International Master of Environmental Policy (iMEP)
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Master's projects by students in the Duke Kunshan International Master of Environmental Policy program.
The masters project is done in partial fulfillment of the degree requirements for the professional Internaional Master of Environmental Policy degree. While the MP may include original laboratory or field research, it may also take the form of management plans, handbooks, educational curricula, or other such products. Each student is advised by a faculty member who reviews and approves the project prior to completion.
A masters projects that is original research should not be as large as a masters thesis although it should be of publishable quality but not necessarily comprehensive enough to stand alone as a publication. A masters projects that does not follow the usual format for scientific research should follow a framework that is considered good practice in an appropriate field.
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Browsing International Master of Environmental Policy (iMEP) by Type "Master's project"
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Item Open Access A Guideline of China’s City-Level Decarbonization Planning --- With a Case of an Island City in Northern China(2023-04-28) Yi, Siying; Lu, YifeiUrgent action is needed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate global warming, which leads to ecosystem degradation, extreme weather events, and economic and human risks. The Paris Agreement's goals can be achieved by establishing emission reduction targets and decarbonizing the economy. China, the largest emitter of greenhouse gases, aims to reach carbon peaking by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060. Urban areas account for 85% of China's emissions, making it crucial for cities to adopt decarbonization measures to fulfill the national targets. Therefore, many city governments have developed decarbonization plans to explore low-carbon development opportunities. Based on a client project, this policy report focuses on the Chinese context and aims to provide practical knowledge for urban development planners, policymakers, and the public interested in decarbonization issues. The report clarifies the concept of decarbonization planning and provides a comprehensive planning guideline, including greenhouse gas inventory, future emissions forecast, setting decarbonization targets, and developing action plans specific to the region. To illustrate the practical application of the proposed guidelines, the report also includes a case study of an island city in northern China. The GHG inventory shows that the study area's emissions decreased by approximately 56% from 2016 to 2021, primarily due to the promotion of electrification in various industries. The LEAP model-based emissions forecast for the next 40 years reveals the feasibility of the island city achieving carbon neutrality by 2035 under a stringent low-carbon scenario. Based on this analysis, we design and compile a decarbonization action plan for the island city, presenting information on guiding ideology, principles, cross-cutting strategies, necessary decarbonization initiatives for specific sectors, and capacity-building guarantee systems.Item Open Access Assessing the Changes in Rosewood Import in China under CITES Regulations: Based on Provincial-Level Data(2024-04-21) Deng, Boya; Mao, YuyaoThis paper provides a comprehensive analysis of the impact of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) on the importation of rosewood furniture in China. The research utilizes Chinese customs data from 2015 to 2022 and employs the Difference-in-Differences (DiD) method to evaluate changes in import patterns. Contrary to the expected decrease in rosewood imports due to trade restrictions, the study reveals a paradoxical surge in importation. This unexpected trend is explained through the lens of the Green Paradox theory, suggesting that the anticipation of future restrictions on resource extraction can lead suppliers to intensify their extraction and sale efforts in the short-term, resulting in an accelerated pace of resource extraction. The study identifies a clear seasonality pattern in rosewood imports, with low levels in the first quarter of the year and high levels in the subsequent quarters. This pattern is congruent with the marriage rate in China, indicating a cultural influence on resource consumption patterns. Furthermore, the research uncovers a potential substitution effect and investment shifts following the implementation of CITES regulations. Regulatory measures can alter the relative attractiveness of products, leading to unintended shifts in consumer and producer behavior. In the case of rosewood, making the resource scarcer or more difficult to legally acquire can enhance its desirability as a status symbol or investment, thereby driving up demand. This increased demand can have the perverse effect of making illegal trade more lucrative, further endangering the resource the policy aimed to protect. The study