Belt and Road Initiative in Central Asia: Anticipating socioecological challenges from large‐scale infrastructure in a global biodiversity hotspot
Belt and Road Initiative in Central Asia: Anticipating socioecological challenges from large‐scale infrastructure in a global biodiversity hotspot
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DOI：
10.1111/conl.12819
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发表时间：
2021-06
影响因子：
8.5
通讯作者：
J. Foggin;A. Lechner;Matthew Emslie-Smith;Alice C Hughes;Troy Sternberg;Rafiq Dossani
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
J. Foggin;A. Lechner;Matthew Emslie-Smith;Alice C Hughes;Troy Sternberg;Rafiq Dossani
直到最近，中国的“一带一路”倡议（BRI）还忽视了其项目和行动的许多社会和环境层面，而倾向于更直接的经济和社会政治考虑。“一带一路”投资的主要重点是改善交通、电信和能源基础设施。然而，在中亚，生物多样性不仅是社区生计和社会经济福祉的基础，还塑造了人们的文化和身份。此外，从功能景观中获得的生态系统服务通过综合和跨界水系统为下游数百万人带来巨大利益。在气候导致的冰川融化的压力下，考虑到中国主导的大规模线性基础设施项目和相关投资带来的潜在危害，生态重要地区的命运已经得到了考虑。在回顾了“一带一路”倡议对该地区山区环境和社会的一些预期影响之后，我们重点介绍了几个新出现的机遇，然后为发展计划提出建议，从根本上提高“一带一路”投资的可持续性。建议利用新的机会加强伙伴国家的优先可持续发展目标，并加强其在选择合作以及环境影响和风险评估中使用的标准方面的作用。
Until recently, China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has overlooked many of the social and environmental dimensions of its projects and actions in favor of more immediate economic and sociopolitical considerations. The main focus of investments under BRI has largely been to improve transport, telecommunication, and energy infrastructures. However, in Central Asia, biodiversity is not only foundational for the livelihoods and socioeconomic wellbeing of communities, it also shapes people's culture and identities. Furthermore, ecosystem services derived from functioning landscapes bring enormous benefit for millions of people downstream through integrated and transboundary water systems. Already under pressure from climate‐induced melting of glaciers, the fate of ecologically important areas is considered in light of the potential harm arising from large‐scale linear infrastructure projects and related investments under China‐led BRI. Following review of some of the anticipated impacts of BRI on mountain environments and societies in the region, we highlight several emerging opportunities and then offer recommendations for development programs—aiming fundamentally to enhance the sustainability of BRI investments. Leveraging new opportunities to strengthen partner countries’ priority Sustainable Development Goals and enhancing their agency in the selection of collaborations and the standards to use in environmental impact and risk assessments are recommended.