What drives public acceptance of chemical industrial park policy and project in China?

Chemical industrial park (CIP) policy is becoming a vital national strategy of circular economy in China and a means to enhance energy and resource efficiency, environmental performance, and economic competitiveness. It also aims to avoid environmental risks of the decentralized chemical plants that have been a subject of public protests as local citizens’ fear for chemical pollution and human's health. Public acceptance is therefore a major factor determining the success of CIP policy and project. This paper aims to investigate what drives public acceptance and rejection of chemical industrial park policies and projects in China. Our focus is on citizens in three coastal cities located in high environmental and risk sensitive areas: Dalian at Liaoning Province, Maoming at Guangdong Province, and Xiamen at Fujian Province. This is where several chemical industrial parks are (proposed) located. Based on surveys in these three representative cities, we have examined the nature and level of public acceptance towards chemical industrial park policies and projects. Results show that respondents were more positive towards the national policy, but more negative of CIP policy at the city and project level. Public acceptance of CIP policy and project was significantly influenced by factors including income, environmental value, perceived risks, procedural justice, distributive justice, benefits of CIP, and the residential distance to a CIP project. The identified factors provide a basis for anticipating and understanding likely public acceptance and should be considered in decision-making of CIP policy and project.</p

Comparing centralized and decentralized bio-energy systems in rural China

Biomass energy development has become part of the national energy strategy in China. The dis-/advantages of decentralized and centralized bio-energy systems are evaluated. Bio-energy systems should be selected based on the local circumstances. a r t i c l e i n f o t r a c t Under the dual pressures of an energy crisis and rising greenhouse gas emissions, biomass energy development and utilisation has become part of the national energy strategy in China. The last decade has witnessed a strong promotion of both centralised and decentralised bio-energy systems in rural China. The government seems to have a strong preference for centralised (village-based) bio-energy systems in recent years. However, these government-driven systems have not worked without difficulties, particularly regarding economic and technological viability and maintenance. Studies on the advantages and disadvantages of decentralised and centralised bio-energy systems are rare. This study aims to shed light on the performances of these two systems in terms of social, economic and environmental effects. Through interviewing local officials and village leaders and surveying farmers in 12 villages in Shandong Province, it was found that bio-energy systems should be selected based on the local circumstances. The diversity of the local natural, economic and social situations determines the size, place, technology and organisational model of the bio-energy system

Etiologic Diagnosis of Lower Respiratory Tract Bacterial Infections Using Sputum Samples and Quantitative Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification

Etiologic diagnoses of lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI) have been relying primarily on bacterial cultures that often fail to return useful results in time. Although DNA-based assays are more sensitive than bacterial cultures in detecting pathogens, the molecular results are often inconsistent and challenged by doubts on false positives, such as those due to system- and environment-derived contaminations. Here we report a nationwide cohort study on 2986 suspected LRTI patients across P. R. China. We compared the performance of a DNA-based assay qLAMP (quantitative Loop-mediated isothermal AMPlification) with that of standard bacterial cultures in detecting a panel of eight common respiratory bacterial pathogens from sputum samples. Our qLAMP assay detects the panel of pathogens in 1047(69.28%) patients from 1533 qualified patients at the end. We found that the bacterial titer quantified based on qLAMP is a predictor of probability that the bacterium in the sample can be detected in culture assay. The relatedness of the two assays fits a logistic regression curve. We used a piecewise linear function to define breakpoints where latent pathogen abruptly change its competitive relationship with others in the panel. These breakpoints, where pathogens start to propagate abnormally, are used as cutoffs to eliminate the influence of contaminations from normal flora. With help of the cutoffs derived from statistical analysis, we are able to identify causative pathogens in 750 (48.92%) patients from qualified patients. In conclusion, qLAMP is a reliable method in quantifying bacterial titer. Despite the fact that there are always latent bacteria contaminated in sputum samples, we can identify causative pathogens based on cutoffs derived from statistical analysis of competitive relationship

Wasted cities in urbanizing China

Urbanization is a characteristic of the 21st century, especially in countries with developing economies and a large amount of rural-to-urban migration. In China, the emergence of "wasted cities and towns" has paralleled urban expansion; large newly built areas that remain unpopulated and have created significant economic and social costs. We conducted a systematic investigation into the prevalence and geographical distribution of these "wasted cities and towns" through an analysis of spatially-detailed data from 1992 to 2014, and by estimating the environmental impacts of these "wasted" cities using available data in mainland China. Between 2008 and 2012, at least 28 ghost cities/towns were documented within 16 provinces, with severe effects on land use and the ecosystem, creating a waste of resources and energy. These cities contributed to poor air quality and climate change, and created unneeded construction and demolition waste. To prevent a further increase in wasted cities, and to turn existing ones into sustainable cities, China has to dramatically change its urbanization and housing policies in tandem with strengthening environmental policies, while taking long-term prevention and short-term execution strategies. Knowing how to manage the phenomenon of "wasted cities" in China is not just an environmental question, but also has strong effects on urbanization and sustainability. Developing reasonable management plans may establish an example for developing countries, and emerging economies in particular. The sustainability of urbanization might be affected if the problems identified here are not resolved. China's experiences with the environmental challenges of urbanization may provide valuable lessons for other emerging economies if the measures recommended here are implemented successfully

