National Sustainable Development Plan Research Articles

Balancing Economic Growth and Environmental Conservation: Assessing Supportive Policies in Resources-Based Cities in China

This study investigates the impact of comprehensive reforms on the economic development and environmental protection of resource-based cities in China within the context of the ‘National Sustainable Development Plan for Resource-based Cities (2013–2020)’. Employing a difference-in-differences methodology, we find that these reforms not only bolster economic stability but also significantly enhance urban ecological environment, resulting in a win–win outcome for economic prosperity and environmental preservation. Our analysis reveals that the reforms drive sustained economic growth and ecological enhancement by downsizing industries, adopting green technologies, and optimizing industrial composition. Moreover, we identify that these impacts are more pronounced in mature and declining cities and in regions with robust official promotion strategies and stringent environmental regulations. These findings provide valuable insights for addressing the “resource curse” within social systems and for formulating policies that balance stable economic growth and environmental protection in resource-based cities.

The impact of sustainable development planning on urban ecological resilience in resource-based cities: evidence from China.

Enhancing resource cities' resilience and advancing their sustainable development are imperatives, particularly in light of the "dual-carbon" agenda. Double-difference and spatial double-difference models are developed based on the panel data of 281 Chinese cities from 2005 to 2020 to investigate the effects of implementing the National Plan for the Sustainable Development of Resource-Based Cities on the level of ecological resilience in Chinese cities. This paper found that the National Sustainable Development Plan for Resource-Based Cities significantly improves the ecological resilience level of Chinese cities, and the findings are robust. The impacts of implementing the Plan on the ecological resilience of cities of different growth types, regions, and resource types are heterogeneous. Further study finds a spatial spillover effect of implementing the Plan on the ecological resilience of cities, which can improve the ecological resilience level of neighboring cities through spillover effects while improving the ecological resilience level of cities in the region. Based on these new findings, this study provides some policy implications for better advancing sustainable urban development.

The undesirable impact of China’s “national sustainable development plan of resource-based cities” on CO2 intensity

ABSTRACT China’s numerous resource-based cities have confronted severe environmental and economic problems, which were substantial impediments to the regional sustainable development. In 2013, China started to implement its ‘National Sustainable Development Plan of Resource-Based Cities’, in order to transform the previous development patterns. This study employs the difference-in-differences (DID) method to evaluate the policy’s impact on the city-level carbon dioxide (CO2) emission intensity. CO2 intensity is defined as the scale of CO2 emitted per unit of GDP. The research sample covers 326 Chinese cities during 2008—2017. Research results indicate that the policy significantly increased the CO2 intensity in resource-based cities. Moreover, it is found that the policy dampened resource-based cities’ innovation levels and these cities did not strengthen their environmental regulations, which can be provided as the explanations of why the policy effect on carbon intensity was positive. Furthermore, this study reports the discrepancies in policy effects when cities have different development stages, spatial locations and marketization levels. Overall, this research discovers an undesirable policy effect. More actions should be taken to reduce the carbon intensity during the structural transformation in resource-based cities.

Pathways to sustainability: how China's Belt and Road Initiative is shaping responsible production and consumption in Africa.

Africa faces significant economic and environmental challenges, including waste generation, food insecurity, and energy inefficiency, jeopardizing future generations. To address this, Africa has adopted the 10-year Sustainable Consumption and Production Framework for Africa (10-YFP), evident through national and local projects focusing on sustainable food and agriculture, technology transfer in water irrigation, and related initiatives. The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) presents an opportunity for promoting green cooperation and sustainable development in Africa, though its impact on ethical production and consumption remains unexplored. This study evaluates the BRI's role in achieving Africa's Twelve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and catalyzing responsible consumption and production. Through interviews and focus group discussions (FGDs) involving 42 participants from 19 African countries, thematic patterns emerged using the thematic inductive method. Findings indicate that BRI initiatives effectively integrate advanced technologies to enhance sustainable agriculture and industrial production. Notably, BRI investments in countries like Morocco, Algeria, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Zambia are fostering renewable energy projects to provide electricity to underserved communities. A stronger alignment between national sustainable development plans and the green BRI is essential to maximize the benefits without compromising BRI principles of inclusivity, coordination, coherence, and capacity building. This research fosters dialogue among academics, educators, government officials, business leaders, and investors about the transformative potential of China's BRI in African nations. By shedding light on the positive strides made by BRI programs, this study underscores the need for strategic synergy between international cooperation efforts and localized sustainability agendas, ultimately propelling Africa toward its long-term development goals.

