Regulating environmental protection: national parks in China and South Africa
A study curre
ntly undertaken under this research area is an environmental protection study on the regulation and management of national parks in China and South Africa. Due to the increasing loss of biodiversity globally, protected areas such as national parks, nature reserves, botanical gardens and historical areas have become necessary to establish. National parks, however, unlike the other protected areas have been viewed as more important for the safeguarding of biodiversity as they not only serve as tourist attractions but primarily, and under strict regulation, as a protected space for ecological systems and natural habitats. In China, a variety of external threats such as development, industrialisation, agriculture and high population growth have had extreme consequences for the country’s rich biodiversity. This has further led to a need for environmental protection through an increase in protected areas. This study thus examines the current state of protected areas in China as well as their recent establishment of national parks. Similar to China, South Africa also has some of the richest biodiversity in the world and has been facing similar threats to its natural environment. For this reason, this study also examines South Africa’s much older national parks system and uses the South African case as an example of where China could potentially learn from another country.
The study thus examines the role of national parks in ecological conservation, in the face of current challenges. Furthermore, it looks at the special challenge of tourism in parks as ecotourism becomes more and more popular for tourists around the world. The study further focuses on the regulation and management of national parks in both countries. In the end, this study aims to explore where China can learn from South Africa and vice versa in terms of environmental protection and the regulation thereof in their respective protected areas.
Completed – For project output and results please see:
[Discussion paper]
[China Monitor]
Contact: ccsinfo@sun.ac.za