Empirical analysis of eco-industrial development in China

Yong Geng, Murray Haight and Qinghua Zhu
Additional contact information
Yong Geng: Institute for Eco-Planning and Development, Dalian University of Technology, China, Postal: Institute for Eco-Planning and Development, Dalian University of Technology, China
Murray Haight: School of Planning, University of Waterloo, Canada, Postal: School of Planning, University of Waterloo, Canada
Qinghua Zhu: Institute for Eco-Planning and Development, Dalian University of Technology, China, Postal: Institute for Eco-Planning and Development, Dalian University of Technology, China

Sustainable Development, 2007, vol. 15, issue 2, 121-133

Abstract: The increasing resource and environmental pressures have impeded China's efforts to quickly promote its people's quality of life, while protecting its natural environment. Due to lack of resources, technologies and capital, China needs to seek a more integrated development strategy. Industrial ecology (IE) may be one solution as it aims at optimizing the use of materials and energy in products, processes, industrial sectors and economies by systemically mimicking natural systems in an industrial setting. The relevant practices and experiences in the developed world have proved that there is a degree of effectiveness and efficiency to development through the application of IE. It is even more critical to apply the principles of IE in China, where resources are scarce. However, compared with developed nations, China faces different environmental, economic and social constraints. Therefore, China has to adopt different approaches to implement the concept of IE. In this paper, we first review the current practices in eco-industrial development in China. Then the advantages and barriers to applying IE in China are analyzed and recommendations are provided. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

Date: 2007
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (11)

Downloads: (external link)
http://hdl.handle.net/10.1002/sd.306 Link to full text; subscription required (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:wly:sustdv:v:15:y:2007:i:2:p:121-133

DOI: 10.1002/sd.306

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainable Development is currently edited by Richard Welford

More articles in Sustainable Development from John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Wiley Content Delivery ().