Urban ecological conservation policy in Shenzhen: the production of a ‘Biophysical Fix’

Abstract

Local environmental policy has recently become the topic of academic research and practices within the context of increased integration of the ecological dimension in the existing regulation of economies and societies, and space. Based on these discussions, local environmental policy is not merely an issue of ecological technology; rather, it is more a question of social power, in particular the power of the state and its ability to balance other forces and demands placed on it by society. The paper draws on this theoretical discussion to capture the multidimensionality of the power relations involved in the approaches to local ecological policy. The evolution of the policy agenda in the city of Shenzhen provides a paradigmatic example of the way in which policies can be shaped by the political considerations that surround and act between nature, governmental departments and society. The empirical results show that the ecological conservation policy of the city has shifted away from comparatively weak ecological regulations towards a stronger set of principles. The comparatively stronger ecological regulatory regime is best understood as a 'biophysical fix' that has been shaped by various forces originating in broader economic, social and institutional struggles.

Urban Growth-Oriented Green Accumulation: Ecological Conservation Planning in the Shenzhen DaPeng Peninsula in Southern China

“…Within the context that urbanization has increasingly affected the functioning of protected areas [26], recent studies, however, have linked ecological conservation with urban to investigate why and how nature conservation works within urban systems [27]. These research focus mainly on three aspects: (1) exploring the political background where ecological conservation policies are formulated [28,29], (2) understanding the role of ecological conservation policy to entrepreneurial urban development strategies [30,31], (3) analyzing the impact of ecological conservation within urban context (e.g., [32]).…”

“…The rationale on conservation within urban context, therefore, has been described by While et al [39], p. 551) as ‘urban sustainability fixes’. Lin further brings in the term ‘biophysical fixes’ and applies it in the urban context to represent a subset of ‘sustainability fixes’, which demonstrates how ecological conservation schemes have been integral parts of many cities where entrepreneurial urban development strategies are practiced under conditions of climate change and resource constraint [31]. These studies note that city competitiveness lies in the capability of cities to secure scarce natural resources to maintain and enhance economic growth within the greening of governance.…”