Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Contributors
- Message from Kofi A. Annan, Secretary-General, United Nations
- Foreword by Charles Odidi Okidi and Nicholas Adams Robinson
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Challenges of Environmental Law – Environmental Issues and Their Implications to Jurisprudence
- ONE INTERNATIONAL ISSUES AND LEGAL RESPONSES TO SUSTAINABLE LAND MANAGEMENT
- TWO NATIONAL APPROACHES TO LAND USE PLANNING FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
- 6 Community Rights to Genetic Resources and Their Knowledge: African and Ethiopian Perspectives
- 7 Easements and Wildlife Conservation in Kenya
- 8 Land Tenure, Land Use, and Sustainability in Kenya: Toward Innovative Use of Property Rights in Wildlife Management
- 9 The Development of Environmental Law and Its Impact on Sustainable Use of Wetlands in Uganda
- 10 EIA and the Four Ps: Some Observations from South Africa
- 11 From Bureaucracy-Controlled to Stakeholder-Driven Urban Planning and Management: Experiences and Challenges of Environmental Planning and Management in Tanzania
- 12 Strategies for Integrated Environmental Governance in South Africa: Toward a More Sustainable Environmental Governance and Land Use Regime
- 13 Environmental Law and Sustainable Land Use in Nigeria
- 14 The Role of Administrative Dispute Resolution Institutions and Processes in Sustainable Land Use Management: The Case of the National Environment Tribunal and the Public Complaints Committee of Kenya
- 15 Managing the Environmental Impact of Refugees in Kenya: The Role of National Accountability and Environmental Law
- 16 Environmental Impact Assessment Law and Land Use: A Comparative Analysis of Recent Trends in the Nigerian and U.S. Oil and Gas Industry
- 17 Managing Land Use and Environmental Conflicts in Cameroon
- 18 Environmental Law Reform to Control Land Degradation in the People's Republic of China: A View of the Legal Framework of the PRC–GEF Partnership Program
- 19 Urbanization and Environmental Challenges in Pakistan
- 20 ASEAN Heritage Parks and Transboundary Biodiversity Conservation
- 21 Land Use Planning, Environmental Management, and the Garden City as an Urban Development Approach in Singapore
- 22 The Law and Preparation of Environmental Management Plans for Sustainable Development in Thailand
- 23 Nepal's Legal Initiatives on Land Use for Sustainable Development
- 24 Environmental Law and Irrigated Land in Australia
- 25 Environmental Impact Assessment: Addressing the Major Weaknesses
- 26 Protection of Natural Spaces in Brazilian Environmental Law
- 27 Land Use Planning in Mexico: As Framed by Social Development and Environmental Policies
- 28 Argentina's Constitution and General Environment Law as the Framework for Comprehensive Land Use Regulation
- 29 Ecological Economics, Sustainable Land Use, and Policy Choices
- 30 The 2004 U.S. Ocean Report and Its Implications for Land Use Reform to Improve Ocean Water Quality
- 31 Historical Overview of the American Land Use System: A Diagnostic Approach to Evaluating Governmental Land Use Control
- Index
18 - Environmental Law Reform to Control Land Degradation in the People's Republic of China: A View of the Legal Framework of the PRC–GEF Partnership Program
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 17 August 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Contributors
- Message from Kofi A. Annan, Secretary-General, United Nations
- Foreword by Charles Odidi Okidi and Nicholas Adams Robinson
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Challenges of Environmental Law – Environmental Issues and Their Implications to Jurisprudence
- ONE INTERNATIONAL ISSUES AND LEGAL RESPONSES TO SUSTAINABLE LAND MANAGEMENT
- TWO NATIONAL APPROACHES TO LAND USE PLANNING FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
- 6 Community Rights to Genetic Resources and Their Knowledge: African and Ethiopian Perspectives
- 7 Easements and Wildlife Conservation in Kenya
- 8 Land Tenure, Land Use, and Sustainability in Kenya: Toward Innovative Use of Property Rights in Wildlife Management
- 9 The Development of Environmental Law and Its Impact on Sustainable Use of Wetlands in Uganda
- 10 EIA and the Four Ps: Some Observations from South Africa
- 11 From Bureaucracy-Controlled to Stakeholder-Driven Urban Planning and Management: Experiences and Challenges of Environmental Planning and Management in Tanzania
- 12 Strategies for Integrated Environmental Governance in South Africa: Toward a More Sustainable Environmental Governance and Land Use Regime
- 13 Environmental Law and Sustainable Land Use in Nigeria
- 14 The Role of Administrative Dispute Resolution Institutions and Processes in Sustainable Land Use Management: The Case of the National Environment Tribunal and the Public Complaints Committee of Kenya
- 15 Managing the Environmental Impact of Refugees in Kenya: The Role of National Accountability and Environmental Law
- 16 Environmental Impact Assessment Law and Land Use: A Comparative Analysis of Recent Trends in the Nigerian and U.S. Oil and Gas Industry
- 17 Managing Land Use and Environmental Conflicts in Cameroon
- 18 Environmental Law Reform to Control Land Degradation in the People's Republic of China: A View of the Legal Framework of the PRC–GEF Partnership Program
- 19 Urbanization and Environmental Challenges in Pakistan
- 20 ASEAN Heritage Parks and Transboundary Biodiversity Conservation
- 21 Land Use Planning, Environmental Management, and the Garden City as an Urban Development Approach in Singapore
- 22 The Law and Preparation of Environmental Management Plans for Sustainable Development in Thailand
- 23 Nepal's Legal Initiatives on Land Use for Sustainable Development
- 24 Environmental Law and Irrigated Land in Australia
- 25 Environmental Impact Assessment: Addressing the Major Weaknesses
- 26 Protection of Natural Spaces in Brazilian Environmental Law
- 27 Land Use Planning in Mexico: As Framed by Social Development and Environmental Policies
- 28 Argentina's Constitution and General Environment Law as the Framework for Comprehensive Land Use Regulation
- 29 Ecological Economics, Sustainable Land Use, and Policy Choices
- 30 The 2004 U.S. Ocean Report and Its Implications for Land Use Reform to Improve Ocean Water Quality
- 31 Historical Overview of the American Land Use System: A Diagnostic Approach to Evaluating Governmental Land Use Control
- Index
Summary
INTRODUCTION
Land degradation in the People's Republic of China has accelerated over recent years for many reasons, including inappropriate land use practices and ineffective laws. Many land use initiatives in the past have not been well supported by legislation, resulting in severe environmental impacts in the dryland agricultural area of China. Land degradation now adversely affects around 40 percent of the area of China.
Definitions
Land degradation is a broad term that includes degradation of land, water, and vegetation, as well as the processes of soil erosion and desertification; it is defined as the “overall reduction in the capability of land to produce benefits from a particular use under a specific form of land management.” The Convention to Combat Desertification defines land degradation as
the reduction or loss, in arid, semi-arid and dry subhumid areas, of the biological or economic productivity and complexity of rain-fed cropland, irrigated cropland, or range, pasture, forest and woodlands resulting from land uses or from a process or combination of processes, including processes arising from human activities and habitation patterns, such as: (i) soil erosion caused by wind and/or water; (ii) deterioration of the physical, chemical and biological or economic properties of soil; and (iii) long-term loss of natural vegetation.
Desertification is defined in the Convention as “land degradation in arid, semi and dry sub-humid humid areas resulting from various factors, including climatic variations and human activities.”
Land degradation has been accelerated by ineffective laws and inappropriate land use practices.
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- Information
- Land Use Law for Sustainable Development , pp. 315 - 333Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2006