Environment of China
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This article documents the environment of China.
One of the serious negative consequences of the People's Republic of China's rapid industrial development has been increased pollution and degradation of natural resources. Much solid waste is not properly disposed of. Water pollution is a source of health problems across the country and air pollution causes up to 750,000 premature deaths each year. China's polluted environment is largely a result of the country's rapid development and consequently a large increase in primary energy consumption, which is primarily provided by coal power plants. China has pursued a development model which prioritizes exports-led growth (similar to many other East Asian countries). The World Bank reports that 16 of the 20 most polluted cities in the world are in China.[1]
[edit] Environmental issues
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Efforts to control China's pollution problem have become a top priority of the Chinese leadership. In March 1998, the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) was officially upgraded to a ministry-level agency, reflecting the growing importance the PRC Government places on environmental protection. Beginning in 2006 the government greatly expanded expenses into environmental protection and a series of new laws have been passed. Enforcement of these laws is also being expanded. The PRC has strengthened its environmental legislation and made some progress in stemming environmental deterioration. During the 11th 5-Year Plan (2006-2010), the PRC plans to reduce total emissions by 10% and bring China's energy efficiency up 20%. Beijing in particular is investing heavily in pollution control as part of its campaign to host a successful Olympiad in 2008. Some cities have seen improvement in air quality in recent years. In the first half of 2007, China's total energy consumption per unit of output improved 2.8% and China's sulfur dioxide emissions fell by 0.6%, showing that these new measures have the potential to slow down environmental diarrea.[2].
Since 2002, the number of complaints to the environmental authorities has increased by 30% every year, reaching 600,000 in 2004; while the number of mass protests caused by environmental issues has grown by 29% every year.[3]
The Xinhua News Agency has quoted an environmental official, Wang Jinnan, as saying that more than 410,000 Chinese die as a result of pollution each year.[4] The Financial Times said a World Bank report, entitled Cost of Pollution in China, (prepared with the cooperation of the State Environmental Protection Agency)[5]found up to 760,000 people die prematurely each year in China because of air and water pollution. High levels of air pollution in China's cities leads to 350,000-400,000 premature deaths, it said. Another 300,000 die because of poor-quality air indoors. The newspaper article, quoting World Bank advisers and Chinese officials, also said research showing that there are 60,000 premature deaths each year because of poor-quality water.[6]
The Chinese government has placed a greater concern on environmental issues since the early 21st century. In 2004, the central government instituted the Green Gross Domestic Product project, in order to determine the true gross domestic product, adjusted to compensate for negative environmental effects. The results were so much worse than projected that the program was suspended entirely in 2007. In 2005, the eleventh five-year plan contained special emphasis on the nation's environmental degradation. In his annual address in 2007, premier Wen Jiabao made 48 references to "environment," "pollution," or "environmental protection."[7] In addition, the Chinese government attempted to hold national "No Car Days" throughout nearly 100 cities, including Beijing, in which cars would be banned on central roads. However, it was largely ignored.[8]
Industrial pollution has its most severe impact on the poor and in China, pollution incidents have been so serious as to be the cause of rioting in recent years. The lack of democracy and the level of corruption in development of factories and plants is a source of tension.
[edit] Soil problems and river cessation
Approximately 30% of China's surface area is desert. China's rapid industrialization could cause this area to drastically increase. The Gobi desert in the north currently expands by about 950 square miles per year. The vast plains in northern China used to be regularly flooded by the Yellow river. However, overgrazing and the expansion of agricultural land could cause this area to increase, in a process known as desertification. In the past 50 years, exploitation in the form of dams and other irrigation infrastructure have all but halted the river's natural course, threatening to dry up the entire river valley. The cessation of river flows, or flow stoppages, has surged since the 1980s due to increased water usage and waste. In 1997, the lower Yellow River did not flow 230 days out of the year, an increase of over 2000% since 1988. Increased erosion and sedimentation, especially on the Loess Plateau, has made the river much less navigable by ship. [9]
In 2001, China initiated a "great green wall" project. It is a project to create a 2800 mile "green belt" to hold back the encroaching desert. The first phase of the project, to restore 9 million acres (36,000 km²) of forest, will be completed by 2010 at an estimated cost of $8 billion. By 2050 the Chinese government believes it can restore most desertified land back to forest. The great green wall project is possibly the largest ecological project in history.[10] Starting in 2006, the Chinese government expanded protection for forests, banning logging and restricting the size of cities and golf courses to enhance land usage efficiency.
