A Framework for Integrating Ecosystem Services into China’s Circular Economy: The Case of Eco-Industrial Parks

Identified as critical for sustainable development, ecosystem services are increasingly being put on the policy agendas of governments and corporations. China is now facing serious environmental challenges caused by losses of ecosystem services and recently has recognized that the country is reaching its environmental capacity. The circular economy (CE) has been positioned as a key strategy for national economic and social development by the national government as a way to resolve problems of resource depletion and environmental pollution. It will be increasingly critical to link ecosystem services to the CE. This means that the CE needs to be expanded to include restoration and regeneration of ecosystem services. This paper proposes a framework comprised of components including policies, governance, techniques and technologies, business development, key actors and support organizations for incorporating ecosystem services into the CE and focuses on industrial ecosystems, specifically eco-industrial parks (EIPs), as microcosms of a CE. Taking China as an example, this paper explores whether this framework can be applied to EIPs. The paper concludes that there are many opportunities to apply the framework to China’s EIPs.