The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is the largest and most ambitious global infrastructure initiative ever planned. It presents a suite of both well-known and novel challenges and opportunities to natural and social systems. However, the BRI’s large challenges for development and conservation are not obvious and require extensive consideration to identify. 

In a study published in Trends in Ecology and Evolution, a group of experts explored important issues for the BRI that have been overlooked and whose implications have been underestimated. They identified 11 frontier issues that may have large environmental and social impacts but are not yet recognized. 

According to the study, the frontier issues included threats to karst-based ecosystems via extraction for cement, BRI expansion to the Arctic, and the impacts of geopolitical rivalry on environmental and social standards and on building in conflict zones. 

Moreover, they pointed out some other issues of important influence, including the potential spread of microbial species, the growth of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in BRI countries, and opportunities arising from more inclusive governance and partnership with local and indigenous communities. 

“Many of the issues that we identified in our Horizon Scan, particularly: TCM supply chain tracking, harmonization of environmental standards, geopolitical rivalry, and building in conflict zones, suggest that China will need to increase its participation in the structures of global environmental governance”, said Dr. Alice C.Hughes of Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (XTBG). 

The researchers thus suggested that new cooperative modes of governance are needed to balance a wide range of geopolitical, societal, and environmental interests. 

“We consider that upgrading global environmental standards is a prerequisite for ensuring a more sustainable and equitable BRI that can play a role in safeguarding the future of ecological systems and human societies”, said Dr. Alice C.Hughes. 

Contact 

Alice C.Hughes Ph.D Principal Investigator 

Center for Integrative Conservation, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Menglun, Mengla, Yunnan 666303, China    

E-mail:  achughes@xtbg.ac.cn