However, MPAs only safeguard populations or assemblages within their boundaries and fail to offer any protection from many major threats to marine environments. An increase in environmental threats implies an increase in environmental management and assessment. We propose a methodological framework for integrated ecological assessment using the Xiamen marine protected area as a case study. The integrated ecological assessment framework can be generalised from the dimensions of environment, economy, society and institution. Surveys were undertaken to assess the state of the Xiamen coastal environment, the resources of the reserve, and issues associated with human activities. Stakeholders were interviewed about their attitudes towards issues regarding the management of the reserve. The constraints of the reserve management were identified. The methodological framework is presented as a tool to help identify relative ecological security in order to prioritise actions and assess the ecological implications of management and policy decisions.     

基于属性识别理论的城市生态安全评价——以广州市为例

城市生态安全评价可以使管理者和公众及时了解城市发展中生态环境压力的严重态势,为城市可持续发展战略的制定和生态系统的管理提供依据和指导。文章构建了由活力、组织结构、恢复力、生态系统服务功能和人类健康状况5个要素构成的城市生态安全评价指标体系。在有序分割类和属性识别准则的基础上,建立了城市生态安全评价的属性识别模型。采用层次分析法（AHP）和熵权法赋予指标权重,充分利用了主观和客观评价方法的优势。根据此模型对广州市1991—2007年间的生态安全状况进行了实证分析。结果表明城市生态安全状况呈现出,从＂较不安全级＂上升到＂临界安全＂级。在5个评价要素中,除人群健康状况外,其他4个评价要素呈现出逐年改善的趋势。属性识别理论能对事物进行有效识别和比较分析,且原理直观、计算简便、评价结果准确,在评价、预测、决策等领域中具有广泛的适用性。     

Water environmental planning and management at the watershed scale: A case study of Lake Qilu, China

Water environmental planning and management has become essential for guiding the water pollution control activities. Past water pollution control activities have been site specific, with little thought on water quality standard reaching at the watershed scale. Based on the watershed approach, a seven-step methodological framework for water environmental planning and management was developed. The framework was applied to water environmental planning and management of the Lake Qilu watershed in Yunnan Province, China. Results show that the reduction amount of total nitrogen (TN) under the plan is 1,205 tons per year so that the target of environmental capacity can be reached in 2020. Compared with traditional methods, the framework has its prevalence and could be generalized to analogous watersheds.     

Distribution pattern of traditional ecological knowledge on plant utilization among major minority peoples in Guizhou,China

In this study, the traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) on non-cultivated plant utilization by the Miao and Buyi people in Guizhou, China, was investigated using semi-structured interviews and the joint plant and use (JPU) was used as an index of TEK. In addition, the regional TEK distribution patterns were depicted. The results showed that low-frequency JPUs accounted for a large proportion of the total TEK on non-cultivated plant utilization, implying a possible TEK loss. The TEK distribution pattern is similar to the 80/20 rule, indicating that most TEK is mastered by key informants who are important for regional TEK protection and inheritance. Different informants have different JPU amounts and diversities with specific relationships, and for the characteristic ethnic TEK, medicinal JPUs generally have a low frequency, while symbolic JPUs have a higher frequency. The results could provide references for regional sustainable development and biocultural diversity management.     

Ecological network determination of sectoral linkages, utility relations and structural characteristics on urban ecological economic system

Analyzing the structure and functioning of the urban system revealed ways to optimize its structure by adjusting the relationships among compartments, thereby demonstrating how ecological network analysis can be used in urban system research. Based on the account of the extended exergy utilization in the sector of urban socio-economic system, which is considered as the composition of extraction (Ex), conversion (Co), agriculture (Ag), industry (In), transportation (Tr), tertiary (Te) and households (Do) sectors, an urban ecological network model is constructed to gain insights into the economic processes oriented to sustainable urban development. Taking Beijing city as the case, the network accounting and related ecological evaluation of a practical urban economy are carried out in this study in the light of flux, efficiency, utility and structure analysis. The results showed that a large quantity of energy and resources have to be consumed to maintain the structure and function of a city. The thermodynamic efficiencies of individual sector in Beijing remain at a low level. The social system in Beijing is a highly competitive network, and there are 8 competitive relations and only two mutualistic ones. The Domestic and Agricultural sector are the major controlling factors of the system. Moreover, the assessment results of Beijing are compared with the other three socio-economic systems, Norway, UK and Italy, and the ecological network function and structure comparisons are correspondingly illuminated and discussed. The conclusions indicate that the exergy-based network analysis can be refined to become an integrative tool for evaluation, policy-making and regulation for urban socio-economic system management concerning structure and efficiency at urban levels.     