also highlights the limitations of the DiD approach, particularly the assumption that the treatment and control groups would have followed similar trends over time in the absence of treatment. The observed pre-treatment uptrend in the treatment group and the increase in post-treatment imports suggest that the DiD estimate might be biased or confounded by factors not controlled for in the model. In conclusion, this paper offers significant insights into the effectiveness of CITES regulations and their implications on resource extraction, market responses, and environmental conservation. These findings highlight the need for carefully designed policies that account for the complex dynamics between market behavior, economic principles, and environmental sustainability. Future policies should consider market dynamics, behavioral economics principles, and the unique characteristics of resources like rosewood to mitigate adverse impacts and ensure the intended conservation goals are achieved.Item Open Access Exploring the Perceptions of Local Citizens towards the Hangzhou Trap-Neuter-Release (TNR) Program and its Outcomes(2023-05-02) Li, YingThis paper highlights the issue of a large number of stray cats in China and emphasizes the need for proper intervention to prevent further problems. The Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) program policy has been implemented in many countries to control the overpopulation of stray cats, which has proven to be effective. However, in China, the TNR program has only been implemented in a few mega-cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and others. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the perspectives of local citizens on the Hangzhou TNR program, including its necessity and results. To achieve this, surveys and qualitative interviews were conducted to capture the viewpoints of both supporters and opponents of the program. The research collected information from a diverse group of citizens to gain a comprehensive understanding of public attitudes towards the TNR program for the stray cat community. Surveys are particularly valuable in providing insights into public perceptions and support for the program. They can reveal people's knowledge and experiences with stray cats, their assessment of the effectiveness of the TNR program, their level of support for the program, and their recommendations for improving it. Interviews were also conducted with local animal protection non-governmental organizations (NGOs), hospital directors, and relevant businesspersons to gain insight into their knowledge of the TNR program. Additionally, a survey was conducted to gather data on local citizens' perceptions and attitudes toward stray cats and the TNR program. The collected data were analyzed to evaluate the effectiveness of the TNR program in reducing the number of stray cats in Hangzhou, China, while considering and improving the current dilemma.Item Open Access Green Is Not Enough: A Management Framework for Urban Biodiversity Friendly Parks(2023-05-05) Hu, MinThe potential of cities to conserve biodiversity is increasingly gaining more recognition and cities mainly contribute to biodiversity through planning and managing urban green spaces (UGS), for example, urban parks. Research finds that the ability of UGS to support biodiversity depends on several factors, and management activities are one of them. Urban parks are important urban infrastructures and are under a high level of management. Proper management after planning and construction is significant for meeting human needs as well as providing suitable habitats for wildlife. Therefore, understanding how urban parks are managed and operated is critical for urban biodiversity enhancement but accepts insufficient attention in China. This research focuses on the management stage of Chinese urban parks and tries to answer: how could urban parks effectively enhance biodiversity by changing management practices? Through identifying the improvement spaces and exploring the root causes including government failure and market failure, I propose a policy suggestion of a certificate of urban biodiversity friendly parks and generate a management framework as a tool for urban parks to make changes.Item Open Access Impacts of Governors’ Early-life Heatwave Experiences on Local Environmental Performance(2023-04-28) Li, JiahuanAs a main outcome of climate change, heatwave events have increasingly caused both physical and psychological trauma to human beings. This research investigates the mental influence of early-life heatwave experiences on the personalities of top managers and the subsequent impact on organizational performance. Specifically, the study examines whether public sector governors with early-life heatwave exposure promote local environmental outcomes during their tenure. Employing an ordinary least-squares (OLS) approach, the empirical analysis utilizes two unique datasets comprising the biographical experiences of 4018 municipal governors over the past 50 years and the pollution levels of 288 cities between 2000 and 2016. This study