THE FUTURE IS GREEN

As the country’s development charts a new course, the environment comes into focus By Li Li

LIVABLE AGAIN: Baotou, a major steel producer in north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, has brought its once-infamous air pollution under control after massive government investments in environmental projects over the past decade

Yu Xiaolan, a farmer from Cuijiayao Village, Youyu County in north China’s Shanxi Province, and a delegate to the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC),said she was thrilled when hearing Hu Jintao,former General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, advocating ecological progress while delivering a report at the five-yearly congress.

Yu’s home county used to be a desert area plagued by sandstorms. Thanks to massive reforestation programs, its forest coverage rate has risen from 0.3 percent more than 60 years ago to the current 53 percent.

Yu, 46, who has planted trees in formerly barren mountains totaling more than 667 hectares over the past 20 years, has been awarded several times for her work. “In my hometown,green development is a concept deep in our mindset. Reforestation programs have involved many people,” she told Beijing-basedEconomic Information Daily.

Delivering his report, Hu said, “We must give high priority to ecological progress, work hard to build a beautiful country and achieve the lasting and sustainable development of the Chinese nation.”

China has been aware of the severity of the burden of pollution and energy consumption amid its economic miracles over the past decades.

At the 17th CPC National Congress in 2007, Hu advocated ecological progress for the first time in his report. The term was also translated as “conservation culture” or“ecological civilization” in official documents.

In 2008, China elevated the State Environmental Protection Administration to a full- fl edged ministry, which is tasked with“stepping up environmental improvement and ecological protection and accelerating the building of a resource-saving and environmentally friendly society.”

The country has pledged in its 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-15)to cut energy consumption per 10,000 yuan of the GDP($1,605)by 16 percent while slashing carbon emissions by 17 percent before 2015. That will help China meet its pledge of reducing carbon intensity by 40-45 percent by 2020 from the 2005 level. China’s use of wind farms and the use of solar-powered water heaters both top the world.

In his report at the 18th CPC National Congress, Hu called for efforts to preserve more farmland, and leave to future generations a beautiful homeland with green fi elds,clean water and a blue sky.

A REVIVED LAKE: Tourists visit a wetland park on Erhai Lake. Improved sewage management has had a dramatic effect on water quality

Such a move of elevating environmental protection to higher strategic importance immediately attracted wide attention. While a focus on protecting the environment is welcomed by aspiring local government officials who are ready to promote their cities and provinces as tourism and investment destinations, environmental NGOs who desire a bigger say in public affairs also applaud the unprecedented emphasis on environmental ideals.

Chen Baosheng, Vice President of the Party School of the CPC Central Committee and a delegate to this year’s CPC congress, said that Hu’s report shows China will pursue an energy-saving and environmentally friendly development path featuring harmony with nature and cast away the traditional path of extensive development.

Fan Hesheng, a sociologist from east China’s Anhui Province, said that the emphasis on green development reflects the CPC’s deepened understanding on the relationship between nature and humanity. “The Party shows sense of responsibility for future generations and the world as well,” Fan said.

Yu, who plans to open a small hotel in the countryside to woo urban residents with fresh air and organic food, believes such development can bring farmers immediate benefits. “The scale of organic livestock farming will be expanded and slaughter and processing facilities will be built so that local farmers will have higher incomes,” she said.

A FACELIFT: (above)Coke ovens smolder on a hill in Linfen City, north China’s Shanxi Province on September 6, 2005. (below)Linfen enjoys a clear day on May 31, 2011, after the local government closed down more than 700 energyintensive and highly polluting factories between 2006 and 2007

Consonant voices

Erhai Lake is the most famous tourist attraction in Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture,southwest China’s Yunnan Province, with its picturesque beauty. It has long been regarded by local people as Mother Lake since fish from the lake is an important food source.However, it was severely polluted in the late 1990s when new factories sprang up. Sample tests showed water in the lake was suitable only for irrigation, not for human contact. A massive blue-green algal bloom in 2003 was a wake-up call for local government of fi cials,who then decided to revolutionize Dali’s development model. The same year they launched an environmental publicity campaign to protect the lake.

