China’s Efforts in Sustainable Development: A Test Case for Nigeria’s Environmental Sustainability Goals

The drive by nations to attain economic and social developments adversely affects the ecological balance of the environment. The challenges of maintaining a balance in the state of the global environment have become the major focus of many governments and the committee of nations at large. The global tool for measuring Environmental Sustainability ranks China among the highest on the global ecological footprints. It shows that a country like the United States draws its place due to its large consumption per person, while China on the other hand draws its place largely due to its enormous population. The complex nature of this value with regards to the increasingly fragile worldwide environment, suggests that the old paradigms of growth cannot work for China where the available resources face critical challenges of sustainability. China therefore presents a paradigmatic test case for environmental sustainability studies. Nigeria on the other hand shares peculiarity with China as the largest country in Africa with regards to population. Though Nigeria is presently a low technology based economy, however, with its abundant natural resources and the vision to joining the league of emerging global economies, Nigeria faces increasing challenges with the management of its share of environmental pollution. This paper aims at identifying the various resource and environment related challenges facing the Chinese and the actions put in place towards achieving a cleaner environment as a model for addressing sustainable environment issues in emerging economies like Nigerian.


Introduction
Nigeria is a fast growing third world country with a large population and econ-omy. With its approximately 184 million inhabitants, Nigeria is referred to as the most populous country in Africa and the seventh most populous country in the world. As at 2015, Nigeria is regarded as the world's 20th largest economy, worth more than $500 billion and $1 trillion in terms of nominal GDP and purchasing power parity respectively. It overtook South Africa to become Africa's largest economy in 2014. With its present status, Nigeria is considered to be an emerging market and is often listed among the next eleven economies set to become among the biggest in the world. However, with the big expectations of economic development come the challenges of environmental degradation.
The purpose of this study is to outline the dynamics associated with economic development and their impacts on the environment. It presents the environmental sustainability challenges often associated with economic development, using the Chinese experience as a case study for emerging economies like Nigeria. With poor awareness on the issues of environmental management, Nigeria is yet to make significant progress in the areas of environmental sustainability.
Sustainability in general terms, can be defined as the ability to maintain balance of a certain process or state in any system. In an ecological context though, sustainability is defined as the ability of an ecosystem to maintain ecological processes, functions, biodiversity and productivity into the future [1]. In recent times, sustainability has become a complex term that is applied to almost every system on Earth and is expressed in human organization concepts like; eco-cities, sustainable cities, and further into human activities and disciplines such as: sustainable environment, sustainable agriculture, sustainable architecture and renewable energy [2]. For humans to live sustainably, the Earth's resources must be used at a rate at which they can be replenished. However, according to recent data, there is now clear scientific evidence that humanity is living unsustainably, and that an unprecedented collective effort is needed to return human use of natural resources to within sustainable limits [3].
Ever since the 1980s, the idea of sustainable human well-being has become increasingly associated with the integration of economic, social and environmental spheres. In 1989, the World Commission on Environment and Development (the Brundtland Commission) articulated what has now become a widely accepted definition of sustainability which is stated thus: "to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meeting their own needs" [4].
Recent definitions classify sustainability to be of three dimensions often taken to be: environmental, social and economic, known as the "three pillars" [5].
These can be depicted as three overlapping circles to show that they are not mutually exclusive and can be mutually reinforcing. According to English environmentalist and author Jonathon Porritt, "The economy is, in the first instance, a subsystem of human society which is itself, in the second instance, a subsystem of the totality of life on Earth. And no subsystem can expand beyond the capacity of the total system of which it is a part" [6]. For this reason, it is rational to place economy as the critical component of society in both cases is bounded by and dependent upon the environment.
Since the launch of its "Open Door" policy in 1978, China's economic growth has been remarkable. Over the last 15 years, the average rate of economic growth has been 10.1% per year [7]. China now has the second largest economy in the world. Large foreign direct investment and the increased role of market forces have facilitated the country's integration into the global economy. With reference to Jonathon Porritt's theory as mentioned above, the effects of China's rapid economic growth, industrialization and urbanization have generated high pressures on China's environmental conditions, with challenges to health and natural resources. However, the Chinese authorities having acknowledged the state of the deterioration of the environment are promoting more balanced patterns of development, using such ideas as harmonious society and scientific development. Their reactions to this included planning for national economic and social development with more emphasis on environmental management efforts, modern environmental legislation, strengthened environmental institutions, and higher priority to environmental and natural resources management. Despite these efforts, there still abound numerous challenges like in the resultant air pollution in some Chinese cities that reaches levels that are among the worst in the world, coupled with challenges in waste management, desertification, and nature/biodiversity protection. This paper thus examines the progress made by China since the 1990's and evaluates the extent to which the country's domestic objectives and international commitments are being met, with interest on drawing a profile for the Nigerian sustainable environment objectives.

