IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/lauspo/v81y2019icp825-833.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

National parks in China: Parks for people or for the nation?

Author

Listed:
  • Wang, Ju-Han Zoe

Abstract

In 2017, China announced its first policy framework for establishing a national park system, along with ten pilot national parks. Rather than viewing the announcement from a techno-bureaucratic perspective, this paper considers the politics of the proposed national park system. Basing my argument upon a case study and employing discourse analysis, I argue that the top-down approach is prioritised in the planning and management of the national park system, and that the involvement of civil society groups in the making of China’s national parks does not guarantee an inclusive and bottom-up approach. From the 1970s onwards, worldwide the conservation paradigm gradually shifted to recognise the importance of a participatory and inclusive approach to protected area management. China’s moving away from such understanding and practice may eventually undermine the rights of local communities and threaten to hamper the conservation goals that the national parks aim to achieve.

Suggested Citation

  • Wang, Ju-Han Zoe, 2019. "National parks in China: Parks for people or for the nation?," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 825-833.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:lauspo:v:81:y:2019:i:c:p:825-833
    DOI: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2018.10.034
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264837718307026
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.landusepol.2018.10.034?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sikor, Thomas & He, Jun & Lestrelin, Guillaume, 2017. "Property Rights Regimes and Natural Resources: A Conceptual Analysis Revisited," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 337-349.
    2. Kobe De Pourcq & Evert Thomas & Bas Arts & An Vranckx & Tomas Léon-Sicard & Patrick Van Damme, 2015. "Conflict in Protected Areas: Who Says Co-Management Does Not Work?," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(12), pages 1-15, December.
    3. Peter Ho, 2001. "Greening Without Conflict? Environmentalism, NGOs and Civil Society in China," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 32(5), pages 893-921, November.
    4. Cernea, Michael M. & Schmidt-Soltau, Kai, 2006. "Poverty Risks and National Parks: Policy Issues in Conservation and Resettlement," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 34(10), pages 1808-1830, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Qian Dong & Bo Zhang & Xiaomei Cai & Alastair M. Morrison, 2021. "Do Local Residents Support the Development of a National Park? A Study from Nanling National Park Based on Social Impact Assessment (SIA)," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-16, September.
    2. Xiangshou Dong & Quanzhi Yuan & Yaowen Kou & Shujun Li & Ping Ren, 2023. "Distribution and Ecological Network Construction of National Natural Protected Areas in the Upper Reaches of Yangtze River," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-18, January.
    3. Gonghan Sheng & Heyuan Chen & Kalifi Ferretti-Gallon & John L. Innes & Zhongjun Wang & Yujun Zhang & Guangyu Wang, 2020. "Moving toward a Greener China: Is China’s National Park Pilot Program a Solution?," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(12), pages 1-23, December.
    4. Jianying Xu & Feifei Fan & Yanxu Liu & Jianquan Dong & Jixing Chen, 2019. "Construction of Ecological Security Patterns in Nature Reserves Based on Ecosystem Services and Circuit Theory: A Case Study in Wenchuan, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(17), pages 1-15, September.
    5. Rumin Zheng & Shuo Zhen & Lin Mei & Hongqiang Jiang, 2021. "Ecotourism Practices in Potatso National Park from the Perspective of Tourists: Assessment and Developing Contradictions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-14, November.
    6. Hang Shu & Chunwang Xiao & Ting Ma & Weiguo Sang, 2021. "Ecological Health Assessment of Chinese National Parks Based on Landscape Pattern: A Case Study in Shennongjia National Park," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(21), pages 1-15, October.
    7. Lee, Karen M.Y. & Lee, John C.K. & Ma, Anson T.H. & Cheung, Lewis T.O., 2019. "Does human rights awareness spur environmental activism? Hong Kong’s ‘country park’ controversy," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    8. Ben Ma & Yali Wen, 2019. "Community Participation and Preferences Regarding Conservation and Development Policies in China’s Giant Panda Nature Reserves," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(18), pages 1-17, September.
    9. Ong, Chin-Ee & Liu, Yi, 2022. "State-directed tourism urbanisation in China's Hengqin," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    10. Kai Wang & Menghan Wang & Chang Gan & Qinchang Chen & Mihai Voda, 2021. "Tourism Economic Network Structural Characteristics of National Parks in the Central Region of China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-19, April.
    11. Ting Ma & Kun Xu & Yiming Xing & Hang Shu & Weiguo Sang, 2020. "Tendencies of Residents in Sanjiangyuan National Park to the Optimization of Livelihoods and Conservation of the Natural Reserves," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(12), pages 1-17, June.
    12. Shaohan Wang & Shuang Song & Mengxi Shi & Shanshan Hu & Shuhan Xing & He Bai & Dawei Xu, 2023. "China’s National Park Construction Contributes to Carbon Peaking and Neutrality Goals," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-22, July.
    13. Ionuț-Adrian Drăguleasa & Amalia Niță & Mirela Mazilu, 2023. "Capitalization of Tourist Resources in the Post-COVID-19 Period—Developing the Chorematic Method for Oltenia Tourist Destination, Romania," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-31, January.
    14. Chenyang Xue & Chaofeng Shao & Junli Gao, 2020. "Ecological Compensation Strategy for SDG-Based Basin-Type National Parks: A Case Study of the Baoxing Giant Panda National Park," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(11), pages 1-16, May.
