Recent Environmental Law and Public Participation News
Op-ed: Mask-wearing protest in Foshan highlights Chinese civic spirit (Google translation)
An editorial in the Lu Zhong Morning News praises a peaceful protest march held by residents of Foshan in Guangdong Province. 400 residents wore hospital masks and marched silently in the streets in order to attract attention regarding their environmental concern about the construction of new incineration plants in the area. The editorial praises the “mature citizenship” of the marchers, whose march successfully drew media attention to their plight and did not encounter any resistance from local police. The newspaper also calls for the local government to uphold its responsibility to disclose environmental information, especially the environmental impact assessment data that examines the possible pollution and health effects of a proposed project. (Source: Lu Zhong Morning News)
Draft Soil Pollution Prevention Law submitted to NPC for consideration (Google translation)
This week, Chinese officials revealed that a draft version of a soil pollution law had been sent to the NPC for deliberation. China faces a major ecological challenge as more and more of its soil is contaminated, creating problems for food security, arable land, and human health. Up to 20 million hectares of China’s arable land is contaminated by heavy metals, leading to an annual reduction of 10 million tons in grain production yields. (Source: Eastern Network)
Shandong CPPCC member advocates for better rural environmental protection (Google translation)
As China moves to implement and improve an ambitious set of laws focusing on pollution, one CPPCC member – Prof. Dengxiang Chao – is pushing for initiatives aimed at addressing an often-overlooked issue: rural pollution. According to the professor, the threat and damage from fertilizer and pesticide pollution to rural China’s ecosystems and the public health can no longer be ignored. In addition, he points out that rural industry and household use of coal also generate high amounts of pollutants. (Source: China Shandong News)
China moves closer to creating a “digital environment” for environmental protection (Google translation)
The First National Conference on Environmental Information, held in January, brought together proponents of information disclosure and technology for several days of meetings. Heads of various Environmental Protection Bureaus touted the benefits of utilizing the Internet and real-time updates to harness the power of the public. Henan Province is one such example – as of late January, officials have unveiled plans to create an environmental monitoring network by June 2010 that lets the public access real-time data. Such a system, officials argue, would actually drive down the costs of environmental enforcement as members of the public take on the roles of watchdogs. (Source: Liaoning Provincial Government)
“Green Pass” continues to block Wuhan enterprises from obtaining bank credit (Google translation)
For the past two years, the city of Wuhan has been implementing a green credit policy. According to recently released statistics, over 30 companies have been denied loans by banks due to their poor environmental records, and a total of 191 enterprises across 24 sectors are now on the green credit blacklist. (Source: Changjiang Daily)
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