Environmental law and policy frameworks to manage land degradation in the dryland ecosystem areas of China

This article discusses the development of legal and policy frameworks to control land degradation in the dryland area of the People's Republic of China, under the Partnership Project between the People's Republic of China and the Global Environment Facility (PRC-GEF). The project area covers the six dryland provinces/regions of western China: Ningxia, Shaanxi, Xinjiang, Gansu, Qinghai, and Inner Mongolia. Key points discussed include: the basis for the legal and policy frameworks; use of best international environmental law method; determining the capacity of existing China laws to control land degradation; and the benefits to be gained by China from implementing the legal and policy frameworks that incorporate the concept of Integrated Ecosystem Management (IEM). Conclusions are drawn on the contribution the frameworks will make to China's natural resources management law and development of international environmental law for the management of land degradation in drylands regions of the world generally.