As economic development goes forward from strength to strength,
the challenges faced by China in environmental and ecological
protection have been attracting increasing attention. 2003 turned
out to be a year that witnessed a whole series of controversial
developments with much lively debate taking place across the
nation.
Sichuan dam proposal under fire
A proposal to build a dam affecting the upper reaches of the
ancient Dujiangyan irrigation scheme in southwest China's Sichuan
Province sparked much controversy.
Dujiangyan
is located 57 kilometers from Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan. This
huge irrigation and drainage system was completed over 2,200 years
ago. Since then it has irrigated the vast Chengdu Plain protecting
it down the centuries from both drought and flood. In 2000 it was
listed on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO) cultural heritage list.
But now the Dujiangyan Administrative Bureau has brought forward
a plan to build a 23-meter-high and 1,200-meter-wide dam on the
Minjiang River. The proposed Yangliuhu dam would be only some 1,300
meters from the Yuzui section of Dujiangyan. The waters of the
Yangliuhu reservoir would lap to within 350 meters of the world
heritage site.?
On April 28 the Dujiangyan Administrative Bureau invited experts
on water conservancy, environmental protection and the preservation
of cultural relics to carry out an on-the-spot survey. On June 5
the bureau once again called the experts together to reappraise the
dam project. It had been under fire because of its knock-on effects
on the age-old irrigation system.
According to?Xiao Ming,?deputy director of the
Dujiangyan Administrative Bureau, the construction of the Yangliuhu
reservoir is a necessary part of the Zipingpu hydropower project.
This is one of western China's?10 key development
projects.?
Senior engineer Wang Bingqing with the Sichuan Provincial Water
Conservancy Department echoed this view, "The Yangliuhu dam is
important both to allow the Zipingpu hydropower project to become
fully operational and to supply water for drinking and irrigation
on the Chengdu Plain."
However, Wang pointed out?that?"the project ran into
fierce opposition because Dujiangyan is not only a world heritage
site but is also a well-known scenic spot and a historic site under
state protection."
On August 29 the Sichuan provincial government finally voted not
to go ahead with the Yangliuhu dam project.
Thirteen?dams for the Nujiang River
On August 14 the?National?Development and Reform
Commission received the Report on the Hydropower Program in the Mid
and Lower Reaches of the Nujiang River. This report by the Nujiang
Prefecture of
Yunnan
Province proposes a terraced water conservancy project.
The plan calls for two reservoirs and 13 dams to be built on the
river. With a combined capacity of some 21 million kilowatts they
would generate 103 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity
annually.
And so the Nujiang, China's only "virgin river" still free from
dam construction, finds itself on a development list.
Living conditions are harsh along the Nujiang River basin so
hydropower development is attractive to the Nujiang Prefecture as a
means of stimulating the local economy. However it would not be the
only option nor the best choice available in tackling poverty.
Prof. He Daming, director of the Asian International Rivers
Center at Yunnan University has pointed out that dam construction
around the world has led to the relocation of 40-80 million people.
Meanwhile more than half of all hydropower stations completed have
generated less electricity than had been predicted. The reality is
that the benefits accruing from dam construction often fail to live
up to expectations.
So the question emerges as "do we really need to dam up the
Nujiang River with its ecological integrity still intact and put at
risk this unique landscape with its ecological environment and
biodiversity?"
Fundraising on the backs of sanitation
workers
To address a shortfall in funds, a neighborhood public
sanitation department in Nanchang, capital city of Jiangxi
Province, recently took a novel step. It sold advertising space
on the waistcoats worn by its sanitation workers.
However its "walking ads" have attracted criticism and the given
reason of shortage of funds has been called into question. People
are asking, "If the practice were to become widespread, how would
the revenues raised be administered and expended?"
It has been argued that doing a good job in environmental
sanitation is a fundamental responsibility of government. Naturally
the government has a duty to allocate adequate funds for this very
necessary public service.
On the one hand, city sanitation needs to be properly carried
out. On the other hand, any shortage of funds has to be prudently
addressed. Where will it all end?
No more free bags for Shanghai shoppers
In 2004 Shanghai supermarkets are to start charging customers
for their plastic carrier bags. An online survey by the Shanghai
Environmental Protection Bureau indicated that 90 percent of
Shanghai residents supported the move. Sources at the bureau say
the new measure aims to reduce trash dumping and improve the
environment of the city.?