In many cases, local government officials have failed to enforce, or simply ignored environmental edicts made by the central government.
[edit] Water pollution
Almost all of the nation's rivers are considered polluted to some degree, and half of the population lacks access to clean drinking water. Ninety percent of urban water bodies are severely polluted. China grades its water quality in five levels, from Grade I to Grade V, with Grade V being the most highly polluted. [1] Water scarcity also is an issue; for example, severe water scarcity in Northern China is a serious threat to sustained economic growth and has forced the government to begin implementing a large scale diversion of water from the Yangtze River to northern cities, including Beijing and Tianjin.
An explosion at a petrochemical plant in Jilin City on November 13, 2005 caused a large discharge of nitrobenzene into the Songhua River. Levels of the carcinogen were so high that the entire water supply to Harbin city (pop 3.8M) was cut off for five days between November 21, 2005 and November 26, 2005, though it was only on November 23 that officials admitted that a severe pollution incident was the reason for the cut off.[11]
The responsibility for dealing with water is split between several agencies within the government. Water pollution is the responsibility of the environmental authorities, but the water itself is managed by the Ministry of Water Resources. Sewage is dealt with by the Ministry of Construction, but groundwater falls within the realm of the Ministry of Land and Resources.[12]
[edit] Air pollution
According to the People's Republic of China's own evaluation, two-thirds of the 338 cities for which air-quality data are available are considered polluted-- two-thirds of them moderately or severely so. Respiratory and heart diseases related to air pollution are the leading cause of death in China. Acid rain falls on 30% of the country. China's environmental laws are among the strictest in the world[citation needed], but enforcing these laws has been difficult in China. The World Health Organization has found that about 750,000 people die prematurely each year from respiratory problems in China.
According to the World Bank, the cities with the highest levels of particulate matter in the PRC in 2004 were Tianjin, Chongqing, and Shenyang. These were among the top ten most polluted cities in the world by this measure.[13]
[edit] Water projects
The question of environmental impacts associated with the Three Gorges Dam project has generated controversy among environmentalists inside and outside China. Critics claim that erosion and silting of the Yangtze River threaten several endangered species, while Chinese officials say the dam will help prevent devastating floods and generate clean hydroelectric power that will enable the region to lower its dependence on coal, thus lessening air pollution.
A large "south-to-north" water diversion project, will cost US$57 billion, take 50 years to construct, and divert water from China's four largest rivers to the municipalities of Beijing and Tianjin, and the province of Hebei.[14]
[edit] Carbon emissions and global warming
The People's Republic of China is an active participant in the climate change talks and other multilateral environmental negotiations, and claims to take environmental challenges seriously but is pushing for the developed world to help developing countries to a greater extent. It is a signatory to the Basel Convention governing the transport and disposal of hazardous waste and the Montreal Protocol for the Protection of the Ozone Layer, as well as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species and the Kyoto Protocol, although China is not required to reduce its carbon emissions under the terms of the present agreement. On June 19, 2007, the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency announced, based on an analysis of fossil fuel consumption (including specially the coal power plants) and cement production data, that China surpassed the United States as the world's largest emitter of carbon dioxide, putting out 6,200 million tons, to America's 5,800 million.[15]
China can suffer some of the effects of global warming, including sea level rise and glacier retreat.
[edit] Environmental protection
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[edit] Green strategy
Environmental protection has been a basic national policy since the 1980s. The State Environmental [16] Protection Committee was established in 1984 and the first Environmental Protection Law formally issued in 1989. After the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in 1992, China was one of the first countries to formulate and carry out a strategy of sustainable development. In 1993, the Environmental Resources Committee of the NPC was set up. So far, the state has promulgated eight laws for environmental protection, 14 laws for management of natural resources and 35 regulations on environmental protection. Environmental protection authorities have publicized over 100 national environmental protection regulations and more than 1,000 local ones.