China's Economic Development and the Impacts on the Environment
China's economy which can be said is mostly energy driven has been on the rise since the 1980's. The use of energy and its associated environmental impacts in China reflects remarkable economic development over the past three decades.
China's economic growth has resulted in per capita income in excess of $5000 (on a purchasing power parity basis) thereby lifting several hundred million people out of poverty since 1978 [8], probably the most successful poverty-reduction program in history. However, while China has about 20% of the world's population, its GDP per capita is still low (with USD 6000 for China compared to USD 25000 for OECD countries at PPP 2000) and this is unevenly distributed across the country, resulting in wealthier coastal provinces and less-developed western provinces. In this light, large migrations from rural to the more prosperous urban have contributed to rapid urbanization which stands at 43% of the population. Statistics shows presently that China today manufactures one out of every three tons of steel produced globally, and the Chinese domestic market consumes approximately 90 percent of that production [9]. Evidently too, the emerging middle class in China for instance, drives a rapid increase in automobile ownership, as the Chinese car market now exceeds the German and Japa-nese markets and will likely pass domestic sales in the United States in coming years [10]. China's phenomenal economic growth developed substantial investments in its energy infrastructure. In the past twenty years, power generation has increased ten-fold, and the rate of growth in installed capacity continues to in- With its rapidly growing economy and as the world's most populous nation, China faces great stresses on its resources and environment. Its environmental issues have often a strong international dimension, reflecting regional environmental interdependencies like trans-boundary air and water issues, regional seas pollution, desertification and global economic and environmental interdependencies. The environmental pressures and demand for energy and other resources associated with China's rapid economic development dramatically underlines questions about the environmental sustainability of current production and consumption patterns globally. One of the serious negative consequences of the China's rapid industrial development has been the consequential increase in air pollution, climate change and degradation of natural resources (see Figure   1).
China's polluted environment can be argued to be largely as a result of the country's rapid development and consequently a large increase in primary energy consumption, which is primarily provided by coal power plants [11]. Through this study, the significant environmental problems that pose the greatest challenges to China's sustainable environment which can be related to the Nigerian context are classified as follows: • Industrial pollution; • Desertification and river cessation; • Water pollution; • Air pollution; • Greenhouse gas emissions; • Conservation; • Climate change.

Industrial Pollution
One of the most severe environmental problems of an industrialized economy is industrial pollution. This is usually brought about by many years of improper For instance according to the guardian.co.uk report filed on the China's Mother River (the Yellow River), claims that severe pollution caused one-third of the Yellow river unusable for agricultural or industrial use, due to factory discharges and sewage from fast-expanding cities [12]. Previously in 1997, the World Bank issued a report that targeted China's policy towards industrial pollution. The main summary points were likewise based on the severe effects of the industrial pollution on health and natural eco system [13]. into the system the previous year totaled 4.29 bn tones and according to it, industry and manufacturing made up 70% of the discharge into the river, with households accounting for 23% and just over 6% coming from other sources.

