Browsing by Author "Fiskaali, Tiina"

Biodiversity is under threat globally, and this is also the case in China in general and in the so-called Great Bay Area in southern China. However, China has woken up to the need to protect nature, at least at the strategic and program level. In addition to nationwide plans, ecological conservation and green development of the Greater Bay Area is now a major national strategy. Ecological conservation is one of the basic principles of the Great Bay Area Development Plan published in 2019. This study seeks to systematically reveal and interpret which aspects of biodiversity issues and biodiversity protection measures are highlighted in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Development Plan. The research questions in this study are: How are the biodiversity issues addressed in the Plan and what kind of measures related to biodiversity protection does the Plan emphasize? The primary data source for the study is the Great Bay Area Development Plan. This study uses qualitative content analysis as an approach to examine it. The Convention on Biological Diversity serves as the conceptual framework from which are derived the initial categories according to which the data is categorized. The initial categories are combined into a few broader categories to form a more concise analysis. The analysis shows that the categories of “preserving the state of nature” and “minimizing adverse impacts” are strongly represented in the Plan, especially in terms of protecting various ecological environments, saving resources and promoting green and low-carbon development as well as controlling emissions. The categories of “obtaining and disseminating information” and “enablers” are less prominent in the Plan, yet it recognizes their role in cherishing the environment. The Plan aligns with the major development ideas highlighted by the Chinese government, such as ecological civilization, beautiful China and green and low carbon development. It also reflects the knowledge on the state of biodiversity in the Greater Bay Area.