Building SD issues in China
sustainability conference
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What'sNewS Issue 9 September 1998
In a country used to the regular vagaries of nature, flooding is usually seen as
an inevitable part of life. For the first time, however, the massive inundations
that have engulfed huge areas along the Yangtse River, taking their toll in
human life and property, have been linked to environmental issues. The worst
flooding in recorded history is, say experts, due primarily to deforestation. There
was, therefore, a sad topicality to the opening of our sustainable development
conference on 26 and 27 August held to mark both the opening of our Shanghai
subsidiary and the bank's 10Oth anniversary.
VJc
Dutch comparison
Information package
Threat to health
i iven the current situation, we
fcould have devoted the whole
conference to forestation and the
problems surrounding the imprudent
destruction of woodland,' says Kalle
Forbom of the Finnish forestry group
UPM-Kymmene and speaker at the event.
His point is well taken. However, the
other 30-plus
speakers and
panelists on each
of the topics
raised during the
conference could
have made the
same claim.
Environmentally,
all is anything but
well in the
People's Republic
of China. And the
Chinese are not,
it seems, afraid to
admit it. The
conference saw
the participation
of a number of
Finnish forestry group's Kalle
Forbom, branching out into
thinking green
government
heavyweights,
including the responsible ministers of
state for development planning and
environmental protection, Zeng Peiyan
and Xie Zhenhua respectively. The
mayor of Shanghai was willing to open
the event, telling the close to 300
participants that sustainable development
was a top priority in his rapidly growing
and increasingly prosperous city. 'We will
be investing around RMB 40 billion in
environmental protection in Shanghai
alone over the next few years,' he told
the conference. 'Part of that investment
will go to raising public awareness. This
kind of event can contribute to our own
efforts.'
In fact, the Chinese have a sound record
on environmental protection - at least at
government and legislative levels. It was
the first developing country to
sign the Agenda 21 formulated
at the Rio summit back in
1992. However, practical
application of comparatively
comprehensive legislation is
proving less easy than getting
laws passed. Comparing the
Dutch situation to that of
China, minister plenipotentiary
Paul Schellenkens of the
embassy in Beijing says 'it has
been difficult in
the Netherlands,
which also has
a solid
reputation for
environmental
awareness and
policy, to make
the transition
from policy intentions to
implementation.' None of
the Chinese participants
disagreed. For them, both
environmental protection
and the sustainable
development that is
needed to achieve it is a
always a top priority with any Chinese
government - but also more immediately
to public health. A few numbers here.
An estimated 180,000 people in large
cities die from pollution related illness
every year. Indoor air pollution caused
by coal burning results in a further
120,000 premature deaths annually in
rural areas. Water pollution has
contaminated 52 of the 135 monitored
urban river sections - these do not even
y».
W K\ \\U>
Thirsty for a greener future, Xu
Kuangdi, mayor of Shanghai
very serious business.
Paul Schellenkens plenipotentiary minister,
Dutch embassy Beijing, using Holland as a
shining environmental example
meet the lowest standards necessary for
irrigation, let alone drinking water.
Children in cities like Shanghai have
blood-lead levels averaging 80 percent
above levels considered threatening to
mental development. These figures cornet
from a World Bank report which was
prepared with the full cooperation of the
Chinese authorities. The
report was used
extensively in the study
prepared by R1 specially
for the conference and
reflects many of the
concerns raised in
Shanghai.
'Discussions' at
conferences are often
rather low-key affairs - not
this time. The Shanghaiese
have a reputation for
being pragmatic, hands-on
people. Many of the
questioners wanted more
Pollution represents a serious threat not
only to longer-term food security -
concrete action, rather than theoretic
discussion. One participant went so far as
to ask what Rabobank planned to do
about making finance available to fund