Desertification and River Cessation
Geologically, approximately 30% of China's surface area is desert land. However, China's rapid industrialization could cause this area to drastically increase. According to reports, the Gobi Desert in its northern region currently expands by

Water Pollution
Despite all of its technical efforts in regional water supply, China still faces enormous challenges in certified quality water supply according to the WHO standards. Almost 90% of underground water in its cities is affected by pollution out of which 80% of the rivers fail to meet standards for fishing [15]. It is also feared that 90% of its urban water bodies are affected to varying degrees [16] (see Figure 3). Consequent to these, sporadic water scarcity develops across the regions. For example, quality water scarcity in mostly northern China is a serious threat to sustained economic growth and has forced the government to be-

Air Pollution
With its massive population, surging economy, and nascent car market, China has become the world's second largest consumer of petroleum products and among the biggest producers of carbon dioxide. Although it's environmental laws are among the strictest in the world, but enforcing these laws has been difficult in the past resulting in more polluted cities. According to its own evaluation, two-thirds of the 338 cities for which air-quality data are available are considered polluted with almost two-thirds of them considered as moderately or severely polluted. Table 1 shows the air quality standard of China's cities from 1999 to 2005. According to the World Bank, the cities with the highest levels of particulate matter (PM2.5) are in China and they rank among the ten most polluted cities in the world by the measure of air quality standards [18]. Figure 4 shows the levels of particulate matter concentration in China's provinces.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Rapid development and reliance on coal to power developing economies is often identified as responsible for the dramatic increase in carbon dioxide emissions.
For instance, in 1980, China's carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel combustion comprised 8 percent of global emissions. This increased to 10 percent by 1990, and advanced to 12 percent by 2000. Figure 5 shows different forecast

Conservation Challenges
Wild life and related conservation in China has become an international issue due predominately to the fate of the Giant Pandas in the region. Conservation has traditionally been of low priority, but progress has been made in recent years. The first wildlife refuge located at Dinghu Shan in Guangdong province, was created in 1956, since then, the number has grown to over seven hundred nature reserves covering almost six percent of the country. The government agencies managing these reserves have collaborated with a variety of external organizations since 1980, when the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) helped establish a giant panda conservation program. UNESCO counts ten Chinese reserves among its international network, a status which has encourage international funding for further conservation projects in mainland China. Moreover, driven by the growing international focus on its entry into the WTO, the Chinese government itself has shown a growing commitment to conservation in recent years.

Climate Change in China
Study indicates that by 2020, and probably earlier, China is expected to replace the United States as the number one generator of global warming emissions [22].

Environmental Impact and Challenges of Sustainable Development
According to the Environmental Sustainability Index (ESI 2005 shown in Table   2), which ranks countries based on such measures as health, governance, technology, and international cooperation, it places China 133rd out of 146 countries (with an ESI score of 38.6), Nigeria is placed at 98th out of 146 (with ESI score of 45.4). The ESI analysis is intended to quantify the likelihood that a country will be able to preserve valuable environmental resources effectively over the period of several decades. Conversely, it evaluates a country's potential to avoid major A country is more likely to be environmentally sustainable to the extent that its vital environmental systems are maintained at healthy levels, and to the extent to which levels are improving rather than deteriorating

Reducing Environmental Stresses
A country is more likely to be environmentally sustainable if the levels of anthropogenic stress are low enough to engender no demonstrable harm to its environmental systems

Reducing Human Vulnerability
A country is more likely to be environmentally sustainable to the extent that people and social systems are not vulnerable to environmental disturbances that affect basic human wellbeing; becoming less vulnerable is a sign that a society is on a track to greater sustainability

Social and Institutional Capacity
A country is more likely to be environmentally sustainable to the extent that it has in place institutions and underlying social patterns of skills, attitudes, and networks that foster effective responses to environmental challenges

Global Stewardship
A country is more likely to be environmentally sustainable if it cooperates with other countries to manage common environmental problems, and if it reduces negative trans-boundary environmental impacts on other countries to levels that cause no serious harm environmental deterioration [24]. Another measure of environmental impact is the ecological footprint, which estimates the amount of biologically productive land used per capita. One source places the amount of such land at 2.0 hectares per person on planet earth [25]. The World watch Institute, by contrast, estimates China's footprint at 1.6 hectares and the United States' at 9.7 hectares [26].
With an enormous, and still growing, population, and an economy growing even faster, China's swelling environmental impact with regards to the per capita environmental impact is simply enormous. Undoubtedly, if China were to come close to the per capita environmental footprint of the most developed countries as shown in Table 3, its impact on the global environment imaginably would be catastrophic.