The Irish government brought in a tax of 15 euro cents on each
plastic bag. As a result, the use of plastic bags in that country
was cut by 90 percent. And in Germany where plastic bags had been
blamed for environmental pollution, supermarkets now charge for
them.
Though it is not unreasonable to expect both consumers and
supermarkets to accept a share of the costs of tackling the
problem, neither can be blamed for all of the pollution problems
associated with plastic bags. Despite the success of the European
precedents the introduction of charges for Shanghai's plastic bags
is still open to question. What's more, compared with the publicity
surrounding the charges the other measures being taken deserve
rather more attention.
Two days off just to make a point
In a move to raise public awareness on environmental issues, the
Zhuzhou municipal government in Hunan
Province announced December 4 that all sanitation workers in
that city were to get two days leave and all at the same time.
The action caused quite a stir. Some said it was a good way to
educate the city's residents on the valuable role of the sanitation
workers. Some others though accepting the ruse as well intended,
felt that the authorities should have consulted first rather than
just going ahead with the move.
In any case, to have all the sanitation workers on vacation at
the same time was certainly a matter of some immediate interest to
everyone living in the city.
Should we eat wild animals?
At a news conference on May 23, the Shenzhen municipal
government announced a joint report by Shenzhen and Hong Kong
scientists that pointed to the SARS virus as having originated in
wild animals. This indicative finding caused quite a stir. People
started to get jittery at the mere mention of wild animals and
there was a great outcry that they should be completely banned as a
food source.?
The question of whether or not to eat wild animals does not just
hinge on a single issue and requires consideration.
The law enforcement inspection group of the National People's
Congress said that any intervention to forbid the consumption of
wild animals should be guided by sound scientific principles. Liu
Mingzu, head of the group, stressed that the protection of wildlife
resources and developments in domestication and animal husbandry
are mutually supportive of each other.
Jiang Hai, a researcher with the Huanan (South
China)?Endangered Animals Research Institute, said that any
wide sweeping generalization about eating creatures from the wild
would not be appropriate. "What is wildlife after all?" he said,
"Taken literally, if all animals which have not been domesticated
are considered wild, then is sea food to be considered wild?"
An environmentalist said, "Isn't the eating of wild animals just
something of a novelty to satisfy a whim for the unusual or
fashionable delicacy? If everyone could just do without, I should
like to say 'Thank You' on behalf of the wild animals and all those
who love nature."
Yuan Xi, also a researcher with the Huanan Endangered Animals
Research Institute and his colleagues pointed out that the means of
transmission of viruses from wild animals and domesticated fowl to
human hosts isn't necessarily through the food chain.
Dr. Xie Yan, a researcher with the Institute of Zoology of the
Chinese
Academy of
Sciences said that the SARS virus was transmitted from wild
animals to humans. This is not the fault of the wild animals but
results from invasive actions by humans. To satisfy their avarice
humans have with a lack of constraint invaded the habitats of the
wild animals to kill, process and eat them. Such behavior has
rebounded like never before. Humankind should not now seek to blame
and send punitive expeditions against the creatures of the wild.
Instead we should sincerely examine our own mistakes and correct
them.
The troubled Sanmenxia Dam
In the history of Chinese water conservancy there has never been a
project like the Sanmenxia Water Control Project. It has
experienced twists of fate at every turn with lessons to be learned
from planning and policy-making through to construction, operation
and management. Its repeated difficulties and hardships have
frequently drawn nationwide attention.
2003 witnessed a particularly severe flood on the Weihe River.
It was to last over a month and leave 200,000 people homeless. It
seemed to confirm a prediction made more than 40 years ago by Prof.
Huang Wanli. An expert in the field of water conservancy, he warned
then that "building the Sanmenxia Dam will lead to severe
flooding." The Sanmenxia Water Conservancy Project has now becomes
a focus of debate. The difference is that today many people are
speaking out against the project. Back 40 years ago, only Prof.
Huang Wanli and technician Wen Shanzhang voiced their
opposition.
Suo Lisheng, vice minister of water resources, said that the
fact that the Weihe River has now become a hanging river, raised
above the level of the surrounding countryside, was due to the
Sanmenxia Water Conservancy Project.
Qian Zhengying, retired minister of water resources, called for
a halt to the generation of electricity and water storage in the
Sanmenxia Reservoir.
