Back to top

Population, environment, and sustainable development are important issues of global concern. Since the 1987 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development promoted the strategy of sustainable development, the ideas to have more understanding and to deal correctly on the interrelationship among population, environment and sustainable development and to change the traditional development and consumption patterns in order to achieve the targets of sustainable development have been accepted by all countries of the world.

All countries have made great efforts to learn more about the issues of population, environment and sustainable development. The Government of China, after the conclusion of the Rio de Janeiro Conference, has issued China's Agenda 21, setting the strategy of sustainable development for China based on our own national condition. The academia of China has conducted many researches on the issues of population, environment and sustainable development. However, definitive and comprehensive research results at the national level have yet to come forward. It is under this context that the proposal to prepare the Population, Environment, and Sustainable Development Atlas of China was initiated. The preparation of the Atlas was endorsed by the State Environmental Protection Agency, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and other agencies and supported by a number of national and international organizations.

The Population, Environment, and Sustainable Development Atlas of China presents the basic features and spatial characteristics of population, environment, and sustainable development of our country, in the form of maps, in a comprehensive manner. The design goals of the Atlas are the followings:

1. With sustainable development as the guiding principle, the Atlas should systematically describe the issues of population as they are related to environmental protection and sustainable development. It should discuss the environment issue in a way that is to satisfy the need of people and to make sustainable development possible and to study the strategy of sustainable development centering on population and environment. Therefore, the Atlas must describe and analyze the general situation and the spatial characteristics of the population, environment, and sustainable development of China.
2. It is to establish a scientific basis for the preparation of the Atlas by developing an indicator system for population, environment and sustainable development. On the basis of this system, the topics of the Atlas are selected. The content of the Atlas must be able to show the result of the studies of population, environment and sustainable development. On this basis, direct visualization of all facts in the form of maps can be made.
3. An important goal in the design of the Atlas is to show the internal relationship among population, environment, and sustainable development, the complementarity between illustrations and legends in the same maps, among different maps and map groups (including maps and their explanations), and the interrelationship between different indicator systems. The Atlas should not be a simple collection of various maps, but a scientific undertaking following a central theme.
4. Following the central theme, the designed maps should be used for analysis, generalization, description, and evaluation of the current situation and future development. The Atlas should have not only analytical maps with single or multiple indicators, but also general and integrated maps that make evaluation or projections. On the basis of available data, research findings can be expressed using multi-level spatial parameters. The basic units of presentation are county, city and province. Some maps are statistical maps and others are geographic maps. The Atlas therefore has a variety and rich methods to describe the population, environment, and sustainable development situation of the country.
5. The Atlas compilation is a system project. Modern computer cartographic processing method should be used. Through the construction of various databases and the application of modern computer mapping software, data entry, calculation, analysis, map drafting and production can be carried out systematically and the quality and efficiency of the Atlas preparation can be guaranteed.

The Population, Environment, and Sustainable Development Atlas of China has a wide scope of readers. It is an important reference document for the understanding of the national conditions of China and for the further study of the population, environment, and sustainable development of the country. It can be use to publicize the basic national policies on population control, environmental protection, and sustainable development and to exchange information and ideas with foreign colleagues. Thus, the publication of the Atlas has important scientific and practical meanings.

Basic data used in the Atlas include survey and research results on population growth, environmental protection, public health, and economic and social development. The main sources are as follows:

