IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v6y2014i12p8756-8774d42963.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Environmental Justice and Sustainability Impact Assessment: In Search of Solutions to Ethnic Conflicts Caused by Coal Mining in Inner Mongolia, China

Author

Listed:
  • Lee Liu

    (Geography Program, School of Environmental, Physical & Applied Sciences, University of Central Missouri, Warrensburg, MO 64093, USA)

  • Jie Liu

    (Jilin Province Environmental Monitoring Center, 2063 Tailai St, Changchun 130011, China)

  • Zhenguo Zhang

    (College of Economics and Management, Dalian Nationalities University, Dalian 130011, China)

Abstract

The Chinese government adopted more specific and stringent environmental impact assessment (EIA) guidelines in 2011, soon after the widespread ethnic protests against coal mining in Inner Mongolia. However, our research suggests that the root of the ethnic tension is a sustainability problem, in addition to environmental issues. In particular, the Mongolians do not feel they have benefited from the mining of their resources. Existing environmental assessment tools are inadequate to address sustainability, which is concerned with environmental protection, social justice and economic equity. Thus, it is necessary to develop a sustainability impact assessment (SIA) to fill in the gap. SIA would be in theory and practice a better tool than EIA for assessing sustainability impact. However, China’s political system presents a major challenge to promoting social and economic equity. Another practical challenge for SIA is corruption which has been also responsible for the failing of EIA in assessing environmental impacts of coal mining in Inner Mongolia. Under the current political system, China should adopt the SIA while continuing its fight against corruption.

Suggested Citation

  • Lee Liu & Jie Liu & Zhenguo Zhang, 2014. "Environmental Justice and Sustainability Impact Assessment: In Search of Solutions to Ethnic Conflicts Caused by Coal Mining in Inner Mongolia, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 6(12), pages 1-19, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:6:y:2014:i:12:p:8756-8774:d:42963
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/6/12/8756/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/6/12/8756/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. World Commission on Environment and Development,, 1987. "Our Common Future," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780192820808.
    2. Dai, G.S. & Ulgiati, S. & Zhang, Y.S. & Yu, B.H. & Kang, M.Y. & Jin, Y. & Dong, X.B. & Zhang, X.S., 2014. "The false promises of coal exploitation: How mining affects herdsmen well-being in the grassland ecosystems of Inner Mongolia," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 146-153.
    3. Anna Mclauchlan & Elsa João, 2011. "The Utopian Goal Of Attempting To Deliver Environmental Justice Using Sea," Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and Management (JEAPM), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 13(01), pages 129-158.
    4. Kin-Che Lam & Yongqin David Chen & Jing Wu, 2009. "Strategic Environmental Assessment In China: Opportunities, Issues And Challenges," Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and Management (JEAPM), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 11(04), pages 369-385.
    5. Liu, Lee, 2012. "Environmental poverty, a decomposed environmental Kuznets curve, and alternatives: Sustainability lessons from China," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 86-92.
    6. Zhixi Zhu & Huizhi Wang & He Xu & Hongtao Bai, 2010. "An Alternative Approach To Institutional Analysis In Strategic Environmental Assessment In China," Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and Management (JEAPM), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 12(02), pages 155-183.
    7. Xin Ren, 2013. "Implementation Of Environmental Impact Assessment In China," Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and Management (JEAPM), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 15(03), pages 1-20.
    8. Michael Den Herder & Marja Kolström & Marcus Lindner & Tommi Suominen & Diana Tuomasjukka & Matias Pekkanen, 2012. "Sustainability Impact Assessment on the Production and Use of Different Wood and Fossil Fuels Employed for Energy Production in North Karelia, Finland," Energies, MDPI, vol. 5(11), pages 1-22, November.
    9. Clark II, Woodrow W. & Isherwood, William, 2010. "Inner Mongolia must "leapfrog" the energy mistakes of the western developed nations," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 18(1), pages 29-45, March.
    10. Jeon, Christy Mihyeon & Amekudzi, Adjo A. & Guensler, Randall L., 2013. "Sustainability assessment at the transportation planning level: Performance measures and indexes," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 25(C), pages 10-21.
    11. Shanshan Yang, 2008. "Public Participation In The Chinese Environmental Impact Assessment (Eia) System," Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and Management (JEAPM), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 10(01), pages 91-113.
    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. Bing Xue & Mario Tobias, 2015. "Sustainability in China: Bridging Global Knowledge with Local Action," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(4), pages 1-7, March.
    2. Ruxue Shi & Pingtao Yi & Weiwei Li & Lu Wang, 2021. "Sustainability Assessment of Autonomous Regions in China Using GRA-SPA Method," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-19, October.
    3. Iván Franch-Pardo & Brian M. Napoletano & Gerardo Bocco & Sara Barrasa & Luis Cancer-Pomar, 2017. "The Role of Geographical Landscape Studies for Sustainable Territorial Planning," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(11), pages 1-23, November.
    4. Qi He & Ran Wang & Han Ji & Gaoyang Wei & Jincheng Wang & Jingwen Liu, 2019. "Theoretical Model of Environmental Justice and Environmental Inequality in China’s Four Major Economic Zones," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(21), pages 1-19, October.
    5. Jiu Huang & Chuyuan Tian & Longfei Xing & Zhengfu Bian & Xiexing Miao, 2017. "Green and Sustainable Mining: Underground Coal Mine Fully Mechanized Solid Dense Stowing-Mining Method," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(8), pages 1-18, August.
    6. Xiaoji Zeng & Zhifeng Liu & Chunyang He & Qun Ma & Jianguo Wu, 2018. "Quantifying Surface Coal-Mining Patterns to Promote Regional Sustainability in Ordos, Inner Mongolia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-17, April.
    7. Okhumode H. Yakubu, 2018. "Delivering Environmental Justice through Environmental Impact Assessment in the United States: The Challenge of Public Participation," Challenges, MDPI, vol. 9(1), pages 1-13, February.
    8. Xianwei Liu & Yang Zou & Jianping Wu, 2018. "Factors Influencing Public-Sphere Pro-Environmental Behavior among Mongolian College Students: A Test of Value–Belief–Norm Theory," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-19, May.
    9. Jian Peng & Minli Zong & Yi'na Hu & Yanxu Liu & Jiansheng Wu, 2015. "Assessing Landscape Ecological Risk in a Mining City: A Case Study in Liaoyuan City, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(7), pages 1-23, June.

