Environmental Protection in China and the Role of the Government - Research Paper Example

? Environmental protection in China and the role of the government China is one of the developing countries, whichusually have two main tasks- to develop the national economy and to protect the environment. China considers environmental protection to be the one of the fundamental purposes in the process of modernization. It conducts wide-scale work on the prevention and elimination of the environmental pollution consequences. Practice shows that Chinese policy aimed at the coordinated economic development is very successful and allows to avoid the consequences of environmental pollution. Being the member of the global community, China takes an active part in the international environmental protection affairs and conscientiously fulfills the accepted obligations. This testifies about the desire and intention of the Chinese government and Chinese people to protect the environment on our planet. The given paper will provide the overview of the efforts taken by China to protect the environment and discuss the state of the environment in the country. Large population size, comparatively low supply of natural resources per citizen, low level of economic and technical development are the conditions, which accompany the modernization of China (Ming). The process of social and economic development which led to the fast growth of the population, and the increase of consumer demand, intensified the tension in the supply of resources and ecological balance. In these conditions choosing the right development strategy became crucial tasks as future existence of China and its citizens depends on it. “All in all, China, with a total population of 1.3 billion, is faced with a challenging task concerning resources, the environment and sustainable development. This is also of great significance for sustainable development of mankind. The Chinese Government and people are well aware of their mission and responsibility, and they are making relentless effort to that end” (Wenzhong). Chinese government pays much attention to the ecological problem, which intensified due to the growth of the population and the scales of economy. It considerers the right solution of this problem as an important aspect in increasing people’s standard of living. With the purpose of the harmonious development of economy, society and the environment Chinese government has worked out a number of political directions aimed at the environmental protection. In 1990s the important step on the way to the solution of the problem of environmental protection was made on the global scale. The government worked our 10 important political directions concerning the environmental protection and the development in China. It was clearly stated that the long-term development strategy was the inevitable choice for China. “The Chinese Government increased input in this field, readjusted taxes on mineral resources, and raised the prices of crude and refined oil products. We adopted a policy to limit the expansion of businesses with high energy consumption, and encourage desulphurization in power plants and development of renewable energy. We improved the fee-collecting mechanism for treating wastewater and wastes out of daily lives, and set up a market-based operating mechanism to control pollution. All this has played an effective role in preventing and controlling pollution” (Wenzhong). In March 1994 Chinese government presented the white paper on China’s population, environment and development in XXI century, which contained the general strategy, political directions and the plan of actions aimed at the long-term development of China taking into account the realities. China pays much attention to the legal construction in the field of environment. The Chinese Constitution states that the country takes measures on the preservation of the environment and struggles with different kinds of pollution. The state guarantees rational use of the natural resources and preserves the valuable species of animals and plants. No person or organization can appropriate or destroy natural resources. There are many different laws worked out specially to protect different environmental areas. “Effective protection of China’s environment and sound settlement of its energy issue is a contribution not only to China’s sustainable development, but also to that of the world as a whole. The Chinese Government takes this as its unshirkable responsibility. At the same time, we also need international support and cooperation. I hope that media in the United States will make objective coverage of China’s issues concerning the environment, resources and energy in the course of development” (Wenzhong). China has several main principles connected with the environmental protection: economic development should be coordinated with the environmental protection; protection of nature is the common task of all the humanity, however, at the same time economically developed countries should take more responsibility; the international cooperation should be strengthened on the basis of the respect of the countries’ national sovereignty; environmental protection and the development can’t be realized without the peaceful and stable conditions; considering the environmental issues it is essential to take into account the real interests of every country and the perspectives of the whole world. Taking all the necessary measures directed on the protection of the environment, China takes an active part in the international cooperation in this area, takes efforts in the name of the common concern. Chinese government does its best to improve scientific and technical research in the area of environmental protection. Scientific and technical work of China started in 1970s (Wonacott). Being the important part of the technical and scientific work of the country, it is paid special attention to. “Through improving industrial policies, we have raised the threshold for market access for the purpose of conserving energy and the environment. We have taken measures to contain the expansion of industries with high energy consumption, emission and pollution. We have stepped up the efforts to eliminate old-fashioned production capacity, especially 13 industries including iron and steel, cement, power generation, and paper making. We have succeeded in containing emissions from the upper stream” (Wenzhong). With the purpose to resolve some of the most important scientific and technical tasks, Chinese government worked out the perspective and short-term plan on the scientific and technical work in the area of environmental protection (Economy). There were different researches held on the complex prevention of the environmental pollution and the liquidation of its consequences. The environmental dimensions and backgrounds were studied, special techniques were worked out to protect the nature, the investigations of the issues were held on the global scale. Good results were reached in complex prevention and elimination of the environmental pollution consequences in Peking, in the research of the acid precipitation consequences and its control as well as in finding ways to control the level of pollution. At the same time the researches were held on the estimating the influence of human activity on the environment, on the control over the environment and ecological economy, protection of ecology, pollution prevention, human health etc. (French). Professional education in the environmental area prepares scientific and technical personnel. In China in 140 higher educational establishments there are faculties or specialities on the environmental protection. Now in the country there are 206 special educational organizations. China mobilizes the wide social groups to take part in the propagandistic and educational activity directed on the environmental protection. Last years the bodies, which are responsible for the protection of the environment, education, culture and information, scientific associations started various propagandistic and educational activity directed on the environmental protection. Developed countries have a great interest in China and its issues due to China’s fast development: “recently, people from different sectors in the United States have shown a great interest in China’s environmental protection and sustainable development. On one hand, it demonstrates that China and the United States are more closely associated with each other in economic and social development. On the other hand, it indicates that the United States takes climate change seriously. In that connection, I would like to share with you, in an objective way, some basic facts and the latest progress that China has made in this regard” (Wenzhong). Due to the efforts, which have been taken during 20 years, China gained the success, which attracted the attention of the whole world. Nevertheless, Chinese government realizes that China is going through the period of fast industrialization. The production is active, thus scarcity of resources and environmental pollution remains serious problems. With the growth of population and with the development of the economy these issues become more serious (Johnson). Resolving the issues connected with the environmental pollution and the establishing control over them are long-term and very difficult tasks. During the period of reforms and in the process of modernization, China will seriously consider and improve its state policy on the environmental protection, realize the strategy of the long-term development. The humanity will have to go through many difficulties to resolve the issues connected with environmental protection and the development. China will keep fighting for the protection of the environment and for the thriving of the humanity together with other countries of the world. Works Cited French, Howard, “Visit to Chinese Anytown Shows a Dark Side of Progress,” The New York Times, January 19, 2006. Johnson, Tim, “Lack of safe drinking water is a daily problem in China,” Knight Ridder News Service, February 14, 2006. Wonacott, Peter, “Green Groups Move to Clean Up China,” The Wall Street Journal, June 14, 2005. Ming, Ma, “Xinjiang: An Explorer’s Paradise Faces New Pressures,” Pacific Currents Online, June 2003. Economy, Elizabeth, “China’s Environmental Movement,”Testimony before the Congressional Executive Commission on China Roundtable on Environmental NGOs in China: Encouraging Action and Addressing Public Grievances, February 7, 2005. Wenzhong, Zhou. An Introduction to China’s Environmental Protection and Sustainable Development. Retrieved December 10 2013. Read More