Editor's Note: This post comes to us courtesy of Tan Copsey of China Dialogue. We will be running more posts from Tan throughout the 2008 Olympics.
As the Games of the 29th Olympiad open, the world's eyes are focused on China. Despite the best efforts of the Chinese government, the Olympics begin under a cloud, with the ever present risk of disruption as a result of air pollution. Look out a window in Beijing and one is immediately confronted by the problem. Over the course of the games, Celsias will be taking a closer look at China, highlighting the extent of China's environmental crisis and the reasons for its occurrence. But, in the spirit of the games, we begin today on a more positive note by examining one of the better by-products of environmental breakdown, the emergence of a new and vibrant environmental civil society in China.
Lively and open debate on environmental issues is increasingly common in China, thanks in part to a change in attitudes and policy at the central government level. In the past ten years the number of Chinese environmental organizations has grown at an astonishing rate. Where previously very few groups operated, experts estimate that there are now a minimum of 2000 environmental organizations, focusing on issues from water quality to energy efficiency, climate change to bio-diversity, and everything in-between. There are grassroots organizations, student groups and branches of Western NGOs.
Officially organized, government-associated NGOs, if you'll excuse the oxymoron, are also common, as are individual environmental activists.
Many Chinese environmental groups have achieved a lot in a very short period of time. The Centre for Legal Assistance to Pollution Victims, for example, has had unprecedented success in upholding the rights of people negatively impacted by pollution, raising awareness of people's legal rights and educating lawyers and officials about environmental law. Recent legal changes should also help - on May 1st of this year, a new law was passed which allowed for more public access to environmental information. Organizations like the Institute of Environmental and Public Affairs, led by renowned activist Ma Jun, are already using these laws to target global and Chinese companies that pollute China's water.
An increasing awareness among Chinese youth of environmental challenges is also heartening. The Xiamen PX protests, which focused on a factory in Xiamen, southeast China which was set to produce paraxylene (PX), a rather dangerous central nervous system depressant, were notable for the level of youth participation. Interestingly, beyond public demonstration, young people also helped start a widespread, highly visible, internet-based campaign. More traditional organizations, like the China Youth Climate Action Network, provide a positive example of young Chinese taking climate change seriously.
Of course it's still far from easy being a Chinese environmentalist. Some of the challenges faced are predictable - environmental groups face difficulties finding support thanks to relatively small memberships, a shortage of state funding and a somewhat underdeveloped philanthropic culture. It's also notable that to be effective it is often necessary to work with state bodies that are not always cooperative or receptive to environmental aims. Interference from local government can prove particularly devastating. Activist Wu Lihong was arrested in the wake of the Algae bloom at Taihu Lake last year. After tirelessly reporting the increasing build-up of discharged chemicals in the lake, he was charged by local authorities with having a plan to extort the polluting industrial plants. His trial was postponed to hear accusations that his confession was extracted using torture.
China's environmental problems are serious and simple solutions do not exist. Next week we will look more closely at these problems, focusing on causes and seeking solutions. But, for now, it's worth reflecting that the emergence of an environmental civil society in China provides a ray of hope, visible, even through the smog.
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