China National Ecological Security Patterns: A Framework for Reinventing the Good Earth

Synopsis: This volume, authored by scholars including Yu Kongjian and Li Dihua, was published by China Architecture & Building Press in 2012. It draws upon research commissioned by the Ministry of Environmental Protection in 2007 concerning the National Ecological Security Pattern. Addressing China's severe ecological challenges—including water scarcity, flood disasters, and soil erosion—alongside the fragmentation of natural processes caused by traditional planning's prioritisation of development over conservation, the book proposes a ‘counter-planning’ philosophy. It advocates ‘conservation before development,’ establishing ecological security baselines (such as water source protection zones and biological corridors) before defining urban boundaries. Ecological infrastructure serves as a rigid framework guiding urban form.

Employing landscape ecology theory, the book constructs single-factor security patterns for five critical ecological processes: water conservation, flood regulation, biodiversity protection, soil and water conservation, and desertification control. For instance, the water conservation security pattern precisely identifies key river source regions like the Three Rivers Source Area and formulates protection strategies, while the flood regulation security pattern delineates natural flood retention zones such as wetlands and lakes to replace rigid flood control engineering. Concurrently, through three rounds of Delphi expert questionnaires, the study rigorously validated the prioritisation and spatial conflicts among ecological processes, ultimately reaching consensus-based conclusions that provide methodological support for scientifically constructing ecological security patterns.

The core findings indicate that China must preserve at least 35% of its land area as strategic protected space to maintain ecological security. Crucially, these areas must form a continuous and integrated ecological network, constituting the foundational infrastructure safeguarding national ecological security. Building upon this foundation, a multi-tiered ecological security framework is established at macro, meso, and micro scales: - At the macro scale, urban spatial forms are regulated by landscapes, wetlands, and river systems as the skeletal framework; - At the meso scale, orderly urban expansion is guided by ecological infrastructure such as greenways and shelterbelts, integrating stormwater management with cultural heritage conservation; - At the micro scale, sponge city technologies like permeable paving and rain gardens are integrated into urban block development. This framework provides scientific guidance for national territorial spatial planning and land use planning, propelling ecological conservation from a fragmented to a systematic approach. Its theoretical foundations and methodologies have been incorporated into the national ecological security strategy, offering practical support for the concept of ‘ecological civilisation’.