Evolution of Regulations Controlling Human Pressure in Protected Areas of China

Wenyuan Jiang and Shuanglin Jiang ()
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Wenyuan Jiang: Research Institute of Environmental Law, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China
Shuanglin Jiang: School of Humanities and Law, Zhejiang Agricultural and Forestry University, Hangzhou 310007, China

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 5, 1-23

Abstract: Facing the serious challenge of human pressure on biodiversity conservation, a growing interest has been aroused in adaptive pathways for conservation law and regulations. Unlike studies that discuss improvement pathways based on well-established systems in the developed world, building up a scientific, effective regulatory system is the major challenge faced in China. We analyzed the evolution of protection regulations and divided them into three main stages. In the first two stages, conservation regulations followed a parallel core logic of national reform and development, resulting in rules that were too stringent or served only departmental interests. In the third stage, the reform of territorial spatial planning incorporated various PAs, reconciling ecological protection with the needs of agriculture and urbanization for land use. We attribute the success of the third stage to a more comprehensive policy and legal framework that integrates the system of protected areas and spatial planning, making conservation rules more scientific and enforceable. Several suggestions to enhance current reforms are then proposed. This study also provides international insight into limiting the impact of human activities on protected areas through scientifically integrated spatial planning and strict use controls.

Keywords: biodiversity; conservation law; protected area; Ecological Conservation Redline; spatial planning (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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