Land use and management in the People's Republic of China (original) (raw)

Abstract

Widespread disregard for essential principles of sound environmental management and protection during the three decades of Communist rule prior to 1980 have exacerbated traditional shortages of good arable land and productive forest cover in the People's Republic of China. The government's policies have also drastically reduced valuable freshwater surfaces, caused extensive grassland deterioration and soil erosion, and brought about many local and regional climatic changes. However, new policies put into effect recently are attempting to reverse these trends with a sound ecosystemic approach to land management.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

Literature cited

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography, University of Manitoba, R3T 2N2, Winnipeg, Canada
    Vaclav Smil

Rights and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Smil, V. Land use and management in the People's Republic of China.Environmental Management 5, 301–311 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01867344

Download citation

Key words