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MEETING PROPOSING |
Great Western Development is a strategic trans-century plan by the Chinese Government. It will be of great significance to the sustainable development of the we stern regions and even all China. Due to natural, social and economic constraints, Great Western Development will be a long-term and arduous historic task, and will be faced with many difficulties and challenges. Its implementation needs to draw upon all kinds of knowledge and experience possessed by mankind.
The China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development r ecommends:
1. On the basic principles of Great Western Development
The comprehensive development of economy, society and environment should be promoted. Modernization construction should be pushed forward. Guidance needs to be provided for the balanced distribution of population,economic activities, cities and towns. People's living environment should be protected and improved, and people's living standard should be raised in general.
Sustainable use of biodiversity and careful utilization of non-renewable resources should be adhered to as the prerequisite for development. The required input of energy and other resources should be minimized to the greatest extent possible. Waste discharge shall be reduced and recycling should be encouraged.
Development should be based on the characteristics and advantages of the western regions. The western regions should not simply rely on resources exportation, nor should they follow the model of large-scale industrial development of the eastern regions. Rather, they should take advantage of their rich resources, adopt the market mechanism in order to increase the value of the resources, develop their economy, and cultivate local talents.
Steps should be taken for achieving speedily the technological and information empowerment of local communities through blending traditional wisdom and technologies with frontier technologies such as information, space and renewable energy technologies, as well as environmentally safe bio-technologies, thereby helping to create more skilled and sustainable livelihoods and jobs.
The functioning and carrying capacity of ecology should be taken into account in the formulation of urban and industrial development plans. At the same time, attention needs to be paid to the protection of historical and cultural sites as well indigenous natural endowment.
The regulatory role of the government should be combined with the market mechanism. The concentration should be on a few core areas and cities that may trigger or lead the development of other areas.
The sustainable use of water resources is a key issue for the western development. Integrated water management should be strengthened for key areas such as th e upper reaches of the Yangtze River and the Yellow River.
2.On development planning and environmental impact assessment
Development should be preceded by careful planning and monitoring, in order to make sure that development achievements will not be superseded by environmental degradation. During the planning process, the various departments involved should strengthen their coordination and cooperation. The core of planning should be protection of resources & environment, rational distribution of infrastructure facilities, and development of cities and towns. All development plans and key large-scale construction projects should undertake environmental impact assessment . Scientific estimate should be made on the environmental capacity and natural resources supplying capacity in a timely manner, and focused attention should be paid to the impacts on diversity, so that western development could be based on benign circle of ecology. Mechanisms for supervising and coordinating the implementation of plans should be established.
Special Plans for Ecological Restoration and Environmental Protection shall be well formulated. Scientific and rational ecological and environmental targets shall be set. Concrete and practical measures should be formulated to increase government input, standardize environmental management, attract domestic and foreign capital and technology, and provide fiscal and taxation policy support, etc.
Environmental impact assessment should be undertaken for cities, industrial zones, public infrastructure facilities, large-scale farm construction, and land development activities, etc. The planning, designing and construction of industrial zones should be based on the concept of "environmentally sound resource recycling" and "zero emission". Importance should be attached to the construction of environmentally important infrastructure facilities, including centralized treatment and disposal facilities for wastewater, hazardous waste and toxic waste. Joint ventures and BOT (build-operate-transfer) practice should be encouraged.
3.On environmentally friendly economic policies
Integrated investment policies for sustainable development should be established. Incentives (such as tax reduction or exemption) should be created to encourage investment into sustainable utilization of resources, high value-adding industries and cleaner industries. Likewise, disincentives should also be created to prevent pollution intensive industries and industries that have been banned by investor's home countries or prohibited by international environmental agreements from transferring into western China. Measures should also be taken to encourag e all corporate companies to follow more stringent applicable environmental stan dards. Investors from the eastern regions should be encouraged to invest in the western regions. Effective management investment by public financial institution s should be established, and low-interest funding support should be made available to environmentally friendly development projects.
Relevant environmental taxation reform should be implemented. Environmental taxation should be adopted as a market instrument, so as to reflect environmental cost and promote the commercialization of sustainable technologies. The pollution fee collection system and other environment related taxes could be unified into a coordinated and efficient environmental taxation management system. This reform could be integrated with market pricing system so as to replace or improve the existing fee collection system, reduce the consumption of polluting products, and raise funds for environmental or general public purposes.The main measures could include: Levying SO2 emissions tax on coalfuel; levying coal resources tax at higher rate; experimenting on levying additional tax on petrol and diesel consumption for environmental protection purposes; levying household wastewater treatment fees in order to support the construction and operation of centralized wastewater treatment facilities; levying pollution discharge fees on all enterprises; levying water pollution tax on small sized enterprises and tertiary industries according to industry and product categories, standard emission rate and output volume; levying tax on pesticide and fertilizer in key river and lake basins so as to reduce water pollution; and in some urban areas, levying on products like plastic bags so as to reduce their use and promote their recycling. Economic incentives such as pricing of natural resources and pollution taxes should reflect regional variations in environmental costs, which in the western region are influenced by factors such as its relative poverty and low population density.
Reform should be carried out on the property right system for resources such as land. The property right for resources like land, forest and timber should be clarified, so as to bring farmers' initiative into full play and effectively protect resources.
Existing and newly approved national level economic zones in the western regions should draw upon the experience and lessons gained by coastal economic development zones in the eastern regions, and formulate and implement a strategy of sustainable development of trade, investment and environment. In order to coordinate trade, investment and sustainable development policies, it is desirable to establish advisory committees on trade, investment and environmental protection under the competent economic and trade departments of the provinces where the deve lopment zones are located. Foreign enterprises in the development zones should be required to adopt applicable environmental standards, and sign voluntary agreements with the relevant departments so as to regulate their own environmental behavior.
