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Cover Story
“
The Greenest
Five-Year Plan Ever”
“ 更 高 的 环 境 保 护 指 标 ”
The worsening condition of China’s ecosystems
is posing a serious threat. Whereas top
policy makers are aware of the gravity of
environmental issues, local authorities are only
so to a fewer extent, says Li Lin, Deputy Country
Representative of WWF China.
Written by_Fabian Gull, Shanghai
访 谈 _ 方 必 安 , 上 海
What is your overall assessment of China’s current environmental
situation?
Li Lin: The overall situation is serious. The economic upswing
demands a high price of the environment. A ir, water and soil
pollution impact people’s lives directly. Less obvious, but in my
view, an even more serious problem, is the carelessness regarding
services provided by ecosystems (i.e. the water systems, forests
or biodiversity) to mankind. Those services are clearly not being
appreciated enough. It is WWF’s aim to change this perception.
People’s minds are focused on the economy…
Li: … which is only natural, if you have to worry about your next
meal. But a mindset focused on commercially utilizing ecosystem
services, rather than thinking of how they can be sustained for the
benefit of the whole system, is a dangerous game. This will be the
next round of grave environment issues China will be facing. At
present, I don’t see many players being aware of that issue.
Any good news you can share?
Li: Absolutely. First of all, China’s top policy makers are highly aware
and take the issue seriously. This is also reflected in China’s 12th
Five-Year Plan (5YP), which is by far the greenest ever. It consists of
24 targets, whereof 12 are mandatory. Out of the 12 mandatory ones,
six are environment related. This is a very good sign! Once a policy is
established on a Central Government level, one can assume that the
implementation will start kicking in heavily as five-year plans are
strictly enforced. The bad news, however, is, that local governments
are not as aware as the central government. The economy is still on
top of their agenda.
How confident are you that the awareness will trickle through to
provincial levels?
Li: There are some promising signs. The Minister of Environment
Protection has signed a contract with top leaders of more than 30
provinces, municipalities or autonomous regions to further commit
them to reaching the pollution targets stated in the 12th 5YP. I have
never seen anything alike before.
So we are on track for a better, cleaner China?
Li: I wouldn’t go that far. It is still a long way to go, particularly
regarding fostering biodiversity, which sadly, is not a mandatory
target in the 5YP. WWF is concerned about this. Too many projects
are still altering ecosystem services without really investigating on
the potential impacts. This is dangerous.
What is the biggest environment problem?
Li: China is too big and diverse to just name one. Generally speaking,
it is how to value the services natural systems provide. Humans are
part of that system, not above it. That means a lot of explanatory work
for us to do.
How difficult is it to get credible data on the pollution and the
state of the environment?
Li: We work with leading scientists in China and do first hand
investigations by ourselves. You have to work with what you have.
For further details, please refer to the “China Ecological Footprint - Report
2010”.
www.wwfchina.org
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