Coordinated effect of green expansion and carbon reduction: Evidence from sustainable development of resource-based cities in China

Resource-based cities generally face the dual pressures of ecological damage and high carbon emissions. Taking the National Sustainable Development Plan for Resource-Based Cities (NSDP) issued in China as a quasi-natural experiment, this paper for the first time, uses the difference-in-difference method to test the coordinated effect of green expansion and carbon reduction brought by NSDP at the county level using rich remote sensing data. The results show that NSDP has significantly promoted the ecological quality improvement and CO2 emission mitigation in resource-based cities, and the above coordinated benefits mainly occur in energy, mature, declining, northeastern, and municipal resource-based cities. Through the mechanism analysis, we find that NSDP mainly works by promoting the transformation of industry sector to agriculture, animal husbandry, accommodation and catering, finance, and environment management sectors, which are reflected in output, employment, product yield, land type and land transaction area. Further discussion on the tertiary industry suggests that developing tourism, easing financing constraint and strengthening environment regulation, are the key channels to borne fruit in green expansion and carbon reduction.

Blessing or curse: How does sustainable development policy affect total factor productivity of energy-intensive enterprises?

The achievement of sustainable development in energy-intensive sectors is crucial for promoting long-term economic growth and stability. Utilizing the National Sustainable Development Plan for Resource-based Cities (2013–2020) (SDP) in China as a quasi-experiment, we examine the effect of sustainable development policy on the productivity performance of energy-intensive firms. Our analysis of data from Chinese listed companies between 2006 and 2020 reveals that the SDP significantly enhances the productivity performance of treated firms. Our investigation into the pathways towards sustainability reveals that these firms rely on both resource reallocation and technological innovation to cope with the impact of the SDP. Specifically, firms with stronger environmental regulations and more human capital tend to accumulate total factor productivity growth through technological innovation, while firms with greater resource dependence and political connections tend to benefit more from resource reallocation efforts. By exploring the mechanisms through which these policies impact productivity and sustainability, we provide valuable information for policymakers and managers to embrace heterogenous technology pathways towards sustainable development.

Have the transformation of resource-based cities impacted the innovation capacity? – Based on Chinese data from 2000 to 2019

PurposeIt has been ten years since the policy was implemented, but the effect of the policy needs to be tested empirically. This paper aims to explore the mechanism of policy influence on regional innovation ability by measuring the effectiveness of policy by innovation ability indicators. Further, it reflects the problems in the process of the transformation and development of resource-based cities in recent years and points out the direction for the development of the cities in the future. In addition, this paper discusses the differences between regions and cities in China and seeks the path to narrow the gap.Design/methodology/approachThis paper mainly uses the difference-in-difference method for the research. This study divided China’s resource-based cities and non-resource-based cities into experimental groups and control groups, and explored the effect of the transformation and development of resource-based cities and the changes of their innovation ability under the influence of the National Sustainable Development Plan for Resource-based Cities (NSDPRC). More carefully, this paper uses the fixed effects regression model, propensity score matching method, bootstrap method and other methods to improve the empirical results.FindingsThis paper finds that NSDPRC significantly improves the innovation ability of resource-based cities, although there is some lag in this effect. Research on the influence mechanism of policies shows that NSDPRC improves the marketization degree of resource-based cities and reduces the proportion of the secondary industry in such cities. Finally, the results of the heterogeneity analysis confirm that policies are more popular in western China and that resource-based cities in growth, maturity and decline are more vulnerable to policy influence. The development of policy effectiveness also requires the size of a city, and maintaining a healthy and reasonable scale is necessary for urban development.Originality/valueFirst, the existing research on the development of resource-based cities is mainly from the perspective of economy and environment, but rarely from the perspective of innovation ability, and the index to measure urban development is relatively single. This paper will compensate for this deficiency. Second, different from the European and American countries that have basically completed the industrial transformation, the research on Chinese cities will provide a reference for the transformation of developing countries. Finally, from the perspective of resource endowment theory and innovation theory, this paper discusses the influence of SDPNRBC mechanism on the innovation ability improvement of resource-based cities, and further improves and enriches the theory.

