The Environment and Climate Change

Chinese officials are conducting a large-scale survey of environmental civil society organizations in China, according to an August 18 South China Morning Post (SCMP) article (subscription required). According to unnamed government sources quoted in the article, the survey seeks to determine the extent of these organizations' operations, and uncovered unregistered organizations. This move strengthens the view of some analysts that the Chinese government is attempting to limit the independence of civil society organizations, particularly environmental groups.

A Zhejiang provincial court agreed in June to hear a case involving a lawsuit by 282 farmers against the Zhejiang Development and Reform Commission (DRC). The farmers alleged that the DRC's approval of an administrative license for a garbage burning power plant violated the Administrative Licensing Law, according to a June 13 report in the Legal Daily.

Thousands of tons of waste continue to pollute water that the government intends to be diverted through the eastern and middle routes of the South-North Water Diversion Project, according to an August 5 Xinhua article. The diversion project is part of national development plans to relieve severe water shortages by diverting water from south China to the north, but financial difficulties and lack of water treatment facilities threaten the project’s timely completion and effectiveness.

Shanxi provincial officials announced a policy that will limit production of coke to 80 million tons each year for the next three years, according to an August 12 news report (in Chinese). Shanxi province is China’s largest coal and coke producing province, China producing 70 percent of China's coal (in Chinese). Companies involved in the coke industry estimate that they will have to reduce coke production by 20-30 percent to meet the reduced production goal.

Chinese officials have begun to discuss developing a national system of water rights, which will include both defined water property rights and specific allotments and quotas for water resources, according to a July 7 Xinhua report. The report says that officials plan to control water resources more strictly to promote greater efficiency and a more equitable distribution of water resources, but it does not elaborate on the structure of the system.

As many as 15,000 villagers besieged a pharmaceutical plant and clashed with police at Xinchang, Zhejiang province, in early July to protest environmental degradation to the local water supply caused by leakages at the plant, according to reports in the New York Times (registration required). The villagers said they took action because their efforts to negotiate with plant managers failed and government officials were unwilling to intervene. "This is the only way to solve problems like ours," stated one protestor. Others said that the example of a similar riot earlier in 2005 inspired the Xinchang protest.

Beijing Normal University's (BNU) environmental impact assessment (EIA) department recently declined to conduct an assessment of a controversial construction project at the Old Summer Palace in Beijing. The decision highlights continuing problems within the community of Chinese organizations that can conduct EIAs.

In recent weeks, the Chinese print media has published a number of articles quoting representatives of the Ministry of Water Resources on the water shortage crisis in China. The news media has also produced pieces on the causes of pollution and the long and short-term solutions of increased efficiency in the use of water resources.

A China Daily article quoted Wang Shucheng, the Minister of Water Resources, who said, "Chronic shortages, pollution, waste, and poor management have combined to exhaust the country’s fragile water system." The result: current water shortages for 66 percent of China’s cities, with 16 percent having severe shortages. The article highlights Wang’s identification of inefficient use of water as the primary contributor to the water shortage.