    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. Michael Howes & Liana Wortley & Ruth Potts & Aysin Dedekorkut-Howes & Silvia Serrao-Neumann & Julie Davidson & Timothy Smith & Patrick Nunn, 2017. "Environmental Sustainability: A Case of Policy Implementation Failure?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(2), pages 1-17, January.
    2. Maryam J. Al-Kaabi & Munjed A. Maraqa & Yasser S. Hawas, 2020. "Development of a Composite Sustainability Index for Roadway Intersection Design Alternatives in the UAE," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-18, October.
    3. Kumar, Aalok & Anbanandam, Ramesh, 2022. "Assessment of environmental and social sustainability performance of the freight transportation industry: An index-based approach," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 43-60.
    4. Bulckaen, Jeroen & Keseru, Imre & Macharis, Cathy, 2016. "Sustainability versus stakeholder preferences: Searching for synergies in urban and regional mobility measures," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 40-49.
    5. Buchmayr, A. & Verhofstadt, E. & Van Ootegem, L. & Sanjuan Delmás, D. & Thomassen, G. & Dewulf, J., 2021. "The path to sustainable energy supply systems: Proposal of an integrative sustainability assessment framework," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 138(C).
    6. Mechthild Donner & Anne Verniquet & Jan Broeze & Katrin Kayser & Hugo de Vries, 2021. "Critical success and risk factors for circular business models valorising agricultural waste and by-products," Post-Print hal-03004851, HAL.
    7. Cornelis Leeuwen & Jos Frijns & Annemarie Wezel & Frans Ven, 2012. "City Blueprints: 24 Indicators to Assess the Sustainability of the Urban Water Cycle," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 26(8), pages 2177-2197, June.
    8. CHEN, Helen S.Y., 2020. "Designing Sustainable Humanitarian Supply Chains," OSF Preprints m82ar, Center for Open Science.
    9. Jim Butcher, 2006. "The United Nations International Year of Ecotourism: a critical analysis of development implications," Progress in Development Studies, , vol. 6(2), pages 146-156, April.
    10. Denise Ravet, 2011. "Lean production: the link between supply chain and sustainable development in an international environment," Post-Print hal-00691666, HAL.
    11. Mara Del Baldo, 2012. "Corporate social responsibility and corporate governance in Italian SMEs: the experience of some “spirited businesses”," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 16(1), pages 1-36, February.
    12. Megan Devonald & Nicola Jones & Sally Youssef, 2022. "‘We Have No Hope for Anything’: Exploring Interconnected Economic, Social and Environmental Risks to Adolescents in Lebanon," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-17, February.
    13. Rigby, Dan & Woodhouse, Phil & Young, Trevor & Burton, Michael, 2001. "Constructing a farm level indicator of sustainable agricultural practice," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(3), pages 463-478, December.
    14. Shiferaw, Bekele & Holden, Stein, 1999. "Soil Erosion and Smallholders' Conservation Decisions in the Highlands of Ethiopia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 27(4), pages 739-752, April.
    15. Ibrahim Ari & Muammer Koc, 2018. "Sustainable Financing for Sustainable Development: Understanding the Interrelations between Public Investment and Sovereign Debt," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-25, October.
    16. Parnphumeesup, Piya & Kerr, Sandy A., 2011. "Stakeholder preferences towards the sustainable development of CDM projects: Lessons from biomass (rice husk) CDM project in Thailand," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(6), pages 3591-3601, June.
    17. Pengji Wang & Adrian T. H. Kuah & Qinye Lu & Caroline Wong & K. Thirumaran & Emmanuel Adegbite & Wesley Kendall, 2021. "The impact of value perceptions on purchase intention of sustainable luxury brands in China and the UK," Journal of Brand Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 28(3), pages 325-346, May.
    18. Christoph M. Schmidt & Nils aus dem Moore, 2014. "Wie geht es uns? Die W3-Indikatoren für eine neue Wohlstandsmessung," RWI Positionen, Rheinisch-Westfälisches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, pages 16, 03.
    19. Katundu Imasiku & Valerie M. Thomas & Etienne Ntagwirumugara, 2020. "Unpacking Ecological Stress from Economic Activities for Sustainability and Resource Optimization in Sub-Saharan Africa," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-12, April.
    20. Chin-Shan Lu & Kuo-Chung Shang & Chi-Chang Lin, 2016. "Examining sustainability performance at ports: port managers’ perspectives on developing sustainable supply chains," Maritime Policy & Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 43(8), pages 909-927, November.

    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:gam:jsusta:v:6:y:2014:i:12:p:8756-8774:d:42963. 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: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    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.