Henry Nicholls
Henry is a journalist, author and broadcaster, specialising in evolutionary biology, conservation and history of science. His first book Lonesome George: The Life and Loves of a Conservation Icon was about the Galapagos Archipelago and global conservation.
He is also the author of The Way of the Panda: The Curious History of China's Political Animal, which charts the intertwined fortunes of giant pandas and China over the last 140 years. His third book, released in early 2014, is The Galapagos: A Natural History.
“Indeed, for those in the West inclined to be critical of China, here are few cautionary facts. With its absolutely massive population (1.33 billion or one-fifth of the world's population) it's obvious that China should have a massive impact on the world. Yet, it's one-child policy, for all the uncomfortable ethical questions it raises and the painful sacrifice made by millions of Chinese families, means that China's annual percentage growth rate is low relative to the global average (0.49 per cent versus 1.13 per cent). Even with a population more than four times that of the United States (1.3 billion versus 0.3 billion), China's ecological footprint is still less than that of the US (2456 million global hectares versus 2730 million global hectares). In 2009, China invested far more than any other country in the clean energy industry – $34.6 billion or 0.39 per cent of its gross domestic product compared to United States' $18.6 billion or 0.13 per cent of GDP. When it comes to reforestation, China punches way above its numerical and geographical weight, with massive initiatives like the NFPP and SLCP helping seed some 4 million hectares of forest every year, which is probably more tree planting than the rest of the world put together.”
Henry Nicholls