China’s Land Resources Dilemma: Problems, Outcomes, and Options for Sustainable Land Restoration

Zhang, Lulu and Schwärzel, Kai, (2017). China’s Land Resources Dilemma: Problems, Outcomes, and Options for Sustainable Land Restoration. Sustainability, 9(12), 1-13

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  • Sub-type Journal article
    Author Zhang, Lulu
    Schwärzel, Kai
    Title China’s Land Resources Dilemma: Problems, Outcomes, and Options for Sustainable Land Restoration
    Appearing in Sustainability
    Volume 9
    Issue No. 12
    Publication Date 2017-12-18
    Place of Publication Basel
    Publisher Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI)
    Start page 1
    End page 13
    Language eng
    Abstract Pressing issues such as water and food security, health, peace, and poverty are deeply linked to land degradation. We use China’s major land restoration programs as a case offering perspective on the existing problems in China’s major policies for improving degraded land and maintaining land resources in three dimensions. The shortcomings and outcomes in terms of biophysical consequences, socioeconomic benefits, and political goals are addressed, namely (i) non-integrated land resources management creates new problems while solving existing problems, (ii) non-participatory processes and “one-size-fits-all” measures compromise socioeconomic benefits, and (iii) implementation outcomes conflict with policy targets for sustainable land management and development. Based on discussions for more sustainable land management, we conclude that China needs to create a new mode of ‘economy and environment’ in plans and actions of restoring degraded land resources. Establishing multifunctional land-use systems based on formulating and balancing multiple benefits/services across socio-ecological sectors can be an option to achieve such a mode. At the end, recommendations are given for research and implementation that are not only vital for China but also relevant for other regions since the challenges of afforestation and sustainable land development faced in China are not unique.
    UNBIS Thesaurus LAND DEGRADATION
    AFFORESTATION
    Keyword Sustainable land management
    Multifunctional land use
    Ecosystem functions and services
    Copyright Holder The Authors
    Copyright Year 2017
    Copyright type Creative commons
    DOI 10.3390/su9122362
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    Created: Wed, 20 Dec 2017, 21:34:12 JST by Claudia Matthias on behalf of UNU FLORES