Delegates to the 3rd International Conference on Environmental and Economic Impact on Sustainable Development contributed the peer-reviewed papers contained in this book. The papers discuss the most serious problems affecting sustainable development. They consider the impact of economic constraints on the environment, taking into account the social aspects as well as the over-use of natural resources. Uncontrolled development can also result in damage to the environment in terms of the release of toxic substances and hazardous waste. Thus, attention is paid to issues related to whether some forms of development are compatible with environmental protection, particularly in cases of possible serious contamination and toxicity. The focus in the book is on more constructive and progressive approaches to the problems discussed, to ensure sustainability. The hope is that through the shared experiences of experts, we can learn from past failure, to avoid repeating similar mistakes, while attempting to prevent emerging threats to the environmental and ecological systems. Fundamental to these concepts are an analysis of the inherent risks and the development of appropriate strategies. The papers in the book address such topics as: Environmental policies and planning; Environmental assessments; Development issues; Sustainable cities; Economic impact; Natural resources management; Energy and the environment; Food production systems and policies; Ecosystems health; Soil contamination; Remediation; Decommissioning of hazardous plants; Brownfields rehabilitation; Water resources management; Air and water pollution; Toxicity studies; Pollution and public health; Environmental health risk; Community participation; Legislation and regulations.

China is in the throes of two transitions: from a command economy to a market-based one and from a rural, agricultural society to an urban, industrial one. So far, both transitions have been spectacularly successful. China is the fastest-growing economy in the world, with per capita incomes more than quadrupling since 1978, achieving in two generations what took other countries centuries. Although swift growth and structural change have resolved many problems, they also have created new challenges: employment insecurity, growing inequality, stubborn poverty, mounting environmental pressures, rising costs of food self-sufficiency, and periods of macroeconomic instability stemming from incomplete reforms. Unmet, these challenges could undermine the sustainability of growth, and China's promise could fade. China 2020, a seven-volume set, examines China's recent history, where it is today, and the path it should follow during the first two decades of the 21st century. The volume in the set entitled, Old Age Security: Pension Reform in China highlights two severe difficulties with China's current pension system: the urgent and immediate problem of the pension burden placed on state-owned enterprises, and the longer-term predicament arising from a rapidly aging population. State enterprises inherited heavy pension obligations from the central planning era. With the transition to a market economy, employment in the state enterprise sector is declining, while the number of pensioners is rising rapidly. The study recommends a unified pension system that includes both mandatory funded individual accounts and a social insurance scheme. It also endorses a sustainable contribution rate that attaches considerable importance to long-term financial viability (more than 60 years) and examines the risks associated with low compliance rates and low interest rates.