1. Four national population censuses and the 1995 One-Percent Population sample Survey. China has conducted four population censuses since 1953. The 1990 census provides the most recent and comprehensive population data for the country. The database has 46 tabulated tables covering 516 indicators including such characteristics as size, age, education, household, marriage, employment, and fertility. The 1995 One-Percent sample survey has data on urban housing.
2. Data on environmental quality monitoring. At the present, China has a 3-level environmental quality-monitoring network and some 200 monitoring stations organize the national level. In addition, the State Environmental Protection Agency has established special monitoring stations along key rivers and lakes, offshore ocean waters, and in key cities. Each year, an environment statistical yearbook is published covering data for county and other administrative units above county that have industrial pollution data. The data show the discharge and treatment of solid wastes, gas-wastes, and wastewater in various places, industries, and key cities, the investment and utilization of pollution control funds, the operation of the wastewater treatment facilities in various enterprises, and the management and construction of environmental protection monitoring system. The environmental monitoring data also include statistics on forests, grasslands, wetlands, and sandy areas, as well as on environmental planning.
3. Health statistics. The data include premarital examination, children immunity rates, hypertension prevalence rates, smoking rates, causes of death, numbers of physicians and hospital beds, etc.
4. Economic statistics. The data include statistics given in different yearbooks published by the National Bureau of Statistics and other government agencies. They are gross domestic products, energy production and consumption, agricultural statistics, statistics of urban infrastructures, incomes and expenditures of urban residents, social security data, etc.
5. Special reports and other maps. These are "The report on the population carrying capacity of land in China", "The dietary and nutrition situation of China in the 1990s (based on the 1992 National Nutrition Survey)", "The study on the areas and types of poverty in China", "The study on China's ecologically critical situations", "The study on China's Human Development Index", "The study on the regional sustainable development in China" and "The population projections to 2060 by provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities". The maps used include The National Economy Atlas of China", "The Population Atlas of China", "The Nature Reserves Atlas of China", "The Natural Disasters Atlas of China", "An 1:1,000,000 Map on China's Grasslands", and "An 1:4,000,000 Map on the Distribution of China's Natural Reserves".

Most maps do not have data for the Taiwan Province, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and Macao for lack of information. The data for Chongqing, the municipality established in 1997, are included in the Sichuan Province.

The Population, Environment, and Sustainable Development Atlas of China has nine map groups, 183 maps and over 260 pages of text in Chinese (see Table 1). The content of these nine map groups is as follows:

1. Introduction Maps

This map group includes the relief map, the transportation network map, the administrative division map, and the environmental quality monitoring stations map.

2. Population and Health

This map group begins with the historical growth of population from the Han Dynasty, the Yuan Dynasty, the Qing Dynasty, to the Republic of China. It then shows the population situation of the country with maps of the 1990 sex ratio of the population, age structures of the past 40 years since 1953, crude birth rates, crude death rates, infant mortality rates, rates of natural increase, annual average growth rates, and fertility rates. The population indicators and the regional differences shown in these maps are the starting point of the study of sustainable development.

This map group further shows the compositions of food consumption by residence, per-capita dietary intakes of calorie and the three major nutrients, the ratio of dietary intakes of minerals elements and major vitamins to the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA). It has also maps on the adults' heights, weights and the body mass index, pre-marital physical examination, hypertension prevalence rates, children inoculation, smoking rates, endemic diseases, causes of death, the number of physicians and hospital beds, etc. These maps have demonstrated clearly that the control of population growth and the sustainable development are the only correct ways for the future development of China.

This map group first shows the spatial distribution of population and their movement. There are maps on population density, urban population, and migration of the people. Since housing and consumption are two important indexes in sustainable development, this group has maps on household sizes, housing space per capita, employed population by industry, the wage of workers, household consumption expenditures, and old age social insurance schemes. This map group describes the living standard of the people in general and its trend of development.

The protection of land resources that human beings are depended upon for survival from deterioration and degradation are the basic guarantees for sustainable development. In this map group, there is the general introduction of the land resources of China, describing the characteristics of various zones of the land and the limitation in land utilization. There are maps on the distribution of arable land, soil erosion, desertification, alkalization and salinization, types and uses of sandy areas.
As the piling up of industrial wastes and household refuses encroaches upon lands, there are maps showing the removal and treatment of household refuses in major cities, discharges of industrial solid wastes and their encroachment upon arable land. The map group has also maps showing the use of chemical fertilizers on the land and the relationship between industrial production and solid wastes generation. Several maps show the noise sources in major cities of the country and the traffic noises by types. A special map is "The distribution of government units having radioactive pollution sources" which was prepared based on "The National Survey of Radioactive Pollution Sources". The last part of the map group is the distribution of the agricultural ecological counties and the agricultural demonstration areas established for the implementation of our national strategy for sustainable development.

