Title: The Human and Natural Environments of China
1The Human and Natural Environments of China
2Environmental Infrastructure
- Policy Making - State Environmental Protection
Agency (SEPA)
- EPBs and EPOs
- Monitoring - National Environmental Quality
Monitoring Network
- Other Agencies
3VERTICAL vs. LATERAL APPROACHbasic structure of
Chinas approach to the development of
environmental policies
- Lateral - public demand for regulation of
economic activities give rise state regulations.
Heavy involvement of NGOs. (United States)
- Vertical international concern gives rise to
state initiated regulations. Government monopoly.
(China)
4WHY VERTICAL factors supporting the vertical
political institution
- Poverty and focus on growth
- Limited environmental information
- Limits on public participation and efficacy
-
- Sims, 1999
5INSTITUTIONAL OBSTACLES as impediments to
states effort to develop enforce standards
- Economic Growth Imperative To get rich is
glorious.
- Weak Legal Framework
- Weak Law Enforcement
- Regional Disparities
- Guanxi connection economy
-
- Sims, 1999
6STRUCTURAL OBSTACLES for enforcement of standards
- Fragmented Authority
- Bureaucratic Complexity
- Decentralization as an Institutional Deficiency
- Weak Position of NEPA (until recently)
- Small Institutions, Large Problems
- Sims, 1999
7CHINESE POLICY HISTORYGovernmental efforts to
address environmental problems, 1974-97
- 1974 formation of State Council Environ.
Problems Leading Group
- 1978 Economic Reform Program launched
- 1979 Environmental Protection Law enacted
- 1983 Govt. declared environmental protection
basic national policy
- 1987 NEPA gained cabinet status ? SEPA
- Air Pollution Prevention and Control Law
promulgated
- 1992 China among first nations to act on Rio
agenda
- issued Ten Strategic Policies for
Development and the
- Environment
- 1996 State Council approved Ninth 5-Year Plan
for Environmental
- Protection.
8Environmental Issues
- Land Use
- Agriculture
- Deforestation, Nature Reserves
- Water Shortages / Pollution
- Energy
- Coal
- Renewables and the Future
- Air Pollution
- Solid Waste and Consumerism
9Land Use
- Agriculture
- Land Degradation
- Deforestation
- Nature Reserves
10Distribution of Cropland
Agriculture
- Majority of production in south and east
- Rice in south
- Wheat in north
http//www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/china.html
11Where have all the flowers gone?
Agriculture
12Direct Causes of Land Loss
Agriculture
Table 15 Major Causes of Arable Land Degradation
in China, 1996 (1,000,000 hectares) Category
Area Per cent Erosion 40 48.1 Ar
id land degradation (desertification) 15 18.0
Salinization-alkalization and water-logging
6 7.3 Pollution 10 12.0 Total
83.2 100.0
Edmonds, Managing the Chinese Environment
13Indirect Land Loss I
Agriculture
- Industrial, urban, infrastructure development
- Intrusion of polluting industries
14Indirect Land Loss II
Agriculture
Table 7 The Impact of State and Collective
Construction, Peasant House-building, Structural
Adjustment in Agriculture, and Natural
Disasters on Arable Land Availability China,
1987-1991 Proportion of arable land loss resul
ting from State Collective House
Structural Natural
Year construction construction building
adjustment disasters 1987 11.2
5.8 5.1 63.5 14.4
1988 11.4 4.5 3.4 57.1 2
3.6 1989 2.3 5.4 3.7 55.4
23.2 1990 13.1 7.2 3.5 60.0 1
6.3 1991 13.0 7.5 2.3 52.4 24.
9
Edmonds, Managing the Chinese Environment
15State of Food Resources
Agriculture
- UN Projects 0.06 hectares/capita for 2025 (1/10
of US)
- Chinese government committed to policy of grain
self-sufficiency, although has not met this goal
in past 40 years
- Worlds 1 producer of pork, eggs, wheat, cotton,
tobacco, rice
16Notes for Future
Agriculture
- Land reclamation in north-east and north-west
- Built over land extremely difficult to return to
production
- Health effects
- Aquaculture
- Global climate change?
17Deforestation in China
Forests / Reserves
- China low on forests / capita (1/8 global
average)
- Most pressure on forests?
Timber / Logging production nearly doubled in
1980s alone
Fuel forests provide 40 of fuel for rural
households
18Nature Reserves
Forests / Reserves
- First nature reserve founded in 1956
- Reserve system covers United States? Costa Rica?
- Concerns over habitat fragmentation
4.7
25
19Expansion of Reserve System
Forests / Reserves
20Less , mo problems
Forests / Reserves
- Growth in national reserve system not accompanied
by growth in financial support
- 30 million Chinese live in poverty in and around
reserves (50 total)
- Govt encourages local EPBs, reserve managers to
diversify funding sources
21Nature Whats?