Yin Jianye, Party chief of Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture, toldChina Youth Dailythat over the past 10 years or so, the local government has closed down a large number of polluting factories around Erhai and spent billions of yuan improving its water quality.

Now a beautiful natural environment has become Dali’s competitive edge.

Yin said the water quality in Erhai has recovered so much that it is currently suitable as drinking water and a habitat for endangered animals. The environmental recovery has also boosted local tourism. Last year, Dali received a record 15.6 million tourists. The number is expected to surpass 18 million this year.

Yin said after several ups and downs, local officials have realized that emphasizing ecological progress can expand an area’s development space.

Wang Jiangping, Director of Guizhou Provincial Commission of Economy and Information Technology, was repeatedly asked during the 18th CPC National Congress whether Guizhou, a less developed landlocked province, would accept investment proposals from energy-intensive and highly polluting factories relocated from China’s eastern areas.

Wang said that Guizhou used to welcome such proposals, but times have changed.According to Wang, the province has closed down many cement, metal alloys, paper and leather factories with obsolete production facilities since the beginning of this year, which incurred a total loss of 60,000 jobs and 8 billion yuan ($1.28 billion)in its GDP.

“Although the local economy may suffer in short term, longterm sustainable development with a better industrial structure is more likely,” Wang said, adding that a recycling economy is replacing a resources-based economy in Guizhou.

When Li Jun, Party chief of Guiyang, the provincial capital, spoke at a panel discussion on Hu’s report during the 18th CPC National Congress, he shared his surprise at how many times “ecological progress” appeared in the report.

“In Hu’s report at the 17th CPC National Congress in 2007, ‘ecological progress’ only appeared twice in one paragraph while in his report at this congress the term appears 15 times in seven paragraphs.”

Li believes that such emphasis is not unnecessary. He said that the Chinese public is now highly sensitive to environmental issues and many of Guiyang’s local petitions are about environmental pollution.

“We are obligated to meet people’s demands for a clean environment, including clean drinking water, fresh air, safe food and beautiful surroundings,” Li said.

Promising activism

ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVIST: FangMinghe (right), 28, founder of Green Eyes China, an environmental NGO, witnesses the release of an injured egret into thewild after nurturing it back to health onApril 19

In recent years, China’s environmental NGOs have become more active as they receive more government support and funding from the corporate world.

In 2010, a consortium of 34 environmental NGOs, under the name of Green Choice Alliance, conducted research on farmland contamination by heavy metal, which drew heavy media attention. They found that several China-based contract manufacturers of major global IT brands were responsible for heavy metal contamination in their vicinities. After releasing a report, the groups asked 29 major brands, including Apple and Vodafone, to provide more information about the Chinese facilities where their products are made. Eventually, the groups succeeded in revving up pressure on companies like Apple,which initially refused to answer questions about pollution regulation across their supply chains.

China’s environmental groups have also gone beyond the country’s borders to promote global public action. At the UN Climate Change Conference in Durban, South Africa,in December 2011, Chinese NGOs jointly organized an event to promote the C+ Initiative,a climate change effort with the slogan“Beyond Government Commitment, Beyond Climate Change, Beyond China.”

Li Ruinong, a long-time observer of environmental NGOs in China, is pleased with their increased participation in broader regional and national issues.

Zhang Yadong, Director General of Green Longjiang, a youth environmental group founded in 2002, is dedicated to protecting the environment in northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province. Zhang toldChina Industrial Economy Newsthat the organization has effectively cooperated with government agencies when organizing activities, especially environmental awareness campaigns. The government has also offered Green Longjiang assistance in fi nding and releasing companies’ environmental records. Zhang said that this progress should be attributed to the public’s growing awareness of the work of environmental NGOs in recent years.

On June 29, the Environmental Protection Bureau of Wuxi in eastern Jiangsu Province,offered cash grants to five environmental NGOs, 5,000 yuan ($803)each, to support their work on government-initiated projects.It was the first time a government environmental agency in the province gave fi nancial assistance to environmental NGOs.

“The money is not much, but the act has given us great con fi dence,”China Industrial Economy Newsquoted an anonymous member of one NGO as saying.

