296
T. Zhu
3 Major Problems Facing Socioeconomic Development
from the Perspective of Resource and Environmental
Carrying Capacity
China has long regarded economic development as an important part of national
development and even created “invaluable assets” at the sacrifice of “lucid waters
and lush mountains.” Along the journey, zero or little consideration for the carrying
capacity of resources and environment has led to the increasingly prominent contradiction between economic growth and resource scarcity and environmental deterioration. This should be mainly attributed to the inadequate consideration for the
constraints of key resource elements and ecological environment on development.
As a result, the top-level design for regional development failed to make reasonable plans from the overall and long-term strategic perspective, going against the
carrying capacity of resources and environment. An important basis for the relationship between lucid waters and lush mountains and invaluable assets lies in the
carrying capacity of resources and environment. Establish a socioeconomic development model based on the carrying capacity of resources and the environment, in
an effort to limit the development’s impact on resources and environment within
the carrying capacity of the nature. This manifests the fundamental role of ecological environment for socioeconomic development and helps to translate the scientific
development philosophy that “lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets”
into practice. Specifically, we should make efforts to address the following issues.
1. The decoupling of the socioeconomic development plan from the environmental protection plan
Most of the existing plans relating to socioeconomic development, particularly the
master plan for economic and social development, urban master plan, overall plan
for land use, industrial development plan, energy plan, transportation plan, and other
plans that have a greater impact on environmental quality, fail to integrate with environmental protection plans. As a result, it’s difficult to consider the environmental
carrying capacity of the region from a comprehensive and long-term perspective
during the development, construction and the implementation of major projects in
the region, leading to excessive resource utilization and pollutant discharge in the
process. Due to the long-term cumulative effect, the environmental quality fell short
of standards, which directly affects human health. Due to the absence of the analysis about coordination and consistency between environmental protection plans and
other development plans, the end-point management has failed to transit to prevention
and control from the source. The pollutant emission reduction targets in most environmental protection plans haven’t truly reflected the fundamental role of resources and
environment carrying capacity. The regional environmental protection plans haven’t
been well coordinated with local environmental capacity.
T. Zhu
3 Major Problems Facing Socioeconomic Development
from the Perspective of Resource and Environmental
Carrying Capacity
China has long regarded economic development as an important part of national
development and even created “invaluable assets” at the sacrifice of “lucid waters
and lush mountains.” Along the journey, zero or little consideration for the carrying
capacity of resources and environment has led to the increasingly prominent contradiction between economic growth and resource scarcity and environmental deterioration. This should be mainly attributed to the inadequate consideration for the
constraints of key resource elements and ecological environment on development.
As a result, the top-level design for regional development failed to make reasonable plans from the overall and long-term strategic perspective, going against the
carrying capacity of resources and environment. An important basis for the relationship between lucid waters and lush mountains and invaluable assets lies in the
carrying capacity of resources and environment. Establish a socioeconomic development model based on the carrying capacity of resources and the environment, in
an effort to limit the development’s impact on resources and environment within
the carrying capacity of the nature. This manifests the fundamental role of ecological environment for socioeconomic development and helps to translate the scientific
development philosophy that “lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets”
into practice. Specifically, we should make efforts to address the following issues.
1. The decoupling of the socioeconomic development plan from the environmental protection plan
Most of the existing plans relating to socioeconomic development, particularly the
master plan for economic and social development, urban master plan, overall plan
for land use, industrial development plan, energy plan, transportation plan, and other
plans that have a greater impact on environmental quality, fail to integrate with environmental protection plans. As a result, it’s difficult to consider the environmental
carrying capacity of the region from a comprehensive and long-term perspective
during the development, construction and the implementation of major projects in
the region, leading to excessive resource utilization and pollutant discharge in the
process. Due to the long-term cumulative effect, the environmental quality fell short
of standards, which directly affects human health. Due to the absence of the analysis about coordination and consistency between environmental protection plans and
other development plans, the end-point management has failed to transit to prevention
and control from the source. The pollutant emission reduction targets in most environmental protection plans haven’t truly reflected the fundamental role of resources and
environment carrying capacity. The regional environmental protection plans haven’t
been well coordinated with local environmental capacity.