Can sustainable development strategy reduce income inequality in resource-based regions? A natural resource dependence perspective

Promoting sustainable development in resource-based regions is an essential issue among policymakers. Yet little is known about the effect of sustainable development strategies on income inequality. Leveraging the implementation of the National Sustainable Development Plan for Resource-Based Cities (2013–2020) (SDP) as a quasi-natural experiment, we adopt a difference-in-differences (DID) approach to investigate the impact of a sustainable development policy on income inequality. This paper finds that the SDP can reduce income inequality by 8.3 percentage points in resource-based cities on average, which is statistically and economically significant. The mediation effect model shows that reducing natural resource dependence is one potential and vital mechanism. Also, we find that the reduction effect of the SDP on income inequality is more pronounced in central and western regions, in growing-type and mature-type resource-based cities, and in energy-based and mineral-based cities. This paper provides valuable policy implications for developing countries to reduce income inequality and promote sustainable development.

Did China’s “National Sustainable Development Plan of Resource-Based Cities” Promote Economic Growth?

This study utilizes a difference-in-difference (DID) regression model to evaluate the impact of China’s “National Sustainable Development Plan of Resource-Based Cities (2013–2020)” on economic growth in resource-based cities. The analysis is based on the data covering 329 Chinese cities during 2006–2019. Economic growth is measured by the annual growth rate of gross domestic product (GDP). It was found that the policy had a significantly negative impact on economic growth. Further analysis suggests that the policy depressed innovation in resource-based cities, and these cities did not expand their labor and capital inputs. These two phenomena can help explain why the policy’s effect on economic growth was negative, rather than positive. Moreover, our study reports that the effect of the policy was heterogeneous across different cities, depending on their development stages and spatial locations. Overall, our study detects an undesirable effect of the policy. The research findings call for more actions to promote macroeconomic growth during the process of economic transformation in China’s resource-based cities.

Voluntary gold certification programs: A viable mechanism for improving artisanal and small-scale mining in Peru?

Globally, artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) provides a livelihood for approximately 20 million people directly and millions more indirectly. Despite its economic contributions and job creation for rural communities, the sector continues to be overlooked in local, regional, and national sustainable development plans. Voluntary gold certification programs, created and administered by international NGOs, have emerged as one response to tackle the social and environmental issues associated with the ASGM sector. Although voluntary gold certifications are gaining more traction, their impacts remain unclear. Focusing on Peru, the country with the greatest number of certified artisanal and small-scale gold mining organizations (ASMOs), this paper examines the practical impacts when certification is achieved and identifies the shortcomings. Based on interviews with gold certification staff members and members of certified ASMOs, as well as site visits to certified mining operations, we demonstrate that gold certification programs are driving ASMOs to implement better environmental management and health and safety practices. Certified ASMOs are also benefitting from the economic incentives of selling gold internationally, and they are investing the premiums they receive from certifications into projects that benefit their workers and the mining town. Still, the reach of certification programs remains limited, with only a fraction of miners working for certified ASMOs. This article concludes that although gold certification programs have the potential to improve environmental protection and contribute to rural development, there are challenges that will have to be overcome for small-scale mining organizations to achieve and maintain certification status.

Financial Stability of Enterprise as the Main Precondition for Sustainable Development of Economy

The problem of financial stability of a modern enterprise predestines a long-term development of state. The long-term development strategy-making concepts, binding to each member state, have been legislated in the European Union. A sustainable development is a balanced and socially responsible economic development subject to preservation of the environment and resources for the benefit of future generations. A national sustainable development plan prior to 2020 is required for each EU country. Under the development priorities situation typical to Baltic States, featuring a relative deficiency of mineral resources with some possibilities of development of high-end technologies, transit industry may be deemed the main priority. The enterprise financial stability concept is the main objective, regarded as a mandatory condition for ensuring a long-term and sustainable development as exemplified by the two renowned air carriers. The methods of scientific research most frequently applied in economics domain have been used: monographic, comparative, hierarchical and quantitative methods of financial ratios.