Responding to stresses on natural resources caused by fast economic growth, development and urbanization, the state at the turn of the 21st century responded with a "green strategy" that includes developing a "revolving economy", increasing resource-use efficiency; developing clean production, reducing pollution cost in production processes; developing green consumption, reducing ecological impact of consumption; developing new energy resources, reforming production methods, moving toward ecological industrial civilization, and creating a balanced ecological environment.
Environmental protection is changing from the down-stream, after-the-event management of the past to today's whole-process supervision and control. The Cleaner Production Promotion Law and the Environment Impact Assessment Law, which went into effect on January 1 and September 1, 2003 respectively, provide guarantees to implement this strategy. The former requires full control over all the production links -- from production design, choice of energy resources and raw materials, technology, equipment maintenance, to waste recycling -- so as to reduce pollution and promote resource recycling. The latter requires all authorities at city level and above to make environmental impact assessments when making plans for land use, construction and development of districts, river basins and sea areas. In October 2002 the State Environmental Protection Administration authorized the presence of specialized personnel at the 13 key national projects to assess and control their environmental impact. These projects included the laying of pipeline transporting natural gas from western China to the eastern coastal areas.
[edit] Construction of eco-provinces
The Outline for National Eco-Environmental Protection promulgated in 2000 by the State Council advocated the energetic establishment of eco-provinces, ecocities, eco-counties and eco-townships. These eco-areas, whose objective is regional sustainable development, should simultaneously promote economic development, social progress and environmental protection in a unified way. Eco-designated localities should strengthen environmental protection and ecological construction, promote awareness, protect and improve the environment whilst also developing eco-industry and economy, and enhancing the quality of life. Today, trial projects are under way in eight provinces including Hainan, Jilin, Heilongjiang, Fujian, Zhejiang, Shandong and Anhui. Jilin has earmarked for 2001-2005 more than 38 billion yuan on eco-industry and eco-environment construction. Heilongjiang Province has been developing green products in line with its resources and industry. Zhejiang Province has included eco-construction into the work goal responsibility system for administrative heads at all levels of governments throughout the province.
The government is strengthening guidance and management over its ecological program activities and expanding trial ecological areas. By the end of 2004, the number of examined and approved state-level trial eco-areas had totalled 166.
[edit] Environmental protection funds and environmental protection industry
The government has gradually increased the proportion of GDP allocated to environmental protection from 0.72 percent in 1989 to 1.33 percent in 2003. Between 1998 and 2002, 580 billion yuan was invested in environmental protection and ecological construction across China, 1.8 times the total investment in this area for the 48 years between 1950 and 1997. In 2003, 136.34 billion yuan was invested in treatment of environmental pollution, 23.2 percent more than in 2002. Of the total investment, 78.53 billion yuan was used in construction of environmental infrastructure in urban areas, 18.84 billion yuan in treatment of sources of industrial pollution, and 38.97 billion yuan in environmental protection in new construction projects.
So far this century, China's environmental protection industry has grown at an average annual rate of 17 percent, far out-stripping the general economy. In 2002, the output value of China's environmental protection industry reached 220 billion yuan, compared to 4 billion yuan in 1992. At present, China's environmental protection enterprises are located mainly in more developed areas along the coast and rivers of eastern China, 6 percent being large enterprises with fixed assets worth more than 50 million yuan. Some analysts predict that this industry will maintain its fast momentum.
[edit] Pollution control
The quality of the environment has not at all improved even though there have been years of increased pollution control. According to some national plan targets which were released prior to 2005, by the end of 2005, discharge amounts of main pollutants would be 10 percent less than in the year 2000, this has not happened said a survey of air, land and water carried out in the year 2006
To solve the problem of environmental pollution caused by more and more electronic waste, relevant government departments are formulating a system of electronic waste management that extends producer responsibility. By requiring the producer to take partial or full responsibility for the environment where the electronic waste is abandoned, this system is meant to encourage greater consideration of the environment and use of more recyclable materials on the part of producers. At the beginning of 2004, Zhejiang Province and the city of Qingdao were designated as experimental sites for construction of a system of disposal and recycling of waste household electric appliances and electronic products.
