Sustainable agriculture for environment protection: results of eight years of cooperation between China and Italy

Summary

In China most of the population (about 60%) lives in rural areas, in poor conditions and still relies on agriculture as the main source of income. Several environmental problems have been caused by shifting to more intensive and polluting agriculture in order to address the increasing demand for food and the need of higher incomes of rural communities. With the present Chinese economic growth, urbanization and increased leisure time, tourism and recreation activities in rural areas are also increasing. Additionally, in the restructuring process of economy in rural areas, one of the most obvious effects is the necessity to create job opportunities alternative to agricultural sector. The role of sustainable agriculture fro environment protection in a country such as China is highlihted. The experience gained in the framework of the Sino-Italian Cooperation Program for Environment Protection jointly launched by the Italian Ministry for the Environment, Land and Sea (IMELS) and the State Environment Protection Administration of China (SEPA) in the year 2000, through the implementation of several cooperation projects in different rural areas of China is critically discussed