Strategies for Achieving Environmental Sustainability in China
China's comprehensive and modern set of environmental laws, together with its    is evidence that local leaders in some of the richer provinces are responding to demands from the public for better environmental conditions, and are recognizing the benefits to the economy and the society. It is currently recorded that more than 8000 companies are registered under ISO 14000.

Improvements in Waste Management
In the area of waste management, China significantly decoupled the generation of municipal and industrial waste from economic growth. Concerning industrial solid waste, the country met and surpassed the targets set out in the 9th and 10th FYPs with respect to recovery, reuse of waste material and safe disposal in landfills. China also stepped up its efforts to put in place an adequate legal framework for modern waste management by adopting a cleaner production law in

Improvements in Natural Conservation
In the area of nature and conservation, China has established a comprehensive legal framework for managing nature and biodiversity, which includes wildlife and marine protection as well as terrestrial and marine protected areas. China actively reports on its international commitments and also publishes annual state of the environment reports related to its internal goals and targets. Protected areas at the national, provincial, prefecture and county levels have been dramatically increased over the review period, and China has received international recognition for its wetlands, biosphere reserves, and natural and cultural heritage preservation programs. Outside of protected areas, ecological considerations have led to afforestation of large areas. New forestry initiatives have been taken to further develop shelter forests in arid, mountainous and coastal areas, to streamline forest management and to promote farm forestry on land sensitive to soil erosion. Along with the nation's ongoing efforts to check pollution, China's forest coverage has risen constantly for almost two decades, increasing the nation's contribution to the world carbon dioxide absorption. Various environmental protection programs within the country have begun to recognize the value of environmental outreach for alien species and endangered wildlife. With this comes a regular increase in the number of world heritage sites and Ramsar wetlands presently in China.

Towards "Harmonious Society" and Environmentally Sustainable Development
China has achieved some significant improvements to its environment during the recent years. And with its efforts towards achieving a sustainable development plan, includes promoting more balanced patterns of development, using concepts such as "harmonious society" and "scientific development". This initiative included planning for national economic and social development that covers environmental management efforts. Its overall Harmonious society initiative includes: 1) Integration of environmental concerns in economic decisions, 2) Integration of environmental and social decisions and 3) International Co-operation in addressing environmental challenges.

Environmental Governance and Progress in Environmental Policy Implementation
Numerous avenues have been explored in mitigating China's environmental crisis, and implementing these reforms required an effective governance structure. crucial. There has been a sea of change in the formerly authoritarian and isolated approach to lawmaking in the Chinese government in this regard [28].
To express its level of commitment, a total of 256.6 billion yuan (see Figure 7 below   could provide about 750 billion kWh of electricity, which is more than the African continent's current annual electricity consumption. This demonstrates that gas flaring is not only a hazard to the environment, but also a complete waste of natural resource that could be put to productive use or conserved if treated.

Limitation of Study
This study had challenges with identifying data collection centers on environmental statistics in Nigeria. This is attributed largely to the poor support for data collection by professionals in the related fields owing to inadequate understanding of the role of environmental statistics in the national development. The relevant agencies in the ministry of environment lack appropriate materials and equipment for data collection, processing, storage and dissemination, hence bureaucratic bottlenecks are used to impede effective data sourcing. Information available for this study was mainly sourced through NGO and academic platforms.
Research work in sustainable environmental issues cuts across the activities of

Conclusions
This paper discussed the various challenges in achieving environmental sustainability, relative to the economic, social and environmental backdrops. By presenting the experiences of other industrialized economies like China, it lines out ideas that may be adopted in addressing sustainable environment issues.
Through this study and review of China's performance along the years, the following lessons can be presented for Nigeria's existing environmental sustainability plans especially with regards to the overall challenges in its population management, economic development and environmental goals: 1) Imbibing the concepts of "Harmonious society" in national and economic development plans, thereby extending the nation's economic base beyond the present petroleum and regional based centers hence, promoting more balanced patterns of development. 3) International co-operation in addressing environmental challenges and inculcating such initiatives as clean production, controlling pollutant discharge and promoting ecological preservation.