Growth, world heritage and sustainable development: the case of Lijiang City, China

Abstract

Economic and population growth increasingly threaten the sustainable development of world heritage sites. Given the lack of emphasis on the notion of sustainable development for cultural (and, to a lesser extent, natural) diversity in planning development in and around such sites, the notions of sustainability and heritage need to be combined in a conceptual perspective. The need for such an integrated approach and possibilities for it are explored in this Special Issue, with a focus on Lijiang City (China), a famous tourist city with UNESCO world heritage status due to rich cultural and natural diversity. The city is experiencing rapid development, characterised by human population growth, natural/cultural attractions and socio-economic pressure. Tourism development in Lijiang City has resulted in urbanisation, which alters the existing landscapes and threatens the integrity of the world heritage. Tourism development as currently practiced is unfavourable to the health of the industry in the long term. This self-contradictory mechanism explains the major conflict between short-term destructive development and sustainable development in Lijiang City. By reviewing 15 studies, this Special Issue highlights the economic, tourism and ecological challenges in sustainable development of Lijiang City and its surrounding area, and suggests a variety of solutions, including green spaces, digital technology in heritage protection, climate-sensitive land resource planning, etc. This preliminary work will provide a useful focus for sustainable development studies and assessment of performance of Lijiang City to both researchers and administrators, and will contribute to sustainable development of world heritage areas in China and elsewhere.

Keywords:

• heritage damage
• tourism expansion
• resource misuse
• urban sprawl
• natural/cultural attraction

Acknowledgement

The research in this Special Issue was mainly supported by the 100 Talents Program and Innovation Projects of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (KZCX2-YW-453, D-2009-02).