Articles

28 Items

Nomads near Lake Namtso, Tibet, 2005

Creative Commons

Journal Article - Global Environmental Change

Promise and Reality of Market-based Environmental Policy in China: Empirical Analyses of the Ecological Restoration Program on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

    Authors:
  • Steven A. Wolf
  • James P. Lassoie
  • Gregory L. Poe
  • Stephen J. Morreale
  • Xukun Su
  • Shikui Dong
| 2016

Environmental conservation programs in China have increasingly emphasized integration of marketbased logic into regulatory programs. But the realization of market logic and the effectiveness of such efforts are widely questioned by scientists and policy analysts. The authors empirically analyze the design, implementation, and outcomes of the ecological restoration program in the Three-Rivers Headwater Region in China, a large-scale conservation scheme aimed at restoring degraded grasslands and improving local livelihoods.

Syrian Desert, Eastern Jordan, November 12, 2012.

Creative Commons

Journal Article - Systems Engineering

Formulating Expectations for Future Water Availability through Infrastructure Development Decisions in Arid Regions

| May 24, 2016

In this research paper, the authors propose that future human mediated water availability in arid regions may be assessed by considering key projects that have been identified or proposed by regional experts and organizations. Using Multicriteria Decision Methods as a framework to organize a set of decision criteria and their relative salience, the likelihood of selection (and development) of a project can be determined and used to form expectations of future regional water availability. The authors apply this approach in a case study of Jordan.

Dismantled houses next to China's Danjiangkou reservoir. An estimated 330,000 people were relocated for the reservoir's expansion, which marks the beginning of the South-North Water Transfer Project's middle route.

International Rivers CC

Journal Article - Environmental Politics

Modernisation, Authoritarianism, and the Environment: The Politics of China's South-North Water Transfer Project

| November 2014

China presents a paradox for scholars of environmental politics. Environmental politics and policymaking in China now includes elements critical to environmental protection in the West, including non-governmental participation and stringent environmental legislation. Yet the country's authoritarian system constrains popular participation, and environmental outcomes are generally poor. China's South–North Water Transfer Project (SNWTP) embodies this puzzle: despite the pluralisation and development of environmental politics and policymaking, the SNWTP is a technocratic mega-project that imposes high social, economic, and environmental costs.

Longtang Dam viewed from the east, Longtang, Qiongshan District, Hainan, China, 23 October 2013.

Wikimedia CC

Journal Article - The China Quarterly

Hydropolitics and Inter-Jurisdictional Relationships in China: The Pursuit of Localized Preferences in a Centralized System

| August 2014

Inter-jurisdictional water resource issues constitute a growing political and economic challenge in China. This article examines three such cases of hydropolitics, namely large dam construction, water resource allocation, and downstream water pollution, through the lens of central–local relations. It argues that the hydropolitics in China are characterized by the pursuit of localized preferences within the constraints imposed by a centralized political system.

Haze-shrouded highway in Zhangjiang Pudong District, Shanghai, China, December 2013.

Wikimedia Commons CC

Journal Article - Foreign Affairs

Pollution Without Revolution

| June 11, 2014

"Given Beijing's new emphasis on the environment, an even bigger challenge will be addressing the global dimensions of its pollution, the effects of which don't stop at the water's edge. China is by far the largest source of air pollution among all Asian countries, including India, and Chinese emissions negatively affect air quality in a host of neighboring countries, particularly Japan. Chinese air pollution is even degrading air quality in the United States."

Journal Article - Reference Module in Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences

Technology Innovation and Energy

Energy technology innovation is the key to driving the technological changes that are necessary to meet the challenge of mitigating energy-related greenhouse gas emissions to avoid 'dangerous climate change.' Success in innovation requires the enhancement of public investment in the innovation process, the creation of markets for low-carbon technologies through stronger climate policies, and a continued focus on energy access and equity.

View of Chongqing from Chaotianmen, 25 October 2011. Chongqing's water footprint  depends heavily on virtual water inflow from other provinces.

Wikipedia Commons CC

Journal Article - Ecological Economics

A Multi-regional Input–output Analysis of Domestic Virtual Water Trade and Provincial Water Footprint in China

| April 2014

China's booming economy has brought increasing pressures on its water resources. The water scarcity problem in China is characterized by a mismatch between the spatial distributions of water resources, economic development and other primary factors of production, which leads to the separation of production and consumption of water-intensive products. In this paper, the authors quantify the scale and structure of virtual water trade and consumption-based water footprints at the provincial level in China based on a multi-regional input–output model.

An industrial area, with a coal-fired power plant, on the Old Grand Canal of China, south of Yangzhou's downtown, Feb. 7, 2012. China's water-energy nexus is dominated by coal-fired power generation.

Vmenkov Photo

Journal Article - Environmental Science and Technology

Life Cycle Water Use of Energy Production and its Environmental Impacts in China

| December 17, 2013

The energy sector is a major user of fresh water resources in China. We investigate the life cycle water withdrawals, consumptive water use, and wastewater discharge of China's energy sectors and their water-consumption-related environmental impacts, using a mixed-unit multi-regional input-output (MRIO) model and life cycle impact assessment method (LCIA) based on the Eco-indicator 99 framework.

Journal Article - Environmental Science and Technology

Regional Water Implications of Reducing Oil Imports with Liquid Transportation Fuel Alternatives in the United States

The Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) is among the cornerstone policies created to increase U.S. energy independence by using biofuels. Although greenhouse gas emissions have played a role in shaping the RFS, water implications are less understood. We demonstrate a spatial, life cycle approach to estimate water consumption of transportation fuel scenarios, including a comparison to current water withdrawals and drought incidence by state. The water consumption and land footprint of six scenarios are compared to the RFS, including shale oil, coal-to-liquids, shale gas-to-liquids, corn ethanol, and cellulosic ethanol from switchgrass.

Athabasca River, Alberta, Canada. Water availability in the Athabasca River is expected to decline due to climate change in the future while oil sands development expands.

Rob Grover Photo

Journal Article - Environmental Science and Technology

Land and Water Impacts of Oil Sands Production in Alberta

| April 3, 2012

Expansion of oil sands development results not only in the release of greenhouse gas emissions, but also impacts land and water resources. Though less discussed internationally due to to their inherently local nature, land and water impacts can be severe. Research in key areas is needed to manage oil sands operations effectively; including improved monitoring of ground and surface water quality.