Forests, grasslands and biodiversity are not only the natural resources indispensable for human survival but also the natural self-purifiers for the environment. With them, a higher quality of life for the mankind can be guaranteed. This group of maps describes the distribution of forests by types using data taken from various forestry surveys over the years, showing forest coverage, per capita forest areas, areas of afforestation, wood reserves, etc. It presents some special features of the forest resources in China. In order to save the forests from deforestation and to improve the ecological environment, ten projects to preserve and protect the national forests are being implemented and there are maps showing the distribution of these projects. Grasslands are important biological resources in the north and the northwest of China. There are maps showing the distribution of grasslands and describing the types and utilization of grasslands in various provinces. China has abundant wetland resources, which occupy an important position in the world. On wetlands, a variety of wild animal lives, many of which are rare species. There are maps elaborating the types and distribution of wetlands and the rare and endangered animals and plants living on them. Also included in this map group is the biodiversity protection zones classified according to the priority of protection, showing the scale of the work on natural protection and its achievement.

6. Fresh Waters, Ocean, and Water Pollution

China does not have rich water resources. These resources are not distributed evenly either and have been polluted seriously. This map group first shows the general situation of the water resources and the distribution of the 77 water areas in five water regions. From the south to the north, the seven major water systems have been polluted in various degrees. The maps use the Chemical Oxygen Demand on Manganese (CODMn) as an indicator to show the extent of organic pollution in the river systems and select another 12 indicators to evaluate the water quality in different sections of the rivers. There are maps showing the discharges and treatment of industrial wastewater, major pollutants in the wastewater, and the discharged wastewater by industry over the years. Other maps in this group are related to the offshore environment monitoring network including the extent of pollution caused by inorganic nitrogen, inorganic phosphorous, CODMn in the seawater and the water quality of the Bohai Sea and the Yellow Sea. The maps show the distribution of four classes of seawater using 11 indicators. During the Ninth Five-Year Plan period, the priority water pollution control work is the "three river and three lake" control project (the Liao River, the Hai River, the Huai River, the Tai Lake, the Chao Lake, and the Dian Lake). There are maps showing the extent of pollution of these rivers and lakes and the control planning for the 2000s. From this map group, it can be seen clearly the imbalance between the supply and the demand of water resources. This imbalance has created an important constrain for our sustainable development.

The discharge of industrial waste gases resulting from the rapid industrialization and economic growth has seriously polluted the atmosphere of our country. The air quality in most of the 600 cities in the country does not meet the standard set by the World Health Organization. The maps in this group, except the one on climatic disasters which shows the pollution caused by the nature, all show man-made atmosphere and air pollution. There are also maps on the emission and treatment of sulfur dioxide, soot and dust, and total suspended particles. There are maps showing the weekly air quality based on the weekly air quality reports issued by key cities since 1998. Other maps in this group show the pH value of precipitation, the frequency and distribution of acid rains and the acid and sulfur dioxide pollution zones established by the State Council. The last map in this group is the evaluation of environmental control in key cities of China. Such kind of evaluation has been instituted as a part of the regular urban environmental management.

The emphasis of the role of women in sustainable development is a special feature of this Atlas. This group has maps to show the current situation and the major contributions in social and economic development made by women. These are the martial status of females and males, fertility, the occupation of women, the education of women, literacy, the number and distribution of college graduates, the expectation of life at birth for each sex, women employment, and women political participation. On the health of women, there are maps on the contraceptive prevalence rates, the maternal mortality rates, the examination of women diseases, and the adults and children anemia rates.