Forests / Reserves
- fully exploit the resource advantages of nature
reserves and on the basis of strengthening
conservation, rationally open up utilization,
develop your own industries, and increase
reserves abilities for self-accumulation and
self-development
Edmonds, Managing the Chinese Environment
22Issues on Reserves
Forests / Reserves
- Lack of funding
- Intensified pressure outside of reserves
- Local poverty
- Weak central body vs. local collectives
- Lack of coercive power
23Legend of Yu
- When widespread waters swelled to the Heaven and
serpents and dragons did harm, Yao sent Yu to
control the waters and to drive out the serpents
and dragons. The waters were controlled and
flowed to the east. The serpents and dragons
plunged to their places.
24WATERfactors leading to water scarcity and
lowering water quality
- Extreme weather ? floods droughts
- Irrigation ? contamination, unsustainable
extraction, inefficient system wasting 60 on
average
- Heavy Sedimentation ? floods
- Industrial pollution ?contamination
25POLLUTIONas an industrial and agricultural
factor leading to quality degradation
- Sources of pollution
- 1. untreated municipal industrial waste water
discharge
- 2. agricultural run-off
- 3. leaching from industrial solid waste
- 4. discharge and spills from water crafts
- Figure 7.1 and 7.2 pg. 90 blue water clear skies
- Effects
- 1. Much of Chinas River is below Grade 3
quality (minimum standard for potable water
system)
- 2. unsafe water ? disruptive relocation of water
supply ? shortage
- 3. transmission of infectious diseases
26Water factors leading to water scarcity and
lowering water quality
- Urbanization ? unsustainable extraction
- Underinvestment in water supply infrastructure ?
inefficient delivery
- Outdate production technology ? waste
- Coal based 500-1000 tons water
- 1 ton ammonia
-
- Gas based 12 tons water
- 1 ton ammonia
- Upstream development ? river diversion
27WATER POLICIESfrom centralization to
decentralization to market oriented
- Central govt. allotted water to filial
- provinces and districts ?
competition1949
-
- Decentralization during Water Reform gives local
government more authority ? competition among
local authorities1979
- Water Law enacted to allocate water quotas to
- Provinces ? overuse1987
- Water Law amendment - market oriented 2002
- 1. withdrawal rights
- 2. water resource fees
- 3. centralized control over diversion
28(No Transcript)
29Case study Yellow River Basin Dispute
- The background
- Drought in 2002, Yellow River run-off below YRCC
minimum.
- YRCC cut off some irrigation water gates to
- Shandong ? heavy crop loss switched to
- ground water use ? danger of overdrafting.
- The conflict
- Shandong went to Beijing and begged for water.
- Beijing ordered YRCC to grant Shandong water at
expense of other provinces.
- The result
- YRCC diverted water from upper river provinces
Ning Xia and Inner Mongolia ? heavy agricultural
damages.
-
30Lessons from the Yellow River Basin Dispute
- One of the many interregional water conflicts
happening in China.
- Fear of re-allocation causes provinces to max out
their quotas to protect their allocation.
- Government should foster conservation instead of
encouraging overuse by
- 1. compensating provinces that lost water due to
diversion
- 2. allowing trading of water allocations
- 3. imposing fines on provinces that exceed
their quota
- 4. increasing coordination and cooperation
between water provinces to keep water allocation
fair and water use efficient.
31WATER POLICIESFuture outlook on policies. Toward
a market-oriented approach
- Endorse polluter liability
- Price increase to account for externalities
- Preferential taxation
- Rehabilitation projects
- Invest in sewage systems
- Loans to support environ. sound technology
32OBSTACLES
- State owned factories have no identifiable owner
? cant be sued
- Local resistance
- Economic growth imperatives still strong despite
social costs
- Institutional deficiencies still exist
33Energy and China
- Why high energy consumption?
- China 25 gigajoules / capita 1/2 global
mean 1/5 Japanese
- Economic security, healthcare, education not
associated with lower than 50 GJ
34Coal
Energy I
- Huge, high grade coal reserves
- Largest producer of coal in world
- Supplies almost 80 of total energy needs
- Dependence unlikely to change in coming decades
(coal dominating expansion of electricity
generation)
35Coal and the Environment
Energy I
- Dirtiest of fossil fuels (particulate matter,
SOx, etc)
- Average sulfur content 1.2 (not high)
- Some southern coals up to 5 (localized
acidification)
- High levels of arsenic, flourine
36AIR POLLUTION
- 6 of 8 most polluted cities in the world are from
China
- Air pollution (outdoor and indoor) associated
with
- - premature deaths
- - chronic bronchitis
- - lung cancer
- - sever respiratory illness
- - acid rain
- Social cost 3 GDP
37AIR POLLUTION statistics
- 21 million tons SO2 are emitted into the
atmosphere each year
- 14 million tons of smoke-filled dust
- 13 million tons of suspended particulate matter.
