SPONGE CITIES & By James N. Levitt and Emily Myron

PARADOXICALLY, CHINA IS EMERGING AS AN INNOVATIVE focus on China’s conservation strategy, policy, GLOBAL LEADER IN GREEN INITIATIVES, JUST AS IT HAS and finance. “The Lincoln Institute has done a lot OVERTAKEN THE UNITED STATES AS THE WORLD’S of research on land conservation in the United PANDA BIGGEST SOURCE OF CARBON DIOXIDE EMISSIONS States and elsewhere around the world, and the (Global Carbon Atlas 2016). “After decades of international knowledge developed from this rapid expansion brought smog and contaminated work helps China to address its enormous soil,” noted the official Xinhua News Agency, conservation challenges,” says Zhi Liu, director “China is steadily shifting from GDP obsession of the PLC and Lincoln’s China program. to a balanced growth philosophy that puts more “For a few years, we have been looking for a emphasis on the environment” (Xiang 2017). way to engage ourselves in China’s land conser- HABITAT China generated more solar power in 2016 vation. The partnership with TNC China—starting than any other nation. In January 2017, the with sponge city development or, more broadly, government announced plans to invest RMB 2.39 conservation for cities—provides us a perfect trillion (US$361 billion) in renewable energy entry point. As one of the partnering institutes in generation by 2020, according to China’s National the sponge city pilot project in Shenzhen, we are Energy Administration. This September, the focusing on strategic and institutional frame- government also promised to ban the sale of works and long-term finance. We hope that the gasoline- and diesel-powered cars at an unspeci- work in Shenzhen will also help lay a research fied date (Bradsher 2017). And to help meet its foundation for national policy making,” says Liu. commitments to the Paris Climate Accords, China will launch the world’s largest carbon “cap and trade” market in November 2017, targeting “China is steadily shifting from GDP obsession coal-fired power generation and five other large to a balanced growth philosophy that puts carbon-emitting industrial sectors (Fialka 2016, more emphasis on the environment.” Zhu 2017). Land-based green initiatives include “sponge The Nature Conservancy’s cities,” designed to manage storm water runoff and prevent urban flooding, and conservation Sponge Cities Foray into China efforts to protect water quality and preserve wildlife habitat. The –Lincoln China’s unprecedented urban growth has taken a Institute Center for Urban Development and Land hard toll on the landscape. In 1960, it had no Policy (PLC) is collaborating with The Nature metropolitan areas with populations over 10 Conservancy’s China program (TNC China), million. Now it has 15. In 50 years, the urban providing technical support for a sponge city pilot population multiplied by a factor of six: from 131 in Shenzhen and exploring innovative conserva- million residents or 17.9 percent of total popula- tion finance mechanisms for China. tion in 1966, to 781 million or 56.7 percent by The two organizations are complementary in 2016 (World Bank 2017). And by 2030, one billion terms of expertise: TNC China has done a lot of people, or 70 percent of China’s total population, ground work to turn sciences and technologies are expected to live in cities (Myers 2016). into practice. With the Lincoln Institute providing Resulting proliferation of hardscaped roads and The Nature Conservancy China is working in Sichuan Province an international knowledge base, the PLC can building sites have created a vast expansion of to conserve giant panda habitat. Credit: Oktay Ortakcioglu

