Growing Populations, Changing Landscapes Studies from India, China, and the United States (2001) / Chapter Skim
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9. Population, Consumption, and Land Use in the Pearl River Delta, Guangdong Province
9. Population, Consumption, and Land Use in the Pearl River Delta, Guangdong Province
Pages 207-230
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From page 207... ...
THE PEARL RIVER DELTA: A DESCRIPTION Physical Conditions The Pearl River Delta, situated in southern China's Guangdong Province, is formed by alluvium delivered from the West, North, and East Rivers. Located in the subtropical monsoon zone, the region has an annual average temperature of 22° C, annual precipitation of 1,714 millimeters, and annual sunshine of 1,990-2,300 hours.
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From page 208... ...
In 1995 its permanent population density was 743 persons per square kiloTABLE 9-1 Municipalities, Counties, and Cities in the Pearl River Delta Study Region Municipality County/City Dongguan City Foshan City, Nanhai City, Shunde City Conghua City, Guangzhou City, Huadu City, Panyu City, Zengcheng City Shenzhen City Zhongshan City Zhuhai City, Doumen County Dongguan Foshan Guangzhou Shenzhen Zhongshan Zhuhai
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From page 209... ...
of the Delta area also is lower than those for Guangdong Province and China as a whole, and a declining population growth rate might have been expected because of implementation of the one-child policy. The Delta region owes its rapid population growth mainly to massive in-migration (see the net migration rates for 1980-1994 in Figure 9-4~.
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From page 210... ...
SOURCES: Selected Statistical Yearbooks for subregions of Pearl River Delta, 1970-1995. NOTE: Total population includes only persons registered in the Pearl River Delta and excludes the floating population registered in other places.
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From page 211... ...
TABLE 9-3 Ratio of Floating Population to Permanent Population, Selected Subregions, 1995 Subregion Guangdong Province Guangzhou City Shenzhen City Zhuhai City Foshan City Dongguan City Zhongshan City Ratio of Floating to Permanent Population (percent) 10.7 33.1 108.4 30.8 23.2 39.4 6.0 SOURCE: 1% Sampling Census of 1995 in Guangdong.
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From page 212... ...
Thus this indicator can be said to underestimate the true level of urbanization in the Delta. Land Use Change Historically the Pearl River Delta was an important grain-growing region of China, and farming played a dominant role in basic land use patterns until the 1980s.
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From page 213... ...
Urban and built-up land now makes up a significant proportion of the Delta region, thanks largely to the ongoing industrial development and infrastructure construction in the area (Figure 9-5~. The unique location of the Pearl River Delta, with its proximity to neighboring Hong Kong and Macao, have made it a major area for foreign investment, particularly in industry.
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From page 214... ...
Nevertheless, air pollution in the Delta worsened because of the large increase in the total quantity of emissions. DATA AND METHODOLOGY This study of a portion of the Pearl River Delta is based on an investigation of the historic record of land use change and an analysis of the factors driving such change (for more on these "driving factors," see Chapter 8~.
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From page 215... ...
The National Soil Survey of China, carried out during 1981-1983, and the field survey of 1996 provided detailed information on land quality at scales of 1:10,000 and 1:400,000. AN ANALYSIS OF LAND USE CHANGE Finding 1: Population growth, in particular migration and increases in the floating population, is at once a cause and a consequence of land use change in the Pearl River Delta.
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From page 216... ...
Most moved temporarily into coastal regions such as the Pearl River Delta. The growing floating population in the Delta has been accompanied by an ever-greater demand for land.
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From page 217... ...
- O ~ 600 ~ 500 _% (n - 400 ~ s ~ 300 ~ (n s - 200 ,` A: - 100 FIGURE 9-7 Farmland and net migration rate, Pearl River Delta, 1980-1994. SOURCES: Selected Statistical Yearbooks for subregions of Pearl River Delta, 1980-1995.
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From page 218... ...
Among them, the increased population growth and wealth resulting from rising production and trade caused a significant change in the regional housing structure. For example, the per capita floor space in Guangzhou City remained constant from 1965 to 1980, at only 3 - square meters.
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The expansion of green space in urban areas is another example of the changes in land use brought by economic development. In Guangzhou, known as the "dragon head" of economic development in Pearl River Delta and the whole of China as well, the municipal government allocates a portion of its large fiscal budget to the development and maintenance of green space lawns, parks, artificial lakes, and squares (Figure 9-11~.
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From page 220... ...
, while the portion of farmland devoted to vegetable crops increased, despite falling consumption (Figure 9-13~. The changing patterns of local food consumption mask two key factors associated with the shifts in crop production.
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POPULATION, CONSUMPTION, ED LAND USE IN THE PEARL RIVER DELTA 221 83 78 <,' 73~7 ct ~ 68s ~ 63ct In s ct ~7 o 58 53 48 43 38 \ 33- 1 1 1 1 1 1 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 l Year i_ Huadu Conghua ~ Zengcheng >< Panyu ~ 1 1 T 1 1985 1986 1987 1988 FIGURE 9-12 Grain crop areas, Huadu, Conghua, Zengcheng, and Panyu counties, 1978-1988. SOURCE: The Forty Years of li'an Prefecture, li'an Prefecture Statistics, 1988.
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From page 222... ...
The flexible spatial mobility policy allowed people to seek the economic opportunities available in the Pearl River Delta region. As a result, Shenzhen saw its floating population grow from 10,000 in 1980 to 600,000 in 1989.
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From page 223... ...
Organic matter values also rose when paddy fields were converted to orchard or fallow land, because organic matter decomposes more readily in orchard land than in the paddy field (Qin Mingzhou, 1997~. Soil acidification in the Pearl River Delta declined after a peak in 1980.
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From page 225... ...
emissions, Pearl River Delta, 1980-1994. SOURCE: Environment Bulletin of Guangdong Province, 1990 and 1995.
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From page 226... ...
Overall, the result of the urbanization policy in the Pearl River Delta has been a rapid population growth rate for small towns, whereas the populations of big cities such as Guangzhou have increased much less rapidly. The township population in Guangdong Province grew from 6.88 million in 1985 to 40.80 million in 1990, almost a sixfold increase.
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From page 227... ...
Zhuhai greatly benefits from being a special economic zone, whereas of the other municipalities, only Shenzhen benefits from that special status. The permanent population of Zhuhai is only 600,000; the other municipalities range in population from more than 1 million to several million.
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From page 228... ...
is computed as the difference of the indices between 1995 and 1990 divided by the index in 1990 and multiplied by 100; (2) total population includes floating population and permanent residents; (3)
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CONCLUSION This analysis has revealed that policy shifts by the Chinese government have been the primary factors driving changes in population, land use, and consumption patterns in the Pearl River Delta. Various economic reform policies since 1978 including the establishment of special economic zones, a favorable investment environment, and favorable regulations have fostered the emergence and growth of the region's manufacturing base and export-oriented economy.
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From page 230... ...
Rapid economic development accompanied by dramatic population growth and changes in land use have had a great impact on the environment of the Pearl River Delta. Before 1978, environmental quality in the Delta area was fairly good because of the relatively small size of the population and low industrialization levels.
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