Payments for Watershed Ecosystem Services in the Eyes of the Public, China

Recent decades have witnessed an increased development of schemes for payment for watershed ecosystem services (PWES). However, the public is usually excluded from PWES systems. Reliable and empirical research on PWES from the public perspective is scarce. Aiming to understand public perceptions, attitudes, participation, and responses to PWES, this paper investigated local residents living in the Yongding River watershed area through a face-to-face questionnaire survey. The results showed that the public had limited knowledge of PWES. The public was keen to be involved in PWES decision-making, but the current level of public participation was very low. Regarding willingness to pay (WTP) and willingness to accept (WTA), nearly 55% of the respondents supported paying the upstream residents for protecting the environment if they were beneficiaries in the downstream areas, while 85% of the respondents agreed to accept compensation if they were contributors to environmental improvement in the upstream areas. Although some of the respondents&rsquo; daily lives were affected by the watershed environment, they were reluctant to pay, reflecting a sign of &ldquo;free-riding&rdquo;. The regression analysis showed that public concerns, values, knowledge of PWES and the watershed environment, and demographic factors determined the WTP and WTA. The results of the contingent valuation method and opportunity costs method showed that the annual payment for headwater conservation areas (Huailai and Yanqing) ranged from CNY 245 to 718 million (USD 36 to 106 million). This study contributes to our limited knowledge and understanding of public sentiment and makes recommendations for improving public receptivity to PWES

Public Participation and Information Disclosure for Environmental Sustainability of 2022 Winter Olympics

As China prepares to host the 2022 Winter Olympics, the Beijing Winter Olympics Organizing Committee has committed to making public participation a fundamental part of its broader sustainability objectives. Unfortunately, the existing research on information openness and public participation towards Winter Olympic Games is limited in the perspective of host residents. Therefore, this article aims to understand the information disclosure and public participation, as well as the roles information and technologies (ICTs) play in achieving environmental sustainability. With the help of self-administered questionnaires, data were compiled. The survey was conducted in April 2017 with 650 residents in Beijing and Zhangjiakou via face-to-face interviews to obtain a random and statistically representative sample of host residents. Our findings indicated that only few respondents participated in the limited activities of Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. The respondents&rsquo; views on important issues of public participation varied obviously including the participating level, principles, time, ways, mechanism, and influencing factor. The analysis illustrated over 70% of respondents had the positive attitudes towards ICTs roles and functions in Beijing 2022. ICTs have helped the public to obtain information about environmental management and sustainability issues, and to facilitate public awareness and collective action by building new management practices. This study has implications and contributes to the burgeoning literature surrounding the Olympic Games by providing an in-depth analysis of public participation in relation to the theory

Payments for Watershed Ecosystem Services in the Eyes of the Public, China

Recent decades have witnessed an increased development of schemes for payment for watershed ecosystem services (PWES). However, the public is usually excluded from PWES systems. Reliable and empirical research on PWES from the public perspective is scarce. Aiming to understand public perceptions, attitudes, participation, and responses to PWES, this paper investigated local residents living in the Yongding River watershed area through a face-to-face questionnaire survey. The results showed that the public had limited knowledge of PWES. The public was keen to be involved in PWES decision-making, but the current level of public participation was very low. Regarding willingness to pay (WTP) and willingness to accept (WTA), nearly 55% of the respondents supported paying the upstream residents for protecting the environment if they were beneficiaries in the downstream areas, while 85% of the respondents agreed to accept compensation if they were contributors to environmental improvement in the upstream areas. Although some of the respondents’ daily lives were affected by the watershed environment, they were reluctant to pay, reflecting a sign of “free-riding”. The regression analysis showed that public concerns, values, knowledge of PWES and the watershed environment, and demographic factors determined the WTP and WTA. The results of the contingent valuation method and opportunity costs method showed that the annual payment for headwater conservation areas (Huailai and Yanqing) ranged from CNY 245 to 718 million (USD 36 to 106 million). This study contributes to our limited knowledge and understanding of public sentiment and makes recommendations for improving public receptivity to PWES

Public protests against the Beijing-Shenyang high-speed railway in China

With the rapid expansion of the high-speed railway infrastructure in China, conflicts arise between the interests of local citizens living along the planned tracks and the national interests of governmental authorities and project developers. This paper addresses questions of why and how Chinese citizens mobilize for and participate in protests against high-speed railway projects and to what effect. To this end, a comprehensive study was conducted on the decision-making process, public opinions, and protest actions regarding the plans and site choices for the Beijing-Shenyang high-speed railway from 2008 to 2013, combining quantitative and qualitative methods. In general, local residents are supportive of high-speed railway project construction, but they contest the closed decision-making process and the poor design and siting choices for the track by governmental authorities and companies. After four years of resident protests through formal complaints, lobbying, protest demonstrations, organizing alternative opinion polls, and discussions with authorities, citizens were partially successful in changing the siting of the track, adding protective measures (e.g., tunnels and sound screens), and saving green belts. Two conclusions can be drawn from this case study. First, regardless of the growing legal requirements, public participation in major projects in China is far from a standard practice. Final citizen participation is often preceded by serious conflict. Second, with defined good governance boundaries, there is increasing room for public participation in environmental movements, which does influence final decisions