Since 2003, the State Environmental Protection Administration has published an annual update on pollution control in national key river basins and sea areas. Since the Three Gorges Dam started to store water on 10 June 2003, water quality in the reservoir area has not changed much from before. To ensure a safe water environment in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area, the government planned investment of some 40 billion yuan between 2001 and 2010 for control of water pollution in the reservoir area and the upper reaches of the Yangtze River. According to the Plan for Control of Water Pollution in Three Gorges Reservoir Area and the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River, by the year 2010, water quality at the main control sections in the reservoir area and upper reaches of the river should have met the Grade II standard stipulated in the Environmental Quality Standard for Surface Water, and the eco-environment in the reservoir area should be much improved. The seriously polluted Taihu Lake Basin started to receive a special "infusion" treatment from 2002 -- clean river water was transported from the Yangtze River into this freshwater lake basin covering an area of 36,900 km². Since its inception, this project has made a distinct improvement to water environment of the Taihu Lake Basin, benefiting a population of nearly 10 million.
The program for prevention and control of water pollution, which started in 2001, planned five years of projects in 1,534 cities, with total investment of 103.63 billion yuan. These included schemes for sewage treatment, control and prevention of water pollution, control and prevention of agricultural and rural pollution, etc. Most of the projects have started, some are already up and running.
[edit] Protection of forests and control of desertification
Although China's forest cover is only 18%,[17] the country has some of the largest expanses of forested land in the world, making it a top target for forest preservation efforts. In 2001, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) listed China among the top 15 countries with the most "closed forest," i.e., virgin, old-growth or naturally-regrown woods.[18] 12% of China's land area, or more than 111 million hectares, is closed forest. However, the UNEP also estimates that 36% of China's closed forests are facing pressure from high population densities, making preservation efforts that much more crucial.
According to the Chinese government website, the Central Government invested more than 40 billion yuan between 1998 and 2001 on protection of vegetation, farm subsidies and conversion of farm to forests. [19] Between 1999 and 2002, China converted 7.7million hectares of farmland into forest. [20] In 2003, the Regulations on Conversion of Farmlands to Forest went into force. The project to reforest cultivated land has been implemented in 25 provinces, autonomous regions and centrally administered municipalities. By 2004, 13.33 million ha. of cultivated land had been reforested throughout China. Another effective measure of forest protection is the natural forest conservation program started in 1998 that stipulated a nationwide end to the felling of trees in natural forests.
As stipulated by the Research Report on China's Sustainable Development Strategy on Forestry, China's forest coverage rate is expected to reach 28% by 2050 with an added area of 110 million ha of planted forest.
Desertification is one of the most severe environmental problems facing China. The area of desertification, which is 2.62 million sq km or about 27 percent of China's land territory, far exceeds the nation's total farmland. Today, although desertification has been curbed in some areas, it still is expanding at a rate of more than 6,700 km² every year. 90% of China's desertification occurs in the west of the country. [21]
The State Forestry Administration has implemented a nationwide sand control program, which has three phases: the first phase aims to get basic control of desertification by 2010; the second phase aims then to reduce the area of desertification every year until 2030; and the third phase aims to raise the nation's forest cover and bring all desertification sources under effective control by the year 2050.
[edit] Nature reserves
China's first nature reserve was the Dinghu Mountain Nature Reserve, established in 1956 in Zhaoqing, Guangdong Province. At the end of 2004, there were 2,194 nature reserves of various kinds throughout the country, covering a total area of 148.23 million ha, and accounting for 14.8 percent of the total land territory. Protected through these nature reserves are 88 percent of the land eco-system types, 87 percent of the wildlife populations, 65 percent of the higher plant communities, nearly 20 percent of the natural forests, 50 percent of the China's marshland and wetland, main habitats of more than 300 precious and endangered species of wild animals, and major distribution areas for over 130 precious tree varieties.
