colleagues and brought together scientists from both sides to develop a methodology for environmental auditing which is usable in China.” The complementary approaches of the Chinese and the Dutch scientists are very useful for measuring the environmental performance and impact of large projects, Professor Lü finds. “We need to know the environmental impact of China’s rapid urbanisation, of the expansion of the chemicals industry, or the ongoing construction of the express railway network. What are the potential risks posed by these developments for the local environment? What is the impact of these projects on the living standard of people who have to be relocated?” Understand Professor Lü also sees the need to develop a method for assessing what happens if an environmental disaster occurs. He explains: “We need to be able to assess whether the economic value of an industry or project outweighs the damage that it might cause if disaster strikes.” At the same time, tools are needed to measure people’s awareness and behaviour regarding environmental issues. “If we get people to understand these issues, they may change their lifestyle or dietary habits to benefit the environment. To really understand human action, we need to look at this matter from the perspective of environmental sociology too. That is something the Dutch are very good at, which makes our cooperation very useful.” PhDs According to Professor Lü, the sheer size of China gives the Dutch scientists unique opportunities. “Our cooperation gives them the chance to tackle problems of a scale and complexity unknown in the Netherlands. In addition, we have a large number of young and very smart people who can conduct the fieldwork for our research.” Since 2004, the teams led by Professors Lü and Mol have published more than forty papers in international peer-reviewed journals and jointly supervised several PhD candidates. Together, they have promoted the application of strategic environmental assessment, auditing, and risk management in policy-making.
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