THE ECOLOGICAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF URBAN DEVELOPMENT POLICIES: A CASE STUDY OF JI'NAN CITY, CHINA

Based on socio-economic development and population growth, rapid urbanisation is currently happening in China, leading to urban expansion and land use changes. This, in turn, affects biodiversity, habitats and ecosystem services. It is therefore important to identify and assess the impact of urban development policies (UDP) on ecosystems and their components at a policy level. Ji'nan City, the capital of Shandong Province in Northern China, has been taken as a case study for assessing the ecological impact of UDP. The study found that, influenced by the traditional economy-oriented development strategy, the former UDP of Ji'nan City was mainly focused on urban socio-economic growth by speeding up the construction of urban infrastructure facilities, expanding urban built-up areas as well as strengthening the development of resource- and pollution-intensive industry, which in turn has negatively influenced the ecosystem services. The promulgation of eco-environmentally friendly UDP would contribute to protect and maintain the ecosystems and their components. Finally, recommendations for informing the legislation of new environmentally friendly UDPs and furthering the implementation of ecological impact assessment (EcIA) in China are proposed.