22 LAND LINES OCTOBER 2017 23 This storm event and other recent floods paving technologies, and rain gardens to absorb China’s sponge cities will spurred the Chinese government to develop storm water into the ground. The government will include green infrastruc- ture such as this wetland a series of “sponge cities.” Shenzhen and test the results of the pilot projects with the intention of replicating proven-effective practic- park in Tianjin, which collects rainwater to 29 other cities received instructions and es on a nationwide basis. irrigate vegetation on the By the government’s definition, a city will incentives to develop green infrastructure— site of a former garbage reach the “sponge” standard when 70 percent of including bioswales, pervious paving technol- dump. Credit: Kongjian Yu rainfall is absorbed into the ground, relieving ogies, and rain gardens to absorb storm strain on traditionally constructed drainage water into the ground. systems and minimizing floods. The goal is that 20 percent of urban built-up areas in pilot cities will reach sponge standard over the course of five years. Green Roof Rainwater TNC China is the key partner and technical Garden Bioretention adviser to Shenzhen’s sponge city project. TNC Facility invited the PLC and several other institutions to Forest Wetland Transparent Ground Surface join the effort, providing insight on policy, Lake strategy, and finance. The pilot demonstration project in Shenzhen includes four components: pilot demonstration sub-projects for industrial “We are investigating other countries’ for local communities and creating a mechanism plants, office buildings, schools, urban neighbor- experiences with financing rainstorm manage- to finance long-term reserve management hoods, etc.; dissemination and upgrading of past ment,” says Liu. “For example, the city of Phila- through private contributions. We believe that experiments; an education and promotion delphia imposes storm water fees based on the this new model could become an important campaign; and studies of strategy, policy, and amount of impervious surface that a parcel supplement to China’s current protected area financing mechanisms. contains. The city also offers several programs to system,” says Science Director of TNC China, Dr. “Our work on the sponge city strategy, policy, assist nonresidential customers to lower their Jin Tong. Building on this successful experience Rainwater Recycling and finance is currently underway,” says Liu. “We storm water fees through green projects that and taking advantage of access to international have looked extensively into relevant internation- reduce the amount of impervious surface on their knowledge through the International Land al experiences from the United States, Germany, properties. In the context of China, we believe Conservation Network (ILCN), a project of the Lin- the Netherlands, Singapore, and other countries. that the long-term financial solutions will require coln Institute, the PLC is exploring land conser- impervious surfaces that prevent storm water The sub-projects of the Shenzhen pilot demon- some careful consideration of fiscal policy reform vation finance for China more broadly. from seeping into the earth to replenish ground stration give us a great sense of which technolo- at the local level,” he says. Land trusts are an American innovation. As water sources and mitigate the threat of major gies are most feasible, as well as their benefits chaitable organizations, land trusts leverage the flooding. In recent years, increasingly severe and costs,” he adds. Nature Sanctuaries and Land power of the private and nonprofit sectors to storms and other surface water running at street The major challenge is how to develop conserve land by acquiring it outright, and level in Chinese cities have presented life-threat- long-term financial mechanisms for sponge city Trust Reserves owning title or fee ownership to it; by acquiring ening peril to urban residents, such as the 2012 development. Sponge infrastructure is costly, conservation easements, also known as conser- flood in that killed 79 and caused RMB estimated at over RMB 100 million (US$15.08 TNC China is also active in the conservation of vation restrictions or conservation servitudes; or 11.64 billion (US$1.76 billion) in damages, million) per square kilometer of built-up urban resources beyond China’s cities. In the past by serving as the stewards or managers of according to Xinhua News Agency. area. It is a public good in nature. The question several years, TNC China has adapted the protected lands owned by others. Indeed, about This storm event and other recent floods is who will pay for it. Today, Shenzhen’s sponge American land trust model to local conditions 56 million U.S. acres (about 23 million hectares) spurred the Chinese government to announce a city project is supported by central government to protect land, biodiversity habitat, and ecosys- have been protected in the United States by national program to develop a series of “sponge subsidies, the municipal budget, and businesses tem services, from air and water purification local, regional, and national land trusts as of cities.” Shenzhen in the Pearl River Delta and 29 volunteering to build sponge infrastructure to flood and drought mitigation. “We’ve been year-end 2015, according to the 2015 Land Trust other cities, from Wuhan in Central China to facilities, such as rain gardens and rain roofs testing this localized land trust model as a way Census compiled by the Land Trust Alliance in Baotou in Inner Mongolia (Leach 2016), received on their own properties. But the available to expand society’s ability to protect and sustain- cooperation with the Lincoln Institute of Land instructions and incentives to develop green financial resources are far from adequate to ably manage China’s most important lands and Policy. The United States is believed to be the infrastructure—including bioswales, pervious meet the target. waters, while providing green livelihood solutions global leader in private and civic land conserva-

