The Conflict between Environment and Development: Common Challenge Facing China and the World

1
The Conflict between Environment and
DevelopmentCommon Challenge Facing China and
the World

• Yang Yi
• Director, Office of International Exchange
• China Institute of International Studies (CIIS)

2
Current situation of environmental protection in
China

• ---Relative shortage of resources
• ---Fragile ecological environment
• ---Insufficient environmental capacity
• The conflict between environment and development
  is becoming ever more prominent.

3

• River Yin, one of the branch of River Huai,
  covered by the pollutant foam on March 10, 2007.
  
• City of Fuyang, Anhui, China

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Drought affects 1.12 million people in Sichuan
2007-03-08
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A Chinese farmer digs a well in the village of
Chunxun in Zhongjiang County, Southwest China's
Sichuan Province, March 7, 2007. He digs the
well 8-meters-deep in 3 months but there's still
no water. The provincial government allocated
15 million yuan (1.9 million) to fight the
drought that left 1.12 million people short of
drinking water and also affected the spring
plowing.
7
The photo show farmers who migrated from
Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality into the
Pearl River Delta to fish for a living.
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People make a living by collecting valuable
objects from the trash in the Pearl River Delta.
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• 2/3 of Chinese cities exceed residential area SO2
  air pollution standards
• NO2 emissions increase 5 annually
• China will become the No.1 NO2 emitter in 2020
• Average temperature will increase by 0.45 Celsius
  degrees over the next 20 years

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Some achievements of Chinese environmental
protection

• ---environmental protection as a basic national
  policy
• ---adjustment to industries
• ---energy structure
• ---afforestation
• ---population control
• ---drawing up a series of laws and regulations

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Spring comes to the West Lake in Hangzhou, east
China's Zhejiang Province March 8, 2007.
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Protect citizens environmental rights

• Encourages the public to take part in environment
  protection
• Information publicity
• Annual report on environment protection since
  1980s
• NGOs play an important role

13
International cooperation on environmental
protection

• United Nations (UN) and other international
  organizations
• Regional cooperation
• Bilateral cooperation in environmental protection

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• Thank you.