In order to achieve the goal of sustainable development, the major issues are the control of population growth, the fulfillment of the need of people, the protection of environment and the control of pollution, and the change of the methods and patterns of resource utilization and economic growth. There are maps on population projections showing the anticipated growth of population from the end of the twentieth century to 2060 for each province. There are maps showing the educational level of the population. Maps showing the level of economic development and resource utilization include the per-capita gross domestic products, the level of external trade and foreign investment, arable land areas per agricultural labour, grain productions, energy production and consumption. There are also maps on the poverty level of the country and the population carrying capacity of land. On the ecological situation, there are maps on the ecologically critical situation of the country, showing the distribution of the ecologically critical and fragile areas. As the environmental pollution control is an important aspects of sustainable development, the map group shows the resource and utilization of the pollution control and treatment funds, the environment protection green project, and the allocation of total allowable solid, water and gas waste discharges for each province and the pollution levy by province in the 2000s.
The map group also gives the Human Development Index developed by the United Nations Development Fund (UNDP) to assess the level of social and economic development in each province. The last maps show the regional sustainable development indexes. These indexes express the current situation and the potential development of population, society, economy, environment and resource of each province and their possible contributions to sustainable development in a quantitative manner.

The publication of a large atlas is a system project, involving data collection, data processing, visualization of maps, designing, drafting and editing maps, plate-making and printing. This Atlas uses the electronic atlas system and the integrating mapping system adopted and improved by the Geography Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and thus the reliability of the atlas publication is assured.

Database construction is the basic task of a modern cartographic project. On the basis of the Atlas design and selected indicators, many databases need to be constructed. Through a process selection, checking, and preliminarily processing, the data dictionary was created. Thematic data and cartographic units were matched and an inquiry system was developed. Finally, the database was completed. In the process of data selection, particular attention was paid to the time and space of the data and the interrelationships among variables. In order to be able to analyze the change of data over time and to examine map accuracy, data of different time periods and different geographic locations, such as province, county, city, and sample units were collected and stored in the database. The database dictionary is a file used to understand and identify the attributes of data, including the codes and definitions of fields, units of measurement, time and data sources. Attribute data and cartographic data can be matched through a uniform geocoding system and tabulations cross-classified by attributes and/or by geographic units can be generated. A user’s inquiry system was developed using Foxpro database system and data could be searched by item or by geographic unit. The database has more than 100 files and about 400 data items.

The base maps used in this Atlas include the following types.

1. The 1:12,000,000 national administrative division map by county and city. This map is used to show various features of population and economy.
2. The 1:12,000,000 national administrative division map by province and important cities. This map is used to show natural ecology and environmental monitoring.
3. The 1:24,000,000 provincial map. This map is used to show the major river systems and residential localities. Many maps in the Atlas are of this scale.
4. Maps of other scales. They include mostly the 1:35,000,000 map and other larger scale maps. They are used to show climatic disasters, rare and endangered animals and plants, and the pollution control activities in the Huai River and the Tai Lake valleys.

All these base maps are double-latitude conic projections. The national boundary are taken from the 1:4,000,000 map of the Relief of the People's Republic of China published by the China Cartographic Press in 1989. The boundaries of counties, cities, prefectures, and provinces are 1998 data and the boundaries of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Chongqing Municipality are the latest data. Since all deserts, Gobi, and mountains higher than 4,000 meters are uninhabited areas, they have been left blank in the 1:12,000,000 maps of the Atlas.

3. Making Electronic Maps

The first step in preparing the draft maps was to use the map database and the digital base map to produce electronic maps using the electronic cartographic system. The electronic mapping software, EA-World, developed by the Geography Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, treats the electronic map as a complex model consisting of various layers of element maps and the corresponding legend system as well as its operating mechanism. The system provides all kinds of map-making tools and can make columns, circles, pies, fans, pyramids, percentage squares, and other shapes and types easily. It also has different colouring methods and statistical classifications. Different types of map-plates are selected according to the characteristics of distribution and variability of the subject matters. The making of an electronic map has to go through a process of data selection, cartographic classification, map-plate selection, symbol and scale identifications, colour and text design and graph display and editing. About 100 draft maps were generated first in the form of electronic maps. However, the presentation of these maps is limited because of the screen size of computer monitors although they can be zoomed in and out on the screen. Some contents can be read interactively although not all the notes can be shown. These maps have not reached the quality of the printed maps. Nevertheless, the advantages of electronic maps are obvious, as they are easy to make and to update, can be viewed, queried, and searched interactively, and are multimedia integrated. In the process of map-making for this Atlas, electronic maps were printed in colours according to the required scales and sent to the authors of the texts for review and examination.

