In this reading, Anne Osborne discusses interactions between highlands and lowlands in the lower Yangzi region under the Qing. The basic conflict between pressures towards economic intensification versus ecological preservation and social stability drove development and expansion during this time. There was high pressure on land productivity and demographic expansion, but many developments were unsustainable and and resulted in various ecological and social costs.

Discuss an example of unsustainable development somewhere in the world and its resulting ecological and social costs.