Sixteenth International Conference on Environmental, Cultural, Economic & Social Sustainability

Abstract

Over the past thirty years, China’s Greater Pearl River Delta (GPRD) region has developed into the world’s preeminent manufacturing base, and with over 60 million people has surpassed Tokyo as the largest urban agglomeration. Driving this dramatic growth has been the competition among the GPRD’s eleven cities for investment and development and until recently there has been little concern to cooperate on the governance of their shared air, water and land sheds. This paper examines the shift from an environmentally degrading development competition to not only cooperation on environmental governance but competition to improve environmental conditions and human well-being. A modified collective action framework is used to examine how these largely autonomous cities overcame a predisposition to freeriding to develop mechanisms to harmonize policies and mutual monitoring and moreover to engage in a competition to deliver advanced policies and results. The relative successes and weaknesses in developing mechanisms of cooperation and competition for regional environmental governance are examined in the areas of air pollution, water pollution, waste control, and biodiversity preservation.