The electronic maps generated and the corresponding data utilized were submitted to the Editorial Committee of the Atlas and the authors for review and text drafting. Maps are visualized data of various natural, economic and social facts in accordance with mathematical rules. The scientific nature of the content and the artistic presentation of the maps are the keys to deliver messages. Therefore, in the examination of each of the maps, reviews and evaluation were given to the index selection, data classification, methods of presentation, and the reading effect. The quality of the map was improved as the authors and the editors worked together and exchanged their views. The text of the Atlas is an important component of the Atlas. In drafting the text, the authors wrote map descriptions based on the outline of the Atlas and considered all maps in the same group as closely interrelated elements. The text contains a general introduction for the map group, the editing principle for each map, data sources, definitions for indicators, methods of calculation, spatial features and regional differences. It can be used not only to assist the readers to understand and to analyze maps, but also to supplement map presentation. The voluminous text is a simple summary of many research results of the situation of population, environment, and sustainable development of China. Readers of different backgrounds can learn different aspects, levels of knowledge from the Atlas.

Most of the draft maps were electronic maps, only a few were prepared manually. The manually prepared draft maps had to be input into the computer for further improvement and refinement. The Atlas used the Intergraph system that was revised and improved by the Geography Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The system captures the map data through scanning and digitizing or by data conversion and provides a variety of geographic symbols, colours, terminology and other tools for use. Under the support of graphing and editing software, each map was revised and improved, including the style design, line smoothing, colour selection and filling, the adjustment of colour scales, annotation setting, aliment of symbols, and legend editing. Draft maps were printed out for examination using plotters and errors were corrected first on the paper and onto the computers. For map printing, the mapping publishing system combined all the edited raster files and created colour-separated CYMK documents. It then produced high-resolution colour- separated films using the film recording equipment for later plate making. The Atlas used Mapsetter 6000 of the Intergraph system to produce the colour-separated films. The last procedures were the test printing and the final printing. Test printings were made after the colour-separated films were made. The final printing was carried out after the colour films were adjusted and revised.
The publication of the Atlas was privileged to have the support from many organizations and individuals. Among them, from the Geography Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mr. Li Ribang did the study on population and health for regions, Mr. Ye Qinghua contributed the ecologically critical situation study, Mr. Fei Chuanyun provided the research result on the poverty population and poverty level, Mr. Qiu Xinsheng contributed his research on the effect of external trade, and Mr. Liu Kaiyu studied the human development index. Mr. Zhang Minxiang of the Ministry of Forestry provided data on the type and the size of sandy areas and the information on the ten major forest ecological projects. Mr. Peng Shengchao of the Science Press helped the editing and the publication of the Atlas. Mr. Zheng Changsheng of the Xi’an Printing Factory, Aerophotogrammery and Remote Sensing of China Coal, did the cover design and picture collection. Mr. Ding Hua and his colleagues of the Computing Information Institute, Aerophotogrammery and Remote Sensing of China Coal, made the cartographic processing for the Atlas. Furthermore, Mr. Sun Jixiang of the Xi’an Printing Factory, Aerophotogrammery and Remote Sensing of China Coal, has given generous support to the publication of the Atlas. All their efforts are greatly appreciated.

Liu Yue
Professor, Geography Institute,
Chinese Academy of Sciences
Vice-Chairman and Editor-in-Chief,
Editorial Committee of the Population,
Environment, and Sustainable
Development Atlas of China

Back to top

Foreword I

In the 20^th century, along with the advancement of science and technology and the improvement of the productive force, people have created unprecedented wealth and accelerated the progress of civilization as never. At the same time, the rapid growth of population, the excessive uses of resources, and the degradation of environment resulting from unsustainable development have become the major problems of the world. Environmental deterioration is not only preventing the further development of the economy and the quality of life, but it also threatens the future survival and advancement of mankind. Thus, people have to reexamine their own social and economic behaviors and experiences, searching for a new approach toward sustainable development. The key to sustainable development is to know and to deal with the relationship between man and nature correctly. Man should enjoy a wealthy and healthy life while coexisting in harmony with nature. The serious problem facing us is the damage inflicted upon the environment because of inadequate production and consumption patterns. Therefore, people must exercise self-control. In the process to achieve sustainability, people should take environmental protection as an important and integral component in this process.