Ecological network and emergy analysis of urban metabolic systems: Model development,and a case study of four Chinese cities

Analysis of the structure and function of urban metabolic systems is an important goal of urban research. We used network pathways and network utility analysis to analyze the basic network structure of the urban metabolic system and the complex ecological relationships within the system, providing a new way to perform such research. Using four Chinese cities as examples, we developed an ecological network model of the urban metabolic system. By using network pathway analysis, we studied the changing relationships between metabolic length and the number of metabolic pathways, and between metabolic length and reachability. Based on the distribution of the number of metabolic pathways, we describe the basic structure and intercompartment relationships of the system. By using the sign distribution in the network utility matrix, we determined the ecological relationships and degree of mutualism between the compartments of the system. The basic components of the system consisted of the internal environment, the external environment, and the agricultural, industrial, and domestic sectors. With increasing metabolic length, the ecological relationships among the components of the system became more diverse, and the numbers of metabolic paths and their reachability improved. Although the basic network structure of the four cities was identical, the mutualism index differed. Beijing's mutualism index was superior to that of Shanghai, and much higher than those of Tianjin and Chongqing. By analyzing the structure and function of the urban metabolic system, we provide suggestions for optimizing the structure and adjusting the relationships, and propose methods for the application of ecological network analysis in future urban system research.     

城市生态环境演变趋势的集对分析预测研究——以武汉市为例

自然生态环境是城市社会经济健康发展的重要物质基础,生态足迹作为生态环境承载状态测度的指标,受到社会、经济、人口等多种因素的影响,表现出时空动态性和不确定性等特征,集对分析(SPA)为不确定性问题的建模提出一条新的思路。在对1988—2004年武汉市生态足迹及其社会经济影响因子时间序列分析的基础上,通过构建的集对分析动态模型,对武汉市2005—2020年总生态足迹发展趋势进行了预测。研究结果表明,2005—2020年总生态足迹将由1810.925万hm2增长到2873.857万hm2,呈现出低于GDP和生态效率增长速率的趋势,但生态环境将进一步恶化,对此就武汉市生态系统的发展提出了对策与建议。最后,指出SPA动态模型为城市生态系统预测研究提供了一种可行的解决方案。     

Rubber cultivation and sustainable development in Xishuangbanna,China

SUMMARY

Xishuangbanna in southwest China is a tropical and subtropical region with extraordinary traditional cultures and attractive landscapes. Rubber cultivation is a key production source undergoing rapid growth. It contributes substantially to improvement of the local economic situation and partially replaces traditional slash-and-burn agriculture in the uplands, but it also results in biodiversity loss and environmental degradation and disturbs the peaceful life of the indigenous people. We discuss the traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) preserved in daily practices and the present types of rubber plantations and suggest the application of TEK, in particular, the indigenous land-use experience to rubber cultivation, in order to promote sustainability in local economic development and ecological well-being.     

Impact of energy structure adjustment on air quality: a case study in Beijing, China

Energy consumption is a major cause of air pollution in Beijing, and the adjustment of the energy structure is of strategic importance to the reduction of carbon intensity and the improvement of air quality. In this paper, we explored the future trend of energy structure adjustment in Beijing till 2020, designed five energy scenarios focusing on the fuel substitution in power plants and heating sectors, established emission inventories, and utilized the Mesoscale Modeling System Generation 5 (MM5) and the Models-3/Community Multiscale Air Quality Model (CMAQ) to evaluate the impact of these measures on air quality. By implementing this systematic energy structure adjustment, the emissions of PM₁₀, PM_2.5, SO₂, NO _x , and non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs) will decrease distinctly by 34.0%, 53.2%, 78.3%, 47.0%, and 30.6% respectively in the most coalintensive scenario of 2020 compared with 2005. Correspondingly, MM5-Models-3/CMAQ simulations indicate significant reduction in the concentrations of major pollutants, implying that energy structure adjustment can play an important role in improving Beijing??s air quality. By fuel substitution for power plants and heating boilers, PM₁₀, PM_2.5, SO₂, NO _x , and NMVOCs will be reduced further, but slightly by 1.7%, 4.5%, 11.4%, 13.5%, and 8.8% respectively in the least coal-intensive scenario. The air quality impacts of different scenarios in 2020 resemble each other, indicating that the potential of air quality improvement due to structure adjustment in power plants and heating sectors is limited. However, the CO₂ emission is 10.0% lower in the least coal-intensive scenario than in the most coal-intensive one, contributing to Beijing??s ambition to build a low carbon city. Except for energy structure adjustment, it is necessary to take further measures to ensure the attainment of air quality standards.