Meanwhile, more companies are also pooling money to support environmental efforts outside the government.

In May 2011, Alibaba Group, China’s largest e-commerce company, announced a plan to earmark 0.3 percent of its annual revenues to fund efforts designed to boost environmental awareness and conservation in China and around the world. Last year, the company’s revenues hit $2.8 billion.

Since 2000, the Ford Conservation &Environmental Grants have become the best known annual environmental protection award that is independently organized by the private sector in China.

According to the award’s website, by the end of 2011, 278 environmental NGOs and individuals in China had received awards totaling 12.6 million yuan ($2 million).

“As China develops rapidly, it is experiencing environmental problems in a relatively short space of time that more developed economies had centuries to tackle.”

—Zhou Shengxian, Minister of Environmental Protection

Meanwhile, many environmental NGOs are struggling for survival due to financial difficulties. According to research conducted by Professor Deng Guosheng at the School of Public Policy and Management at Tsinghua University, many NGOs misused earmarked project management fees for administrative purposes, including paying for of fi ce rent and staff salaries. Many alleg-edly cheat in their accounting records just to make ends meet.

BIRDS PARADISE: Black-necked cranes rest in a nature reserve in Ninghai County, Guizhou Province, the world’s largest winter habitat for black-necked cranes created jointly by thelocal government and NGOs

A GREEN BANK: Liu Yucai, a farmer in Youyu County,Shanxi Province, works in his forest of Scots pine. The forest of nearly 4 hectares on formerly barren land has brought him handsome fi nancial rewards

Deng toldBeijing Reviewthat to make China’s NGOs stronger and more influential, the government should purchase more services from grassroots NGOs in order to alleviate their fi nancial pressure and cut back on registration requirements.

Pleasing the masses

Last year, Zhang Shiyou, a farmer in east China’s Anhui Province, led a protest by local farmers demanding the closure of a chemical factory next to their village. He took photos of dead fi sh in a pond and crops dying in fi elds submerged by the factory’s run-off. After the protest, with the help of local media organizations and environmental NGOs, the chemical factory and local government together pooled 200 million yuan ($32 million)to clean up the environment and compensate farmers for relocation.

“We are satis fi ed with the compensation deals, but we still worry that there could be projects with environmental hazards we don’t know about,” Zhang told the Xinhua News Agency. “The public wants more transparency and to have a larger part in decision making.”

According to a survey by the Xinhua News Agency, environmental pollution has become one of the three major causes for protests in China together with illegal land acquisitions and labor disputes. Most protests over environmental concerns were sparked by projects being launched without approval or for failing to adequately assess their impact on local communities.

“The government will increase transparency and public involvement in decisions regarding major projects with a potential environmental impact,” Minister of Environmental Protection Zhou Shengxian said at a news conference on the sideline of the 18th CPC National Congress on November 12.

“As China develops rapidly, it is experiencing environmental problems in a relatively short space of time that more developed economies had centuries to tackle,”Zhou said.

In 2012 alone, three violent protests against the construction of chemical projects near residential areas broke out in Shifang in southwestern Sichuan Province and the eastern cities of Qidong in Jiangsu Province and Ningbo in Zhejiang Province.All the projects were eventually scrapped.

Zhou said that central authorities require all large projects to undergo stringent risk assessments and the Ministry of Environmental Protection will work with other government agencies to ensure the rules are followed.

Liu Zhibiao, President of the Jiangsu Provincial Academy of Social Sciences, said that once a protest occurs over environmental concerns, the local government always immediately announces the abrogation of the project at stake. He warned that such practice could greatly compromise China’s industrialization process.

Liu suggested that public representatives,NGOs, education programs, environmental monitors and legal agencies should be encouraged to participate in the decision-making process.

“Promoting ecological progress must rely on institutional building and we urgently need to perfect environmental decisionmaking involving public participation,” said Wang Kaiyu, a sociologist from the Anhui Provincial Academy of Social Sciences.

Wang said that relationship between protests and government concessions are fundamentally attributed to the conflicts between rising public awareness and current ways that governments administrate environmental issues. He believes that governments should survey public opinion before a project is given the go-ahead and should release timely information about the current state of the environment.