Eco Forum in Ecological Guizhou

The inverted environmental Kuznets curve shows that various indicators of environmental degradation tend to worsen as modern economic growth occurs until average income reaches a certain point. China’s development also supports this hypothesis. After more than 30 years of rapid growth， the country is facing many environmental problems including smog， water shortages， soil degradation and resource scarcity.

So is the global ecological environment. The fifth report of IPCC （International Panel on Climate Change） shows that although more policies concerning climate change have been enacted， emissions of greenhouse gases continue to increase to record highs and only institutional and technological breakthroughs can help reach the goal of 2 degrees Celsius， or about 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit， agreed upon at the 2009 Copenhagen Accord as a limit for the global temperature rise.

Eco Forum

Held in Guiyang， Guizhou Province， from July 10 to 12， the Eco Forum Global Annual Conference Guiyang 2014 drew over 2，000 domestic and foreign guests from governments， academia， enterprises， UN organizations， NGOs and media. Since its founding in 2009， the Guiyang Eco Forum has become a platform for spreading ecological concepts and promoting exchange between decision-makers from all walks of life as well as accelerating the construction of an ecological civilization.

The concept of an ecological civilization was born of human reflection on traditional civilizations， especially industrial civilization which， over the past two centuries， created modern society and enhanced great social progress， but at the same time wreaked massive damage on the planet. Therefore， an ecological civilization which advocates respect for nature as well as its laws is the only real choice for human beings. In February 2013， the United Nations Environment Program （UNEP） first added Chinese ideas of ecological civilization to its documents， marking the recognition and resonance of China’s ecological civilization concepts in the international community.

This year’s eco forum， themed “Joining Hands， Leveraging Reforms to Bring Forth a New Era of Eco Civilization，” tackled concerns of both China and the world. The forum covered four categories， namely green growth and industrial transformation， social harmony and inclusive development， eco security and environmental governance， and ethical values and civilization.

“More than environmental protection， ecological civilization is a cultural pillar determining which ethical values characterize our lives，” remarks Zhang Xinsheng， secretary general of the forum. “Ecological civilization is the demand of the era. Like China， other countries around the world are facing many ecological problems such as PM2.5 and water scarcity. These problems cannot be solved by one city， one country or one continent. What we need is a global strategic platform.” Zhang asserts that without an ecological civilization， economic growth cannot be sustained and inclusive growth cannot be realized， and the results will lead to greater wealth inequality.

Eco Guizhou

Guizhou Province， headquarters of the eco forum， boasts a distinctive ecological environment featuring diverse landscapes including mountains， valleys， waterfalls， karst caves and forests. Dubbed ‘the park province，’ the land serves as the ecological protective screen for the Yangtze and Pearl rivers. Guizhou’s nature reserves cover 5.5 percent of its total area and forests cover 48 percent. Additionally， Guizhou’s resolve to develop through green growth aligns with the purpose of the eco forum. The environment of China’s eastern seaboard has paid dearly for local development， following developed countries’ model of “pollute first， treat later.” Guizhou， however， favors green mountains and clear rivers over environmentally-destructive revenue. Over the last three years， Guizhou rejected energy-intensive， high-polluting and low-benefit projects worth 30 billion yuan （about US$4.8 billion）. In 2009， when former British Prime Minister Tony Blair attended the eco forum， he visited a Guizhou village where marsh gas was popular with locals. He was so impressed that when he returned to the UK， he penned an article to introduce the Guizhou villagers’ low-carbon and energysaving practices.

Skeptics note that as one of the least developed provinces in China， Guizhou is talking ecological civilization too early in its evolution. However， Guizhou’s practices already prove that ecological civilization can go hand-in-hand with economic growth. Conforming to ecological civilization concepts， Guizhou updated its industrial structure and extended its industrial chain with more added value to realize circular and low-carbon development. Additionally， Guizhou combines eco-tourism with diverse ethnic cultures to attract great numbers of domestic and foreign tourists to experience ‘colorful Guizhou.’ In 2011 and 2012， the economic growth rate of Guizhou ranked third and second respectively nationwide and in 2013， its increase of GDP reached 14 percent， tops in the country.

Guizhou has already become a national model for ecological civilization concepts， but Guizhou people have an even greater ambition： become “Switzerland of the East.” Situated in an inland mountainous region， Guizhou shares similar geographical conditions with Switzerland. Since 2010， Guizhou has implemented the strategy of development driven by new industrialization and urbanization， during which time Guizhou has learned much from Switzerland’s experience. Actually， Guizhou can learn more from its European sister in terms of managing the environment， professionals and capital. At the subforum “Sino-Swiss Dialogue” at this year’s eco forum， Zhao Wei， professor at the Center for Research of Private Economy of Zhejiang University and guest professor at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology， opined that Guizhou should follow Switzerland’s path of development aimed at a balance between economic growth and ecological preservation.