At the dawn of the 21^st century, China is confronted with heavy population and environmental pressures. By the end of the year 2000, China’s population is expected to reach 1.3 billion persons and in the next 20 to 30 years 1.5 to 1.6 billion persons. This population is not only large in size but also largely uneducated. Thus, poverty alleviation and illiteracy eradication are major strategic tasks to be undertaken at the present. Our ecological situation must be a priority: soil erosion is serious; lakes are shrinking; grasslands are deteriorating; forest coverage is low; and rare and endangered species are disappearing. The rapid industrialization and large population growth have created great pressures upon the environment. The air in two-thirds of our cities is seriously polluted and is far below the national air quality standard. The surface ground waters are polluted, particularly along the rivers around cities; some sections of these rivers have lost their river functions. Lakes are polluted. Acid rain is very serious in the south and the southwest of the country. In some areas, environmental pollution is a major constraint to the economic development and it poses a serious public health threat.

The Atlas of Population, Environment and Sustainable Development of China, through its collection of a large amount of data and analyses of many scientific research results, offers a systematic and comprehensive rendering of the current situation, regional distribution, major achievements, and targets of planning of various aspects of population, environment, and sustainable development. With sustainable development as its guiding principle, the Atlas presents the basic national conditions of China using maps, graphs, and text. This Atlas may be useful in making policy decisions, as raw material for scientific studies by educational and research departments. It will also be useful as background information in the campaign to raise the consciousness of people regarding environmental and sustainable development. The Atlas is published in Chinese and English. It can provide useful information for strengthening the exchange of ideas and information among countries and for expanding international cooperation in the work of population, environment, and sustainable development.

This is the first atlas on population, environment, and sustainable development of our country. Its publication has involved the participation of many departments, sectors, and fields over several years to prepare. The primary offices and people involved in this publication have devoted their time and hard work in a serious and scientific manner. Many other national and international offices and individuals have also provided important support to this project. I would especially like to thank the China Population and Environment Society, which initiated and took part in the publication, and to express my sincere appreciation to all who have contributed to this Atlas. Any comments and suggestions to improve future editions are welcome.

Xie Zhenhua
Minister, State Environmental Protection Agency
Chairman, Editorial Committee of the Atlas of
Population, Environment and Sustainable
Development of China

I take pleasure in introducing the Atlas of Population, Environment and Sustainable Development of China.

The Atlas has been carefully compiled after extensive research by the China Population and Environment Society and other organizations.

The European Commission views this publication as an important document of reference: at a time when numerous issues regarding the environment in China are being discussed, such a tool should be of great help to the ever growing number of researchers, macro-economists or environmentalists in China and elsewhere, as well as to international institutions and the general public, who are looking for essential background information.

Endymion Wilkinson
Head of the Delegation of
the European Commission in China

Back to top

Preface

The Atlas of Population, Environment and Sustainable Development of China is a large-scale interdisciplinary atlas showing the basic characteristics and spatial distribution of population, environment, and sustainable development of China. The preparation of the Atlas was a major project initiated by the China Population and Environment Society and carried out jointly with the Institute of Geography of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the National Environmental Monitoring Center of China under the general direction of the State Environmental Protection Agency. The population of China is large, growing rapidly, relatively poor, and unevenly distributed. It has exerted a heavy burden on the social and economic development of the country. Irrational and unplanned resource exploitation and agricultural and industrial production have caused serious environmental pollution and ecological destruction. Population and environment are the major factors that have limited and will continue to affect the development of the country. They are the main challenges for China in the 21^st century. Therefore, a systematic and comprehensive study of the general situation of population, resource, and environment is urgently needed to understand better the national condition, to promote scientific research, and to carry out publicity campaigns to facilitate social and economic development. This is the reason that the China Population and Environment Society initiated and promoted the publication of this Atlas.