24 LAND LINES OCTOBER 2017 25 tion, though no comprehensive figures compare potential to help reshape the way that China nations around the world in terms of private and approaches the creation and management of civic land conservation. Land conserved by NGOs protected areas. Currently, more than 15 percent and other private and civic actors complement of China’s land is designated as a protected area, the 7.9 billion acres (3.2 billion hectares) and more than 2,700 nature reserves have the protected, principally, by governments around highest level of legal protection in that nation. the world (UNDP-WCMC 2014). However, significant challenges continue to The world’s first regional land trust was daunt the Chinese network of protected lands. established in Massachusetts in 1891. Known Many protected areas lack adequate financial today as The Trustees of Reservations, that group resources, enforcement and governance mecha- continues to protect exceptionally beautiful, nisms, and management staff. In order to naturally important, and historically significant strengthen and expand the existing network of properties in Massachusetts through fee protected areas, TNC China and its partners are ownership and conservation easements. From working to develop land trust analogues that that small beginning, more than 1,000 land trust work in the Chinese context. The Nature Conservancy China aims to work with partners to create 10 land trust reserves in China by 2020. organizations are now spread across the United A 2008 Chinese policy that allows private Credit: The Nature Conservancy China States. They exist in every state of the union and individuals and organizations to assume continue to improve the pace, quality, and management rights on collectively owned forest permanence of protected lands across the nation, land opened the door for a conversation about vation lease, allowing it to manage the parcel for entity, the Laohegou Nature Conservation Center, providing multiple public benefits. This work land trusts. In 2011, TNC China initiated a the next 50 years. which has in turn hired nearby residents to greatly benefits from U.S. federal tax credits for collaboration with the local government of The local government, TNC China, and the administer and execute management, enforce- conservation easements to land trusts. Sichuan Province’s Pingwu County to explore the foundation promptly designated the leased land ment, and ecological monitoring workplans. establishment of the country’s first land trust a county-level nature reserve, named Laohegou Several entities supporting and managing reserve. In keeping with the local nature of the Land Trust Reserve, thereby conserving over the reserve are also piloting mechanisms to The local government of Sichuan Province’s land trust movement, TNC China then catalyzed 27,000 acres (about 11,000 hectares) of important increase income in communities bordering the Pingwu County, the Nature Conservancy the birth of a new local entity—the Sichuan giant panda habitat. This reserve’s strategic reserves and to fund the reserve’s ongoing China, and the Sichuan Nature Conservation Nature Conservation Foundation (SNCF)—which location connects existing protected areas for management. For example, outside Laohegou Foundation designated a county-level nature was later renamed the Paradise Foundation. In endangered species, such as the giant panda Reserve, the Paradise Foundation has set up a 2013, the SNCF signed the nation’s first conser- and the Sichuan snub-nosed monkey, thereby system in which they sell the community’s reserve, named Laohegou Land Trust Re- establishing a large conservation corridor. The eco-friendly agricultural products and honey interconnected corridor effectively creates a wine to high-end markets. Revenues from these serve, with over 27,000 acres (about 11,000 China’s first land trust reserve, The Laohegou Land Trust large territory within which anti-poaching sales augment community income and reduce hectares) of important giant panda habitat. Reserve, conserves more than 27,000 acres (about 11,000 hectares), strategically connecting existing protected regulations can be rigorously enforced. Similarly, the pressure from local residents who want to areas for endangered species, such as the Sichuan within the corridor, local streams that run free hunt and forage within the reserve. The Paradise The practice of land conservation by private snub-nosed monkey and the giant panda. Credit: The can be protected from diversion into hydropower. Foundation and others are also exploring the individuals and civic organizations has also Nature Conservancy China The reserve is also important from a research potential for limited ecotourism into the re- spread across the world. Private and civic land perspective. Scientists have carried out a serves, as well as online fundraising for individu- conservation groups exist in more than 130 baseline inventory of wildlife and set up dozens al projects. Finally, project managers are also countries and territories in North and South of camera traps to learn more about the numer- optimistic that China’s growing philanthropic America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Oceania, ous important species present. Already, the sector will take interest and support these according to a recent survey conducted by the cameras have captured rare footage of a giant efforts. It remains to be seen whether these ILCN (ILCN 2017). While the legal context and panda eating the remains of a takin (a goat-ante- techniques will yield profits that are widely financial incentives for land conservation in the lope found in Asian mountain ranges and dispersed through the communities near the private and civic sectors differ from country to highlands), reinforcing the relatively new discov- reserve or provide consistent, long-term funding country, the motivation to protect and carefully ery that pandas are omnivores, occasionally needed for management activities. steward land for the good of present and future consuming meat. The conservancy’s goal is to create 10 land generations is a constant across the globe. For day-to-day management of the reserve, trust reserves in China by 2020 with partners, Now land trusts, in a new form, may have the the foundation sponsored the creation of a local each employing a slightly different model to