Meeting SDG6 in the Kingdom of Tonga: The Mismatch between National and Local Sustainable Development Planning for Water Supply

UN Sustainable Development Goal 6 challenges small island developing states such as the Kingdom of Tonga, which relies on variable rainwater and fragile groundwater lenses for freshwater supply. Meeting water needs in dispersed small islands under changeable climate and frequent extreme events is difficult. Improved governance is central to better water management. Integrated national sustainable development plans have been promulgated as a necessary improvement, but their relevance to island countries has been questioned. Tonga’s national planning instrument is the Tonga Strategic Development Framework, 2015–2025 (TSDFII). Local Community Development Plans (CDPs), developed by rural villages throughout Tonga’s five Island Divisions, are also available. Analyses are presented of island water sources from available census and limited hydrological data, and of the water supply priorities in TSDFII and in 117 accessible village CDPs. Census and hydrological data showed large water supply differences between islands. Nationally, TDSFII did not identify water supply as a priority. In CDPs, 84% of villages across all Island Divisions ranked water supply as a priority. Reasons for the mismatch are advanced. It is recommended that improved governance in water in Pacific Island countries should build on available census and hydrological data and increased investment in local island planning processes.

Enablers for Achieving a Pathway to Sustainable Development in Sierra Leone

It is almost five years since the adoption of the United Nations (UN) sustainable development agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in 2015. While each member state has the flexibility to design its own SDGs priorities, and is on the implementation process of the goals, here, we suggest how better planning, research, and innovation could help to achieve sustainable development in Sierra Leone. We draw attention to the necessity of developing a national sustainable development plan in Sierra Leone to guarantee concentrated national priorities so as to strengthen the efficiency of interventions and to effectively deliver sustainable development outcome. However, this will require the commitment of political parties, and other stakeholders so as to prevent a predisposition to create intergenerational and intragenerational imbalances. As enablers for the achievement of sustainable development, investment in and support for research and development is a crucial architecture that is required to implement, monitor and evaluate performance, and track progress on the SDGs, and also identify challenges so that they can be adequately addressed. While Sierra Leone has aspired to become an innovation hub in Africa, central to the success of such a dream and aspiration is the enactment of a resolution that can ensure the sustainability of the Directorate of Science Technology and Innovation (DSTI) which is the country’s innovation platform in future government administrations.

Identification and classification of resource-based cities in China

Resource-dependent cities are cities whose economic development depends on the exploitation and processing of natural resources. Their transformation and sustainable development are an important area of research on regional industrial development, regional economy and urban development. Since the Chinese government launched a pilot project to transform resource-dependent cities, starting with Fuxin in Liaoning Province in 2001, accurately identifying and classifying China’s resource-dependent cities has become a focus of geographical research. Based on previous studies, this paper uses the theory and methods of urban function classification to analyze indicators and threshold values for identifying and classifying resource-dependent cities. It has thus identified 262 cities as being resource-dependent. Looking at the development levels, problems, characteristics and developmental direction of such cities, this paper attempts to establish a comprehensive analytical framework using the two evaluation indicators of resource security and sustainable development. It also creates a model to classify the 262 cities identified as resource-dependent cities into four types: growing cities, mature cities, declining cities and regenerating cities. The different connotations and characteristics of the city types were then analyzed. The results of this research support the delineation of scopes and categories of resource-dependent cities set out in the National Sustainable Development Plan for Resource-Dependent Cities published by the State Council, and they serve as a foundation for formulating policies on planning, classification and guidance.

