State actions and the environment: examining the concept of ecological security in China

Author(s):  
Justin Joseph ◽  
Joe Thomas Karackattu
Keyword(s):  
2010 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 301-308 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caige SUN ◽  
Kaiwen ZHONG ◽  
Xulong LIU ◽  
Liang XIE

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 4845
Author(s):  
Yiran Wang ◽  
Dahong Zhang ◽  
Yahui Wang

The forest ecological security of the Yangtze River Economic Belt has an important influence on improving the regional environment and promoting the sustainable development of the social economy. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to provide countermeasures and suggestions for improving the level of regional ecological security by quantitatively analyzing the forest ecological security status of the Yangtze River Economic Belt and the tributaries of the Yangtze River. Using three main aspects, i.e., resources, socio-economic pressure and maintenance response, the study established 26 indicators that affect the forest ecological security of 11 provinces (cities) in the Yangtze River Economic Belt. The index weights were determined by principal component analysis, and the forest ecological security levels of 11 provinces (cities) in the Yangtze River Economic Belt were classified and evaluated by the grey clustering method. The results show the following: (1) the principal component analysis determined the weight of the three aspect indicators. The order is as follows: resource index > socio-economic pressure index > maintenance response index. This means that the basic environmental condition which the forest growth depends on and quality and quantity of forest is most important, and the maintenance activities performed by human beings in forest resources need to be strengthened. (2) The level of the forest ecological security in all the provinces (cities) of the Yangtze River Economic Belt is relatively good, with an upward trend. The level of forest ecological security in each province (city) decreases from the upper reaches of the Yangtze River basin to the lower reaches, and the level of forest ecological security in the central cities is lower. (3) The resource index, socio-economic pressure index and maintenance response index of all the provinces and cities showed an upward trend in these four years. The provinces with a significantly higher forest resource index include Yunnan and Guizhou. Shanghai, Chongqing, Sichuan, Hunan and Jiangxi were the provinces with significantly higher socio-economic pressure values; Yunnan province, Shanghai, Jiangxi Province and Hubei province were the provinces with higher forest maintenance response values.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruikang Li ◽  
Yangbing Li ◽  
Bo Li ◽  
Dianji Fu

AbstractAnalyses of landscape change patterns that are based on elevation and slope can not only provide reasonable interpretations of landscape patterns but can also help to reveal evolutionary laws. However, landscape change patterns and their model in different landforms of the typical watershed in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area (TGRA) has not been quantified and assessed effectively. As a complex geographical unit, the ecological environment in the middle reach of the Yangtze River has experienced great changes due to the construction of the Three Gorges Project (TGP) and its associated human activities. Here, based mainly on a digital elevation model (DEM) and remotely sensed images from 1986, 2000, 2010, and 2017 and by using GIS technology, speeds/ trends of landscape change, the index of landscape type change intensity, landscape pattern indices, and landscape ecological security index, the spatial and temporal evolution characteristics of different elevations, slopes, and buffer landscape types were analyzed in typical watersheds, as well as an evolutionary model of the landscape pattern. The results indicated that (1) the landscape types along with the land classification and buffer zone that were influenced by the TGR construction have undergone a phased change, with the period 2000–2010 being the most dramatic period of landscape evolution during the impoundment period; (2) landscape type shifts from human-dominated farmland to nature-driven forestland and shrub-land as elevations, slopes and buffer distances increased. The landscape has shifted from diversity to relative homogeneity; (3) land types and buffer zones played essential roles in the landscape pattern index, which is reflected in the differences in landscape type indices for spatial extension and temporal characteristics. The results of this paper illustrate the spatial–temporal characteristics of various landscape types at three distinct stages in the construction of the TGR. These findings indicate that the landscape ecological security of the watershed is improving year by year. The follow-up development of the TGRA needs to consider the landscape change patterns of different landforms.


Author(s):  
Rong Guo ◽  
Tong Wu ◽  
Mengran Liu ◽  
Mengshi Huang ◽  
Luigi Stendardo ◽  
...  

Urban agglomerations have become a new geographical unit in China, breaking the administrative fortresses between cities, which means that the population and economic activities between cities will become more intensive in the future. Constructing and optimizing the ecological security pattern of urban agglomerations is important for promoting harmonious social-economic development and ecological protection. Using the Harbin-Changchun urban agglomeration as a case study, we have identified ecological sources based on the evaluation of ecosystem functions. Based on the resistance surface modified by nighttime light (NTL) data, the potential ecological corridors were identified using the least-cost path method, and key ecological corridors were extracted using the gravity model. By combining 15 ecological sources, 119 corridors, 3 buffer zones, and 77 ecological nodes, the ecological security pattern (ESP) was constructed. The main land-use types composed of ecological sources and corridors are forest land, cultivated land, grassland, and water areas. Some ecological sources are occupied by construction, while unused land has the potential for ecological development. The ecological corridors in the central region are distributed circularly and extend to southeast side in the form of tree branches with the Songhua River as the central axis. Finally, this study proposes an optimizing pattern with "four belts, four zones, one axis, nine corridors, ten clusters and multi-centers" to provide decision makers with spatial strategies with respect to the conflicts between urban development and ecological protection during rapid urbanization.


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