26 LAND LINES OCTOBER 2017 27 demonstrate the flexibility of this approach, REFERENCES such as leasing land and turning it into a reserve, like in Sichuan Province, or assuming manage- Bradsher, Keith. 2017. “China’s Electric Car Push Lures ment responsibilities of an existing reserve. Global Auto Giants, Despite Risks.” New York Times, Beyond Laohegou, the Conservancy and its September 10. www.nytimes.com/2017/09/10/business/ china-electric-cars.html. partners are also exploring other models to demonstrate the flexibility of this approach, such Demographia. 2017. Demographia World Urban Areas, as civil societies assuming complete or partial Thirteenth Annual Edition. Belleville, IL: Demographia, management responsibilities of an existing April. www.demographia.com/db-worldua.pdf. reserve. To date, four land trust reserves, Fialka, John. 2016. “China Will Start the World’s Largest including Laohegou, have been created around Carbon Trading Market.” , May 16. the country in partnership with various local www.scientificamerican.com/article/china-will-start- entities, and interest continues to grow. the-world-s-largest-carbon-trading-market/. Borrowing the idea of the Land Trust Alliance Global Carbon Project. 2016. “Global Carbon Atlas: in the United States, the Paradise Foundation CO2 Emissions.” www.globalcarbonatlas.org/en/ and TNC China aligned 11 other international and CO2-emissions. domestic environmental NGOs to launch the ILCN (International Land Conservation Network). 2017. China Civic Land Conservation Alliance in 2017, “Locations.” www.landconservationnetwork.org/ aiming to catalyze the “China land trust move- locations.

ment” by providing a platform for communica- Leach, Anna. 2016. “Soak It Up: China’s Ambitious Plan tions, funding, standards, policies, and capacity to Solve Urban Flooding with ‘Sponge Cities.’” Guardian, building. The long-term vision of the Alliance is to October 3. www.theguardian.com/public-leaders- collaboratively protect 1 percent of China’s network/2016/oct/03/china-government-solve- terrestrial land by civic and private organizations urban-planning-flooding-sponge-cities. and individuals. Myers, Joe. 2016. “You Knew China’s Cities Were Growing, “The Conservancy will soon enter its twenti- but the Real Numbers Are Stunning.” Geneva, Switzer- eth year in China,” says Jin Tong. “We’ve complet- land: World Economic Forum, June 20. www.weforum.org/ ed a lot of work on the ground that draws on our agenda/2016/06/china-cities-growing-numbers- science-based approach and international are-stunning. expertise to find viable solutions to China’s most UNDP-WCMC (United Nations Environment Programme pressing environmental challenges, such as the World Conservation Monitoring Centre). 2014.“Mapping sponge city pilot project and the land trust the World’s Special Places.” www.unep-wcmc.org/ reserves. In collaboration with PLC, we could featured-projects/mapping-the-worlds-special-places. amplify the success of demonstration projects to Xiang, Bo, ed. 2017. “Chinese Vice Premier Stresses Green make larger-scale impacts and create enabling Development.” XinhuaNet, September 8. http://news. conditions to trigger systematic changes through xinhuanet.com/english/2017-09/08/c_136595063.htm.

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World Bank. 2017. “World Bank Open Data.” Accessed James N. Levitt is the manager of land conservation September 2017. Washington, DC: World Bank. https:// programs at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy and data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.POP.TOTL?locations=CN. director of the Program on Conservation Innovation at the Zhu, Lingqing. 2017. “China to Launch Carbon Emissions Harvard Forest of . Emily Myron is Market this Year.” China Daily, August 16. www.chinadaily. project manager of the International Land Conservation com.cn/business/2017-08/16/content_30686774.htm. Network at the Lincoln Institute.

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