China’s Pearl River Delta is rich estuary containing breeding areas for many species of migratory birds and fish, and serving as a source of subsistence for 45 million people in the surrounding basin. The inner bay of the estuary was added the Ramsar List in 1995, signifying its global importance as a wetland. However, over the past thirty years, the Delta has been compromised by the rapid industrialization and development of the surrounding Pearl River Delta Economic Zone, containing the Special Economic Zones of Shenzen and Zhuhai, and the spillover economic development that has dominated the surrounding area.
The Delta is now one of the most notoriously polluted ecosystems in China, and is the focus of environmental efforts by International NGOs, local and global activist groups, and the United Nations. Threats to the estuary include: changes is topography and land use, such as filling in of wetlands, dredging and canalization, hardening of surfaces and elimination of permeable surfaces; increased volume and toxicity of stormwater runoff, and an explosion in the number and magnitude of point sources of water pollution, including highly toxic by-products from poorly regulated industrial processes and massive amounts of raw sewage deposited into the river daily. Furthermore, increased upland use of water from the delta’s contributing rivers has contributed to saltwater intrusion into the delicate estuary ecosystem and further reduced the estuary’s ability to flush toxins into the South China Sea. As a result the Pearl River Delta, a locally and internationally important common resource, is experiencing a marked loss of landmass, biomass and biodiversity, localized acidification and eutrophication, ecosystem-wide bioaccumulation of toxins, and a general decline in health.
The creation of the Pearl River Economic Development Zone and its resultant Shenzhen Special Economic Zone in 1979 is specifically hailed as an example of the benefits of developing countries co-opting successful economic development models, policies and procedures from developed countries (As economist Paul Romer terms them, metarules and rules) to further the pursuit of economic development via speculative specialized development models or “Charter Cities”. While Shenzen’s population has exploded from 300,000 in 1980 to over 10 million today, GDP per capita has risen six fold and Shenzhen’s highly specialized electronics sector is responsible for one quarter of Guangdong Province’s GDP, which leads the nation. However it raises the specter of the commons tragedies that can result when the organizational foundation supporting dynamic new developments, or charter cities, lacks the foresight or will to set adequate standards for the leadership of such models.
China’s government has recently come to the table with efforts to reduce the impacts of economic development on the Estuary, including a 2010 attempt at comprehensive regulation planning and prosecution of several large companies for pollution exceedances under China’s cleaner production and waste electronics laws. However, with regards to the estuary’s impacts from development, the damage has been done and likely cannot be un-done; with regards to ongoing impacts from industrial and commercial activity, China’s enforcement of environmental regulations is notoriously lax owing to a number of political and structural conditions which ultimately favor local economic development over preservation of ecological health.
This concern is particularly relevant with regards to environmental concerns, where the creation each new “charter City” effectively invade or destroys an existing ecosystem that contributes to greater ecological stability. For example, with regards to climate change, a new city will result in an increase in greenhouse gas emissions, while simultaneously eliminating the existing ecosystem that was contributing to global thermoregulation through transpiration and absorption of solar radiation. Advocacy for “Charter Cities” and specialized economic development models should be accompanied by strong advocacy for a commitment from the authorizing state to set and enforce strong standards.
The Delta is now one of the most notoriously polluted ecosystems in China, and is the focus of environmental efforts by International NGOs, local and global activist groups, and the United Nations. Threats to the estuary include: changes is topography and land use, such as filling in of wetlands, dredging and canalization, hardening of surfaces and elimination of permeable surfaces; increased volume and toxicity of stormwater runoff, and an explosion in the number and magnitude of point sources of water pollution, including highly toxic by-products from poorly regulated industrial processes and massive amounts of raw sewage deposited into the river daily. Furthermore, increased upland use of water from the delta’s contributing rivers has contributed to saltwater intrusion into the delicate estuary ecosystem and further reduced the estuary’s ability to flush toxins into the South China Sea. As a result the Pearl River Delta, a locally and internationally important common resource, is experiencing a marked loss of landmass, biomass and biodiversity, localized acidification and eutrophication, ecosystem-wide bioaccumulation of toxins, and a general decline in health.
The creation of the Pearl River Economic Development Zone and its resultant Shenzhen Special Economic Zone in 1979 is specifically hailed as an example of the benefits of developing countries co-opting successful economic development models, policies and procedures from developed countries (As economist Paul Romer terms them, metarules and rules) to further the pursuit of economic development via speculative specialized development models or “Charter Cities”. While Shenzen’s population has exploded from 300,000 in 1980 to over 10 million today, GDP per capita has risen six fold and Shenzhen’s highly specialized electronics sector is responsible for one quarter of Guangdong Province’s GDP, which leads the nation. However it raises the specter of the commons tragedies that can result when the organizational foundation supporting dynamic new developments, or charter cities, lacks the foresight or will to set adequate standards for the leadership of such models.
China’s government has recently come to the table with efforts to reduce the impacts of economic development on the Estuary, including a 2010 attempt at comprehensive regulation planning and prosecution of several large companies for pollution exceedances under China’s cleaner production and waste electronics laws. However, with regards to the estuary’s impacts from development, the damage has been done and likely cannot be un-done; with regards to ongoing impacts from industrial and commercial activity, China’s enforcement of environmental regulations is notoriously lax owing to a number of political and structural conditions which ultimately favor local economic development over preservation of ecological health.
This concern is particularly relevant with regards to environmental concerns, where the creation each new “charter City” effectively invade or destroys an existing ecosystem that contributes to greater ecological stability. For example, with regards to climate change, a new city will result in an increase in greenhouse gas emissions, while simultaneously eliminating the existing ecosystem that was contributing to global thermoregulation through transpiration and absorption of solar radiation. Advocacy for “Charter Cities” and specialized economic development models should be accompanied by strong advocacy for a commitment from the authorizing state to set and enforce strong standards.
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