Patterns of China's Lost Harmony: A Survey of the Country's Environmental Degradation and Protection

Patterns of China's Lost Harmonyblends historical documentation with contemporary analysis to determine the degree of human impact upon China's vegetation, soil, water, air and wildlife. Tracing the development of environmental ideas from the ancient Chinese classics, Richard Louis Edmonds assesses vegetation degradation before and after 1949 by using national statistics and policies as well as local examples. The book stresses regional variation in degradation and protection and relates them to the country's growing economic imbalance. Edmonds analyzes pollution and the policies recently introduced for its control, and discusses wildlife management and the evolution of China's nature reserve network. The book will serve as an important reference tool for understanding the historical scope of environmental degradation and for examining attempts to control environmental degradation since the 1980s.

Richard Louis Edmonds is Senior Lecturer in Geography at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.