Of all China's nature reserves, the Sanjiangyuan Nature Reserve established in August 2000 is the greatest concentration of biodiversity. Covering a total area of 316,000 km² and an average elevation over 4,000 meters, it is also the largest and highest. It is located in the central area of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, at the source of the Yangtze, Yellow and Lancang rivers. State-level investment totalling 220 million yuan has been put into the Sanjiangyuan protection project, which started in 2003. Guangdong Province has 209 nature reserves, the most in China, covering a total area of 3.17 million ha. Wolong and Jiuzhaigou in Sichuan Province, Changbaishan in Jilin Province, Dinghushan in Guangdong Province, Baishuijiang in Gansu Province are among the 27 reserves designated by UNESCO as "World Biosphere Reserves."
[edit] Wetland protection
China has 65.94 million ha. of wetlands, of which 36.20 million ha. are natural wetlands, ranking first in Asia and fourth in the world.
Widely distributed across China and widely varied, China's wetlands fall into 28 different types and 5 categories, including marine, river, marsh and reservoir. Since joining the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands in 1992, China's government has established 535 natural wetland reserves, including low beaches by seas, lakes and rivers and forest-edge wetlands. Of these 30, with a total area of 3.43 million ha, have been classified as Wetlands of International Importance, thus 40 percent of the natural wetlands and 33 key animal species under state protection are effectively preserved within the nature reserves. Thanks to effective protection, the Lalu Wetland in Lhasa, Tibet, the world's highest, largest natural wetland within a city, has stopped shrinking, expanding from under 6 km² at the end of the millennium to 6.2 km² today. Its vegetation coverage, most of it grassy marsh, is over 95 percent.
A National Plan for Wetland Protection Actions begun in November 2000 aims to stop human activity-related shrinking of natural wetlands by 2010, and to restore deteriorated or vanished wetlands by 2020.
The National Program for Wetland Protection Engineering, approved by the State Council in 2003, set these goals: by 2030 China will have 713 wetland reserves, including 80 Wetlands of International Importance, with 90 percent of natural wetlands effectively protected; at the same time, 1.4 million ha of wetlands will be restored, and 53 national model zones of wetland protection and proper exploitation will be built, forming a relatively complete system of wetland protection, management and construction.
[edit] Biodiversity
China has low biodiversity, boasting the world's [???] numbers of bird species and gymnosperm varieties. But China's biodiversity is faced with a critical situation: 15 to 20 percent of higher plant varieties are endangered, threatening the existence of 40,000 species of organisms related with them.
As one of the earliest contracting countries to the Convention on Biological Diversity, China has been active in international affairs concerning the Convention and vocal on important issues related to biodiversity. China is also one of the few countries to complete the Convention's action plans. The China Action Plan for Biodiversity Conservation, implemented in 1994, provided rules and regulations for many eco-environmental protection activities. According to the Law on the Protection of Wildlife, the highest punishment for crimes of damaging wildlife resources is the death penalty.
Emphasizing effective protection of biological resources, government departments have built and commissioned facilities for preserving genetic resources. In January 2003, the Chinese Academy of Sciences initiated a project to save endangered plants; its aims are to increase plant varieties under the protection of its 12 affiliated botanic gardens from 13,000 to 21,000 within 15 years, and to build a botanic garden covering a total area of 458 sq km, the world's largest. The project involves over 300 million yuan investment into collection of rare and endangered plants, and the building of gene banks, with the Qinling Mountains, Wuhan, Xishuangbanna and Beijing as the centers.
To help save endangered wildlife, 250 wildlife breeding centers have been established throughout the country, and special projects conducted to protect seven species, including the giant panda and red ibis. Giant panda numbers have risen from 1,100 to over 1,500 and their conditions continued to improve. The red ibis population has increased from seven to over 560, relieving that bird's endangered situation. The population of artificially bred Chinese alligators is nearly 10,000. The population of Eld's deer has increased from 26 to more than 800. The population of relic gulls has increased from 2,000 to more than 10,000. Sightings of tigers, rarely seen in recent times, have been reported in northeastern, eastern and southern parts of China. In the field of freshwater dolphin studies, China's scientific research on white-flag dolphins leads the world and research on artificial breeding of white-flag dolphins has accelerated. The Tibetan antelope population, which had shrunk sharply because of poaching, has now stabilized at around 70,000 thanks to persistent combat against poaching, in cooperation with many international animal protection organizations.