A comprehensive optimum integrated water resources management approach for multidisciplinary water resources management problems

A holistic Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) model can be difficult to implement and the associated high-dimension optimization problems’ complexity often forces the decision makers to downscale such problems. These challenges however have motivated this research to develop a comprehensive Optimum IWRM approach (OP-IWRM) using a many-objective optimization algorithm to solve complex and large-scale problems. The approach employs the social, economic, and environmental objectives; ground and surface water resources; and water infrastructure for river basin management to: (1) improve the relevant revenues, (2) enhance community welfare, and (3) pave the road for the decision makers to set better investment policy. The results demonstrate comprehensive improvement of all considered targets. The decision makers may reconsider implementing complex integrated water resources management of large-scale regions. The OP-IWRM may extend for country-scale approach as a pathway towards a national sustainable development plan. The large-scale Diyala river basin, Iraq, was adopted to evaluate the approach using seventeen objectives and more than 1500 decision variables.

The 2030 Agenda compared with six related international agreements: valuable resources for SDG implementation

A recurrent problem in international organizations is the disappearance of institutional history and knowledge. The same can be said about international agreements unless the same key drafters/negotiators are involved in subsequent agreements which is rarely the case. This study provides an example how institutional memory embedded in international agreements can be preserved for the benefit of the next generation of policy negotiators. Hence, as a contribution to the broader reflection on how to align National Sustainable Development Plans with the implementation plan of 2030 Agenda, the purpose of the study is to present a comparative analysis of the 2030 Agenda with 6 outcome documents that were negotiated and agreed by the UN member countries in the domain of sustainability. This analysis aims to identify issues not covered or “unfinished business” in the 2030 Agenda and addressed in a more comprehensive manner or from different perspectives. The list of agreements and outcome documents included are Agenda 21, Programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21, Outcomes of the World Summit on Sustainable Development, the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, The Paris Agreement and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda on Financing for Development. Our findings show that these agreements tend to build on each other, not always in the most straightforward manner, but they constitute a complementary set of agreements documenting the existing knowledge and practices on sustainability development. For instance, the 2030 Agenda does not repeal Agenda 21 (1992) or any other of the six agreements analysed, which shows that these preceding international agreements are still relevant for domestication by the signatories. Rather, it is a summative document covering all three pillars of sustainable development (social, environmental and economic). Recommendations are made on what aspects of the previous agreements could be most relevant for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. These points need to be part of the outreach in supporting countries for national implementation of the SDGs. Future research examining the interrelated aspects of international agreements could benefit from applying the same approach of comparative text analysis. This, in turn, will allow for the leveraging of prior consensus and knowledge and add deeper insights to meta-level governance toward a sustainable future. It could also be argued that once the SDGs/2030 Agenda needs to be revisited/revised and be replaced, the approach used for this comparative study could become the model to avoid reinventing the wheel and acknowledge that we are all standing on the shoulders of far-sighted public figures whose innovative thinking should be acknowledged rather than forgotten.

국내 산림정책과 지속가능발전목표(SDGs)간의 연관성 분석

This study analysed the linkage between national forest policy in Korea, namely the 5SUPth/SUP National Forest Master Plan, 2016 Korea Forest Service Performance Management Plan, the 3SUPrd/SUP National Sustainable Development Plan, and UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The 7 strategies of the 5SUPth/SUP National Forest Master Plan were related to 11 Goals of SDGs, and 5 strategies of 2016 Korea Forest Service Performance Management Plan were associated with 7 areas of SDGs, and 4 strategies within 3SUPrd/SUP National Sustainable Development Plan were linked to 7 Goals of SDGs. Among 87 national forest indicators compiled from three respective forest-related policies of Korea, 45 national indicators were related to 18 SDGs indicators. This indicates that 52% of national indicators of Korean forest policy are reflecting the language of SDGs. However, seeing from SDGs perspective, only 18 out of 241, which accounts for 7.8% of SDGs indicators are related to national indicators. The findings imply that a number of national forest-related indicators do not meet the diverse dimension of SDGs which provides potential areas for forest to contribute. Based on the findings, following recommendations were suggested: 1) the term used in forest policy should be aligned to SDGs targets so that it can be embedded in national policies, and 2) indicators should be further contextualized as well as in its assessment system. Lastly, it suggests for leveraging 3) ‘5 Processes of sub-national climate change adaptation plan’ and the core concept of REDD+ MRV which could provide fundamental background for implementing SDGs framework to national forest policy.

