China encompasses a wide range of natural environments and human communities. Focusing on specific regional changes over time, this book presents empirical studies that examine the diversity of interactions between peoples and their environments in China. Good Earths is organized around the themes of land, trees, water, and grasses - as scholars from China and beyond assess particular regional environmental issues drawing on both contemporary and historical sources. Each chapter examines a specific topic that sheds light on the relationship between peoples and environments in China, from the formation of the Pearl River Delta to the effects of the Three Gorges Dam Project and the socio-environmental significance of bamboo. Ecologically fragile belts, ethnic and environmental margins, ecologically motivated migration, deforestation and reforestation, pollution, and water use are just some of the issues examined. Good Earths thus provides an important account of key environmental issues facing China today.

About Editors and Authors

ABE Ken’ichi

ABE Ken’ichi is Professor at the National Museum of Ethnology, Japan. He completed his MA and Doctorate at Kyoto University, and specializes in Southeast Asian area studies, environmental anthropology and tropical ecology.

James E. Nickum

James E. Nickum, a resident of Japan with a PhD in Economics from the University of California (Berkeley), is currently Fellow of the International Water Resources Association (IWRA) and has served as Editor-in-Chief of the journal Water International since 2007. He is a widely published institutional economist specializing in various facets of water and environmental governance, especially, but not exclusively, in China. His current research interests include the water economies of global cities and the implications of populism and new technologies on water governance.