The President of China, Mr. Jiang Zemin, has stressed that "while maintaining economic growth, the growth of population must be controlled, the natural resources must be protected, and a sound ecological environment must be maintained". This is the guiding principle that this Atlas has followed in its preparation. The theme of sustainable development has been emphasized throughout the Atlas. A major characteristic of the Atlas is the study of population, resource, environment, and sustainable development using an interdisciplinary approach and the publication of this Atlas is an interdisciplinary achievement.

The preparation of the Atlas has received strong endorsements from the State Environmental Protection Agency, the National Bureau of Statistics, the State Family Planning Commission, and the Ministry of Health. It was supported by the European Union, the World Bank, the Ford Foundation, the Swedish International Development Agency, the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization, the Government of Italy, and other organizations. Many experts and scholars participated in the undertaking. The Atlas took five years, from early 1995 to late 1999, to complete. In 1995, the then Science and Technology Department of the State Environmental Protection Agency included this project in its plan for science and technology development (Reference Number A95111). Given the project's interdisciplinary nature, it has benefited greatly from the earnest efforts, hard work, and invaluable contributions of Professor Liu Yue, Editor-in-Chief of the Atlas; Mr. Wan Bentai, Head of the National Environmental Monitoring Center of China; and experts from the Center of Statistical Information of the Ministry of Health, People's University of China, and Peking University. Furthermore, members and experts of the Atlas's Editorial Committee have devoted much effort and made valuable comments on and recommendations for the Atlas. We wish to express our deep gratitude to Mr. Xie Zhenhua, Minister of the State Environmental Protection Agency and Ambassador Endymion Wilkinson, Head of the Delegation of the European Commission in China for their forewords, and to Professor Fei Xiaotong, well-known sociologist for his inscription. Special thanks are also extended to Dr. Yeun-chung Yu, former Chief of Demographic and Social Statistics Branch, United Nations Statistical Division, for editing the English edition of the Atlas. As this is the first atlas on population, environment, and sustainable development of China and there are few atlases of this kind in the world, we welcome corrections and comments.

Shen Yimin
President, China Population and Environment Society
Vice Chairman, Editorial Committee of the
Atlas of Population, Environment and Sustainable
Development of China

Back to top

Advisors

Jiang Zhenghua Qu Geping Zhang Weiqing Zhang Sai

Zhang Shen Jiang Chengsong Yuan Fang Lu Xueyi Zhu Xiangdong

Back to top

Editorial and Production Section

Coeditors-in-chief: Liu Yue Wan Bentai

Liao Zhijie      Zhang Qingzhen     Zhao Zhenjia     Chai Mingyuan

Luo Xiaolin Wang Wenjie Zhang Jianhui Zhu Jianping Li Xue Jing Lixin Zhang Zhong Yan Hong Liu Jirong
Ye Qinghua Liu Kaibo Ding Hua Chen Zanju Zong Xirui Zhao Xiaocheng

Bai Liandi Tong Yanchao Jiang Huohua Chen Daobi Zhou Hong

Yu Yeun-chung Sara Townsend Poumerol

Zhu Bing Wang Lei Huang Jinxin Zhang Ying Bian Ge

Zha Ruichuan Duan Chengrong Yao Yuan Chen Wei Lin Fude

Cai Wenmei Tian Yaoshan Zhuo Minli Chen Jiangtao

Chen Shengli Chen Yude Hu Jianping Qian Juncheng

Tong Chengzhu Zhou Xingyu

State Environmental Protection Agency

Chinese Academy of Sciences

China Population and Environment Society

Geography Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences

National Environmental Monitoring Center of China

Research Center of Sociology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences

Department of Population and Employment, National Bureau of Statistics

Food and Agriculture Center, National Bureau of Statistics

Department of Publicity and Education, State Family Planning Commission

Statistics and Information Center, Health Ministry

Division of Maternal and Child Health, Health Ministry

Institute of Population Research, People's University of China

Institute of Population Research, Peking University

Computer Information Institute, Xi'an Aerophotogrammetry and Remote

Sensing of China Coal

Hebei Xianhe Technological Development Co., Ltd.

Beijing Puxi Common Instrument Co., Ltd.

Wuhan Tianhong Intelligent Meter Manufacturing