provides clear and robust evidence that early-life heatwave exposure significantly reduces jurisdictional CO2 emissions by 1.1% and PM2.5 pollution by 2.1%, despite variations in heatwave criteria. These findings supplement the top management literature and challenge the current belief of the public unawareness of climate change.Item Open Access Model the Hidden Cost of China’s 2060 Carbon Neutrality: Potential Biodiversity Impacts of Wind and Solar Energy Expansion(2023-05-04) Zhou, ZhijieLarge-scale renewable energy deployments, as urgent solutions to mitigate climate change and its consequences, are reshaping the landscape in the human-environment nexus. Albeit promoted as pathways to bend the curve of biodiversity loss through their emission reduction and habitat restoration potential, renewables require significant land assets per unit energy and could impose high cost to ecosystems, triggering potential conflicts between global climate mitigation and biodiversity conservation. As China expanding its landscape of large-scale wind and solar energy facilities to fulfill its ambitious “2060 Carbon Neutrality” goals, an assessment of the potential areas of such concerns at a high resolution can provide insights for stakeholders to effectively manage biodiversity impacts of renewable power transitions. This project used suitability analysis to identify and predict the potential land use conflict between wind and solar energy expansion and biodiversity conservation in China under the 2060 announced pledge scenario in contrast to the biz-as-usual model of renewables expansion rate. We also quantify the biodiversity impacts of such expansion scenarios by estimating the mean richness and rarity scores, along with ecosystem service values and conflicting zones with Key Biodiversity Areas. Although our results indicated the renewables expansion under China’s ambitious goals tend not to encroach a high ratio of prioritized areas for biodiversity, the potential impacts in regions without the strictest protection are still worth investigation, as illustrated in our case studies for the Qilianshan-Qinghaihu Region and Hainan Province. The study provides insights for decision-makers to develop renewable energy facilities while protecting biodiversity and ecosystem services.Item Open Access Spatial Variation of Greenhouse Gas Abatement Potential and Cost in Domestic Hot Water(2023-04-28) Yao, TianzhiUrban water systems have complex sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Due to its high energy consumption and intensity, domestic hot water contributes significantly to GHG emissions in the residential sector. A transition towards cleaner water heating, such as heat pumps, could dramatically reduce carbon footprint. This study investigates the spatial variation of GHG abatement potential and cost in domestic hot water across the European Union (EU). The abatement potential and cost of the same abatement scenario vary from country to country due to different economic and social contexts. Therefore, the optimal scenario for domestic hot water in each country is determined in consideration of national circumstances. Results show that climate and electricity grid mix are essential factors contributing to spatial variation. Findings suggest that the EU could phase out subsidies for traditional water heaters and replace them with incentives for heat pumps and solar water heaters.Item Open Access Using Different Response of Freshwater Algal Biomass to Limnological Parameters to Improve Harmful Algal Bloom Early Warning Strategies(2023-04-28) Ren, Yuxiang; Zhu, AnfeilinHarmful algal bloom (HAB) is a type of disastrous phenomenon taking place across the globe caused by certain overgrowing phytoplankton species that break the ecological balance in waterbodies. Early warning is a crucial step within the whole picture of HAB management, yet given that HAB can be caused by different algal species due to their distinctive optimal reproduction environment, few studies and policies have scrutinized such differences, leaving current early warning mechanisms less comprehensive. Based on 15 global long-term freshwater monitoring datasets, this study examines the relationship between algal population and major limnological parameters including total nitrogen, total phosphorus, nitrogen: phosphorous ratio, and water temperature. Results have indicated genera and species under the division Bacillariophyta and Cyanophyta are the most commonly observed alga across all lakes. Based on the locally weighted scatterplot smoothing technique (LOWESS) techniques, the paper has also found significant differences between division, genus, and species of dominant alga in terms of all four aforementioned limnological parameters. To enhance future HAB early warning mechanisms, management personnel and policy makers should focus on enhancing the taxonomic specificity of biomass monitoring and nitrogen: phosphorous measurement. Additionally, management efforts of each lake should be spent on the lakes’ unique dominant alga with significant differences along their taxonomic hierarchies.