- WHO, 1998
- World Bank estimate
- - fine particulate emission will increase 35
between 1995 and 2020
- - nitrogen oxide will increase rapidly from
1995 2020 due to
- increased oil consumption by motor
vehicles
- - sulfur dioxide will increase by 150 by 2020
38AIR POLLUTION
- Major Causes
- 1. coal consumption from industry and coal
burning stoves
-
- few coal-fired power plants in China have flue
gas
- desulferization equipment ? increase in sulfur
emission
- China is the worlds largest producer and
consumer of coal
- (Cook, 2002)
- 2. low energy-efficient vehicular traffic
-
- Chinese vehicles emit
- 2.5 to 7.5 times more hydrocarbons,
- 2 to 7 times more nitrous oxides
- 6 to 12 times more carbon monoxide
- .than foreign vehicles
39AIR POLLUTION POLICIES1995 and 2000 Air
Pollution Prevention and Control Law
- Shift toward total emission control instead of
concentration from point source control
- Increase power of SEPA and local environmental
bureau
- Promote and encourage use of clean-coal
technology
- Demarcate areas where sales and emission of
pollution are prohibited
40INSTITUTIONAL OBSTACLESto implementing air
pollution standards
- Weak Central Govt
- Municipal environmental protection authorities
are more beholden to local governments than to
SEPA.
- Guanxi
- Local governments are often major shareholders
of polluting enterprises ? conflict of interest.
- Economic Growth Imperative
- Many local governments are also concerned about
unemployment if they close down polluting
factories or mines producing low-quality coal.
41Alternatives to Fossil Fuels?
Energy II
- Nuclear Power
- Wind (Inner Mongolia)
- Geothermal (Tibet)
- Solar (Arid Interior)
- Hydropower
42Hydropower!
Energy II
- China has greatest potential for hydropower in
world
- How to take advantage of it
Three
Gorges
Dam
!!!
43SOLID WASTEconsequences of consumer culture and
industrialization
- Average house hold income increased 74.5 since
1994 rise of factories urbanization
population growth ? consumer culture cultivated ?
increase in solid waste - Waste increase by 10 per year
- Beijing besieged by 4700 rubbish dumps
44SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT
- Central govt. create waste management policies
- Implementation of policies left to municipal and
provincial govt.
- Implementation of environmental standards
regarding solid waste in the hand of Local
Environmental Protection Agency
-
45OBSTACLES
- Inadequate and inefficient landfill systems and
facilities
- Lack of funding for waste management
infrastructure
- Lack of recycling technology
46Case study WHITE POLLUTION
- Two types of WHITE POLLUTION
- 1. agricultural plastic waste
(firms)
- 2. post-consumption waste
- (individuals)
- Embrace of Western consumerism
- ? 21 increase in demand for plastic
47DEFICIENCIES IN REDUCING WHITE POLLUTION
- Institutional
- City Sanitation Bureau on same hierarchy as
local EPB ? lack of EPB influence on CSB
-
- CSB primarily collect and treat. No incentive to
encourage environmentally sound behavior.
- Economic
- Lack of economic incentive to use alternative
- Lack of funding for collection system
- Social
- Lack of public environmental awareness
- No incentive to discourage littering
-
-
48Concluding Remarks
- International Participation
- The Role of NGOs
- Remaining Challenges for China
49INTERNATIONAL PARTICIPATION
- Motivation for Chinas involvement in the
international environmental policy arena
- 1. Foreign loans and investments
- Membership in World Bank, UNESCO, UNDP, Asia
Development Bank
- 2. Trade and other diplomatic privileges.
- Montreal Protocol, Convention on International
Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and
Fauna have provisions for trade sanctions in case
of non- compliance - 3. Sharing of scientific knowledge and
technology
- 4. Sharing cost of environmental protection
50NGOs and goNGOs
- goNGOs Government Organized NGOs
- Made of every ministry of the central government
- Claim to an environmental or social mandate.
Promotion of Green Culture.
-
- Sccept funds foreign organizations that don't
want to give money directly to the government.
- Support all government environmental initiatives
w/o criticizing ineffective policies or
practices.
- Ex China Cultural Academys Green Cultural
Branch, Global Village Cultural Centre, Green
Earth Volunteers
51Bilateral Activities
- Belgium UN Food and Agriculture Organization ?
Green Great Wall sand fixation effort
- Japan Asia Development Bank? Promotion of clean
production technology, coal dependency reduction,
solar power harnessing.
- Canada Sustainable Development Research Institute
? regional sustainable development case study for
Pearl River Delta
- European Union ? improve factory efficiency with
new production techniques.
52NGOs in CHINA
- Difficult to establish because
- 1. non-governmental nature seen as
subversive to Communist Party
- 2. need sponsorship to establish
- tie to government
- 3. seen by goNGOs as competitors of
limited resources
- Face obstacles due to lack of influence
53NGOs FUNCTIONS
- Educate the public on environmental problems
- Promote public involvement
- Lobby government on issues regarding
environmental policies
- Ex Chinese Society for Environ. Sciences, China
Environmental Culture Promotion Society, China
Environmental Protection Fund
54The Environmental Future?
Inspired by Green China (Murray and Cook)
55Recap of Major Challenges
- Defining role of local vs. national environmental
actors
- Funding of EPBs
- Guanxi
- Environmental education / public participation
- Responding to global climate change
- Population growth