    15. Zhang, Junze & Yin, Nan & Li, Yan & Yu, Jianping & Zhao, Wenwu & Liu, Yanxu & Fu, Bojie & Wang, Shuai, 2020. "Socioeconomic impacts of a protected area in China: An assessment from rural communities of Qianjiangyuan National Park Pilot," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    16. Dou, Yuehan & Yu, Xiubo & Bakker, Martha & De Groot, Rudolf & Carsjens, Gerrit J. & Duan, Houlang & Huang, Chao, 2020. "Analysis of the relationship between cross-cultural perceptions of landscapes and cultural ecosystem services in Genheyuan region, Northeast China," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 43(C).
    17. Jian Peng & Honglin Xiao & Rui Wang & Yuanyuan Qi, 2022. "The Impacts of Establishing Pilot National Parks on Local Residents’ Livelihoods and Their Coping Strategies in China: A Case Study of Qilianshan National Park," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-21, March.
    18. Jiatong Li & Haiping Tang & Foyuan Kuang, 2023. "Exploring Livelihood Strategies of Farmers and Herders and Their Human Well-Being in Qilian Mountain National Park, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-16, May.
    19. Ting Ma & Lizhi Jia & Linsheng Zhong & Xinyu Gong & Yu Wei, 2023. "Governance of China’s Potatso National Park Influenced by Local Community Participation," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(1), pages 1-19, January.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Mulugheta G. Araia & Paxie W. Chirwa, 2019. "Revealing the Predominance of Culture over the Ecological Abundance of Resources in Shaping Local People’s Forest and Tree Species Use Behavior: The Case of the Vhavenda People, South Africa," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-16, June.
    2. Lei Liu & Yue Xu & Zhaotian Yang & Ying Li, 2023. "The interrelationship between environmental NGO development and environmental condition in China," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 25(8), pages 8487-8516, August.
    3. Yusen Dong & Senhua Chen & Yixue Wu, 2023. "Keeping up with the Joneses: The role of investee peers corporate environmental responsibility," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(4), pages 1841-1855, July.
    4. Poncian, Japhace & Jose, Jim, 2019. "National resource ownership and community engagement in Tanzania's natural gas governance," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    5. Thapa Karki, Shova & Hubacek, Klaus, 2015. "Developing a conceptual framework for the attitude–intention–behaviour links driving illegal resource extraction in Bardia National Park, Nepal," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 129-139.
    6. Carlos Wing-Hung Lo & Gerald Erick Fryxell, 2005. "Governmental and Societal Support for Environmental Enforcement in China: An Empirical Study in Guangzhou," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 41(4), pages 558-588.
    7. Büsgen, M., 2006. "NGOs and the search for Chinese civil society environmental non-governmental organisations in the Nujiang campaign," ISS Working Papers - General Series 19180, International Institute of Social Studies of Erasmus University Rotterdam (ISS), The Hague.
    8. Sayuni B. Mariki, 2013. "Conservation With a Human Face? Comparing Local Participation and Benefit Sharing From a National Park and a State Forest Plantation in Tanzania," SAGE Open, , vol. 3(4), pages 21582440135, November.
    9. Miguel Cantillo, 2015. "Dynamic Investment with Adverse Selection and Moral Hazard," Working Papers 201501, Universidad de Costa Rica, revised Mar 2015.
    10. Sandra Fatorić & Ricard Morén-Alegret & Rhiannon Jane Niven & George Tan, 2017. "Living with climate change risks: stakeholders’ employment and coastal relocation in mediterranean climate regions of Australia and Spain," Environment Systems and Decisions, Springer, vol. 37(3), pages 276-288, September.
    11. Daisy Das, 2015. "Conflict or Conservation? A Roadmap for Management of Kaziranga National Park, India," Working Papers 1502, Sam Houston State University, Department of Economics and International Business.
    12. Karsenty, Alain & Ongolo, Symphorien, 2012. "Can “fragile states” decide to reduce their deforestation? The inappropriate use of the theory of incentives with respect to the REDD mechanism," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(C), pages 38-45.
    13. Archana Sinha & Bibhas Chandra & Arvind Kumar Mishra & Shubham Goswami, 2023. "An Assessment on Quality of Life and Happiness Indices of Project Affected People in Indian Coalfields," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-24, June.
    14. Rahmat Aris Pratomo & D. Ary A. Samsura & Erwin van der Krabben, 2020. "Transformation of Local People’s Property Rights Induced by New Town Development (Case Studies in Peri-Urban Areas in Indonesia)," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(7), pages 1-24, July.
    15. Nichiforel, Liviu & Deuffic, Philippe & Thorsen, Bo Jellesmark & Weiss, Gerhard & Hujala, Teppo & Keary, Kevin & Lawrence, Anna & Avdibegović, Mersudin & Dobšinská, Zuzana & Feliciano, Diana & Górriz-, 2020. "Two decades of forest-related legislation changes in European countries analysed from a property rights perspective," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    16. Howlader, Aparna & Ando, Amy W., 2016. "Consequences of Protected Areas for Forest Extraction and Human Well-being: Evidence from Nepal," 2016 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Boston, Massachusetts 236272, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    17. Ali, Amjad & Zulfiqar, Kalsoom, 2018. "An Assessment of Association between Natural Resources Agglomeration and Unemployment in Pakistan," MPRA Paper 89022, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2018.
    18. Erbaugh, James T., 2019. "Responsibilization and social forestry in Indonesia," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    19. Brobbey, Lawrence Kwabena & Hansen, Christian Pilegaard & Kyereh, Boateng, 2021. "The dynamics of property and other mechanisms of access: The case of charcoal production and trade in Ghana," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    20. Zdeněk Opršal & Jaromír Harmáček, 2019. "Is Foreign Aid Responsive to Environmental Needs and Performance of Developing Countries? Case Study of the Czech Republic," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-16, January.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:lauspo:v:81:y:2019:i:c:p:825-833. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Joice Jiang (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/land-use-policy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.