Policies and mechanisms to address climate-induced migration and displacement in Pacific and Caribbean small island developing states

PurposeThis study aims to assess policies and mechanisms in Caribbean and Pacific small island developing states (SIDS) that address climate-induced migration and displacement. The migration of communities away from vulnerable regions is highly likely to be an adaptation strategy used in low-elevation SIDS, as the impacts of climate change are likely to result in significant loss and damage, threatening their very territorial existence. SIDS must ensure that residents relocate to less vulnerable locations and may need to consider international movement of residents. Ad hoc approaches to migration and displacement may result in increased vulnerability of residents, making the development and enforcement of comprehensive national policies that address these issues a necessity.Design/methodology/approachInterviews with United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) negotiators for SIDS as well as analysis of secondary data, including Intended Nationally Determined Contributions, are utilized to determine policies and mechanisms in place that focus on climate-induced migration and displacement.FindingsWhile climate change is acknowledged as an existential threat, few SIDS have policies or mechanisms in place to guide climate-induced migration and displacement. Potential exists for migration and displacement to be included in policies that integrate disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation along with national sustainable development plans. Regional bodies are beneficial to providing guidance to SIDS in the development of nationally appropriate frameworks to address climate-induced migration and displacement.Originality/valueExisting gaps in policies and mechanisms and challenges faced by SIDS in developing strategies to address climate-induced migration and displacement are explored. Best practices and recommendations for strategies for SIDS to address migration and displacement are provided.

FINANCIAL STABILITY OF ENTERPRISE AS THE MAIN PRECONDITION FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF ECONOMY

The problem of financial stability of a modern enterprise predestines a long-term development of state. The long-term developmentstrategy-making concepts, binding to each member state, have been legislated in the European Union. A sustainable development isa balanced and socially responsible economic development subject to preservation of the environment and resources for the benefitof future generations. A national sustainable development plan prior to 2020 is required for each EU country. Under the developmentpriorities situation typical to Baltic States, featuring a relative deficiency of mineral resources with some possibilities of developmentof high-end technologies, transit industry may be deemed the main priority. The enterprise financial stability concept is the mainobjective, regarded as a mandatory condition for ensuring a long-term and sustainable development as exemplified by the two renownedair carriers. The methods of scientific research most frequently applied in economics domain have been used: monographic,comparative, hierarchical and quantitative methods of financial ratios.KEYWORDS: financial stability, activity, processes, compensatory mechanisms, sustainable development.

T21 jamaica: a tool for long-term sustainable development planning

In formulating its long-term (2006–2030) national sustainable development plan, the Government of Jamaica chose the Threshold 21 (T21) model as an analytical tool to integrate economic, social, and environmental sectors in order to better comprehend the interactions among critical factors so they could: (1) better analyze the challenges Jamaica faces, (2) understand the medium and long-term consequences of alternative policy choices across all three sectors, and (3) determine the optimal combination of policies to achieve their strategic goals. Major challenges confronting Jamaica include slow GDP growth, lack of technical innovation, high unemployment, HIV/AIDS, crime, energy dependence, and natural disasters. The model shows how adopting a combination of policies including supporting education and infrastructure, providing micro credit to the poor, reducing crime and HIV infection, investing in promising new products, and attracting more remittances and foreign direct investment, would lead to a future, that is, possible and that is notably better than the business as usual scenario. Two other scenarios are also considered that address: (1) simpler social improvement policies in education, health, and welfare and (2) the impacts of natural disasters and the possible increase in the price of oil. Comparisons among scenarios are made in economic, social, and environmental areas, which include GDP, government revenues, demographic trends, unemployment, poverty, adult literacy rate, HIV adult prevalence rate, land use, water demand and pollution, and energy consumption (which is the major source of greenhouse gas emissions in Jamaica). They demonstrate how purely social policies are much less effective, even in the social sectors over the longer time horizon than the good strategy which enables more overall growth. The Government of Jamaica is currently using the model to support broad participation from both state and non-state stakeholders to reach consensus. T21 will also be used to monitor and evaluate progress in achieving the goals.