In August 2003, with the approval of the State Council, the State Environmental Protection Administration and 16 relevant departments established the Joint Meeting of Biological Species Resources Protection to coordinate and strengthen the protection work of the biological species resources; at the same time, the National Expert Commission on the Protection of Biological Species Resources composed of 17 experts was formed.
[edit] Marine protection
The Law on Protection of the Ocean Environment was promulgated in 1982, amended in 1999 and put into effect in April 2000. The amended law applies to the supervision and management of the ocean environment; to the surveying, monitoring, assessing and conducting of scientific research of the ocean environment; to the construction projects for control of ocean pollution; and to the ending pollution through ocean dumping.
The Blue Sea Action Program in the Bohai Sea, off the coast of North China and one of the country's most populous and developed areas, has made several restrictions on discharge of wastes produced by marine oil (gas) fields and ships and ocean dumping.
At present, over 80 natural marine reserves have been established throughout China, state-level reserves accounting for 24 of the total. These protect: marine shoreline, estuary and island bio-environments of great value for research, education and natural history; endangered marine animals (e.g., Chinese white dolphin) and their habitats; and typical oceanic eco-systems such as coral reefs and coastal wetlands.
[edit] International cooperation
China supports global environmental efforts and has played an active role in international environmental affairs. Since 1994 when the United Nations Framework Convention on Global Climate Change went into effect, China has adhered to its principles in international talks on climate change, adopting measures and defending the legitimate rights of China and other developing countries. In August 2002 China signed the Kyoto Protocol on climate change.
China ratified the Stockholm Convention on persistent organic pollutant (POPs) in June 2004. Aware of its importance, the government organized a lead team to draw up national plans and the State Environmental Protection Administration established a lead team and office for implementing the Stockholm protocols. China will take necessary legal, administrative and technical measures to reduce, control and dispose of persistent organic pollutants; and will handle them in a safe, effective and hazard-free way.
As a member state of the Global Environmental Fund (GEF), China has maintained a close cooperative relationship with the organization, an international fund-management partnership founded in 1992 that has become the world's largest investor in the field of international environmental protection. China is one of the few developing world donor countries, having played an active role in fund-raising. At the same time, the GEF has provided financial and technological assistance in helping China protect its environment and fulfil international treaties. China has undertaken dozens of projects with GEF help, receiving several hundred million US dollars in donations and becoming GEF's biggest beneficiary.
In the 1990s, the World Bank and China's State Environmental Protection Administration set out a vision for the sustainable development of China's environment in "China's Environmental Strategy Paper" and "Clear Water, Blue Skies: China's Environment in the 21st Century." In the past two decades, the World Bank has granted loans to 24 environmental protection projects in China, and assisted in obtaining donations from the GEF and Montreal Protocol for Chinese environmental projects.
Non-governmental environmental protection organizations from various countries in the world, such as the World Wide Fund for Nature and the International Fund for Animal Welfare, have successfully cooperated with Chinese authorities and non-governmental organizations in various fields. The "China Council for Cooperation on Environment and Development" consists of some 40 experts and acts as a senior consultancy to government. Since its establishment more than a decade ago, it has made many constructive proposals to the Chinese government and is respected abroad for its international environmental cooperation.
In 2004 China intensified activity in the field of international environmental cooperation; the State Environmental Protection Administration concluded 12 international environmental protocols and multi-lateral environmental negotiations; held the fifth China-Japan-South Korea Ministerial Meeting on the Environment; started the China-EU Ministerial Dialogue on Environmental Policies; paid mutual environmental visits to Japan, South Korea, Canada, France, Italy, Norway, Russia and Sweden; and signed the Memorandum of Understanding on Scientific and Technological Cooperation of Environmental Protection with the US Environmental Protection Agency. A breakthrough has been made in the Sino-US bilateral environmental cooperation. China also took part in WTO negotiations on trade and environmental issues.