As for the losses caused by the Sanmenxia Dam, there is little
to be gained by seeking to point the finger of blame. Even if the
dam does come to be abandoned, reflection must not be allowed to
stop. Who to blame is not so important now, but the lessons that
can be learned are.
In fear of the flesh-eating piranha
There are more than 20 varieties of piranha that most famous
flesh-eating fish from the mighty Amazon River in South America.
The red piranha (
Serrasalmus nattereri) is most
representative of the species and is the big seller to Chinese fish
enthusiasts. It may be a beautiful color but nature has made it
cruel predator. Its aggressive nature powerfully backed up by its
terrible teeth will soon reduce its unfortunate quarry to a pile of
bare bones.
Rather that being concerned that people may be injured,
ecologists are more worried about the prospect of these
bloodthirsty fish escaping into the wild where they would pose a
severe threat to the local ecological balance like some terrible
new "wolves in the water."
As for the bloodthirsty nature of the fish, relevant departments
have called for all these fish to be located and killed. However
this draconian, one-size-fits-all approach has been called into
question.
While the experts at the Beijing Aquarium would support measures
to prevent the spread of the fish, in their analysis there is no
need to wipe the piranha out entirely. It is their view that, "The
flesh-eating fish are brought into the country with the aim of
popularizing science and helping young people understand the nature
of this cruel species. In any event most of the imported fish have
gone through a sterilization process and are unable to
reproduce."
To clone or not to clone the giant panda
Today there are only about 1,000 giant pandas left in the world.
They are mainly distributed in the mountains in south China's
Sichuan Province. For decades now, Chinese scientists have spared
no effort in their mission to preserve this much-loved and
endangered creature. But the future of the giant panda still hangs
in the balance.
A research study on the "Cloning of Giant Pandas" has been
carried out conjointly by the Fuzhou Giant Panda Research Center
and the Institute of Zoology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
The work now concluded on the animal's reproductive hormone gene
has the potential to help the giant pandas famously fragile ability
to reproduce. However, the possible use of cloning to help protect
the giant panda is a matter of some controversy.
Chen Dayuan, an expert in zoology, said that cloning technology
can help increase giant panda numbers. What is the point in
discussing the merits of biodiversity and debating what is and what
is not natural without first ensuring the very survival of the
species?
However some authoritative experts do not agree with the cloning
of giant pandas. They point to cloning as merely the copying of
individuals with nothing to contribute to the genetic biodiversity
of the species. They can well understand the wish to conduct
cloning as a scientific experiment but say it represents just one
particular point of view. However the government's wildlife
management department won't approve of the cloning of giant pandas.
And what's more it won't make a living giant panda available to be
used in cloning research.
Welfare rights for animals
Many people today still think that animals have no consciousness
and are incapable of thoughts and emotions. They are fair game to
be exploited by humankind. They consider that humans have a right
of dominion over the animal kingdom and are free to maltreat, kill
and eat other creatures.
In recent years, there have been frequent incidents of animals
being maltreated. Pet dogs have had their vocal chords cut, tigers
have died exhausted in cruel tiger-dog fighting spectacles while
bears are kept in captivity to have their bile drawn off. Such
cases have drawn nationwide attention.
Animal welfare means letting animals live a healthy and happy
life. The basic principles include freedom from hunger and thirst,
freedom to live comfortably, freedom not to be maltreated and hurt,
freedom from being filled with horror, anxiety or sadness and
freedom to express their natural instincts.
On the other side of the world, legal rights for animals were
established as early as 200 years ago. However, few people on this
side are sensitive to animals' emotions or give a thought to
animals' needs, dignity or legal rights. In China particularly,
animal welfare law is still quite new.
People might say, "If animals gain welfare rights, does this
mean they will be on an equal footing with humans?" Actually
welfare in this context means respecting their rights and allowing
them some dignity. Humans have basic rights to life, health,
education and respect for their dignity and so enjoy welfare rights
guaranteed under legislation.
The promotion of animal welfare aims to encourage people to care
for, protect and treat animals well. It hopes for improvements in
animal's living conditions coupled with concern for their emotions
and dignity.
It is a matter of humanity and good intentions towards the other
creatures with which we share this world of ours.
(China.org.cn by Li Jingrong and Shao Da, January 2, 2004)