[edit] Environmental ratings
The top five environmentally friendly cities:[citation needed]
The top five cities with most effective pollution controls:[citation needed]
The 10 cities with worst air quality:[citation needed]
[edit] See also
[edit] Topics
- Bioenergy in China
- China water crisis
- Coal power in China
- Debate over China's economic responsibilities for climate change mitigation
- Dongtan, Chinese ecocity
- Energy policy of China
- Geography of China
- Nuclear power in China
- Renewable energy in China
- Wildlife of China
- Wind power in China
- Public health in mainland China
- Green Gross Domestic Product
[edit] Government
[edit] People
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[edit] References
- ^ The World's Most Polluted Places, Time Magazine
- ^ "China says energy efficiency slowly improving", The Associated Press, July 30, 2007.
- ^ Ma, Jun. "How participation can help China's ailing environment", chinadialogueFUGU BANANA MALL, January 31, 2007.
- ^ "Environmental Activists Detained in Hangzhou", Human Rights in China (HRIC), October 25, 2005.
- ^ http://www.npr.org/blogs/chengdu/2008/04/grey_chengdu_ii.html
- ^ "China 'buried smog death finding'", BBC, 3 July 2007.
- ^ Kahn, Joseph; Yardley, Jim (2007-08-26). As China Roars, Pollution Reaches Deadly Extremes. The New York Times. Retrieved on 2007-09-21.
- ^ Beijing drivers ignore No Car Day. BBC: September 21, 2007.
- ^ Diamond, Jared: "Collapse," pp.364-5. Penguin Books, 2005
- ^ Ratliff, Evan. "The Green Wall Of China", Wired Magazine, April 2003.
- ^ "China city water supply to resume", BBC, 27 November 2005.
- ^ Ma, Xiangcong. "China's environmental governance", chinadialogue, February 21, 2007.
- ^ http://siteresources.worldbank.org/DATASTATISTICS/Resources/table3_13.pdf
- ^ Water Technology
- ^ China now no. 1 in CO2 emissions; USA in second position. Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (2007-06-19).
- ^ Insert footnote text here
- ^ Liu, Jianguo and Jared Diamond. "China's environment in a globalizing world", Nature, Vol. 434, pp. 1179-1186, June 30, 2005. Accessed April 2, 2008.
- ^ "International Effort To Save Forests Should Target 15 Countries," United Nations Environment Program, August 20, 2001. Accessed April 2, 2008.
- ^ “Protection of forests and control of desertification” Accessed April 2, 2008
- ^ Li, Zhiyong. ”A policy review on watershed protection and poverty alleviation by the Grain for Green Programme in China”. Accessed April 2, 2008.
- ^ HAN, Jun. "EFFECTS OF INTEGRATED ECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENT ON LAND DEGRADATION CONTROL AND POVERTY REDUCTION." Workshop on Environment, Resources and Agricultural Policies in China, June 19, 2006. Accessed March 26, 2008.
[edit] External links
- State Environmental Protection Agency - Part of the PRC national government
- China's Environmental Crisis— News collections on China's environment.
- Cleaner Production in China—Current and comprehensive information source on China's campaign to reduce pollution.
- Interview with Pan Yue, China' deputy environment minister
- Chinese environmental activist on climate change
- Photo essay on water pollution in Huai River Basin
- China’s Environmental Movement
- Chinadialogue, bilingual environmental views and discussion website
- Air Pollution in China A flash animation assessing air degree of pollution in China.
- OECD Decries China Enforcement of Environment Rules.
- A Short History of China's Fragile Environment.
- Green Group Warns China of Glacier Retreat Threat
- An Assessment of the Economic Losses Resulting from Various Forms of Environmental Degradation in China
- Greenpeace China homepage (English)
- Comparative Study of Beijing, Seoul, Tokyo and Shanghai
- Most polluted cities in China
- China water pollution - Greenpeace China