The clean development mechanism (CDM) could be utilized to promote the development of the western regions. CDM, which has been put forward by the Kyoto Protoco, provides new opportunities for the promotion of foreign investment and transfer of clean coal technologies to the western regions. CDM policies should be researched and formulated. Pilot CDM projects could be established in the western regions. This could promote the participation of the western regions in CDM and help them obtain extra funding and technical assistance under the precondition th at developing countries shall undertake no obligations for reducing greenhouse gas emissions for the current stage.
4.On ecological restoration and biodiversity protection
Enough attention needs to be paid to the ecological restoration of the western regions. Surveys should be conducted on the environmental restoration ability of the ecologically degraded areas, so as to assess and distinguish between human activity zones and nature protection & restoration zones in a scientific manner. Measures should be taken to ban or restrict logging and grazing activities, restore vegetation, and ensure water supply. Relevant laws and regulations should be established for such purposes. Illegal land use should be strictly banned in nature reserves, scenic and historical sites, water source areas, natural forest areas and grassland areas.
Ecological environmental construction"Ecological construction: a direct translation of a Chinese concept that similar to ecological restoration, but may also be understood as taking ecological protection, restoration and amelioration all together" should become a long-term policy. Unified plans and long term & stable ecological environmental construction and economic compensation policies should be formulated as soon as possible. Ecological construction should be combined with the improvement of people's living standard. The traditional exploitative production patterns should be changed. In light of different local conditions, ecological construction should be implemented on an area-by- area and phase-by-phase basis so as to improve ecological environment.
In converting steeparable land back to forest and grassland, measures such as "closing hillsides (to livestock grazing and fuel gathering) to facilitate afforestation" should be adopted in order to restore ecological systems. Attention needs to be given to rationalizing the ratio between forest and grassland and the ratio between different types of forest. The species of trees and grass for plantation should be carefully chosen so as to comply with the climatic and ecological characteristics of the various parts of the western regions. Local species should be preferred. Species with stronger adaptability and greater economic & environmental benefits should be selected for popularization and demonstration. Non-governmental organizations and volunteers should be encouraged to play their role in forestation, plantation and recycling.
A rational water distribution mechanism should be established for the various catchments as soon as possible. Water saving should be promoted, and water saving agriculture and ecological agriculture should be developed. The water resources of Yellow River, Black River (Heihe) and Talim River should be distributed in a scientific and rational way. Greater support should be given to the economics tructural transformation of resource-dependent cities and the environmental protection of mines. Environmental treatment and land reclamation should be well implemented for mining areas.
Development of energy and mineral resources in the Loess Plateau must be closey linked with ecological construction. Part of the revenue from development activities should be used as ecology compensation fee in favor of environmental improvement. Local residents should be allowed to participate in various kinds of energy development activities so as to facilitate the process of industrialization and urbanization.
Water conservation functions should be restored for the upper reaches of China's major rivers. This is important for the protection of endemic biodiversity. Permanent funding sources should be established in order to ensure the sustainability of such plans. The construction of ecological forests should be emphasized. Ecologists should be involved in the planning and implementation of ecological engineering projects.
Domestic legislation should be strengthened to control the invasion of alien species. Large amount of imported alien grass species will definitely cause irreversible destruction to and impact on China's unique biodiversity. For water and soil erosion control projects and plantation projects, the use of local species rather than alien species must be emphasized.
5. On sustainable use of energy
It is important to make a rational choice of energy supply bases and energy transportation channels. Precautionary measures should be taken against acid rain and fluorine pollution caused by the burning of coal with high sulfur content and high fluorine content. Areas that use wood fuel should shift to new energy sources such as methanol, dimethylether (DME) so as to prevent increased logging as a result of population growth. Biomass energy resources are rich in some western regions, therefore modern methods (such as low tar gasification) should be adopted to utilize biomass. Large-scale experimental solar energy system should be set up. Efforts to couple the use of renewable energy sources with the manufacturing of related equipment in the western region should be encouraged, given the contribution they would make to the development of domestic technology and the generation of employment .
Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia have rich wind resources (accounting for more than 50% of the national total), and should become an important component of "West o East Electricity Delivery Plan". Renewable portfolio system (EPS) should be put forward at the national level to require that power supply departments must have a certain percentage of "green electricity" (i.e electricity generated by renewable energy) in their power supply. The concession approach, which has been successfully used by China Marine Petroleum and Natural Gas Company, should be adopted, and the market mechanism should be introduced, so that the monopoly of power departments could be broken ,and that wind power generation could enter into the "fast lane" of development.
Energy development strategies for Western China should maximize local benefits. Natural gas development strategies should target application of the LPG byproduct to displacing coal and biomass in the rural areas. High value-added products should be emphasized when exporting fossil energy to Eastern China. Polygener ation strategies should be adopted to get clean liquid fuels, chemicals and elect ricity.
6. On pollution control and cleaner production
The advantages of scientific and technological progress should be made best use of. Hightech industries should be developed. Extensive industrial growth pattern, which is characterized by high input, high consumption and low output, shou ld be transformed. The old practice of "taking treatment measures only after po llution has already occurred" and "end-of-pipe treatment" should be avoided. In other words, the traditional industrial stage characterized by heavy environmental pollution should be leapfrogged. Efforts need to be strengthened on the prevention and control of pollution caused by industrial wastewater, urban household wastewater and agricultural non-point source pollution, in order to tackle water shortage problems of the western regions as a result of water pollution, and to realize innocuous treatment, utilization and recycling of wastewater to the greatest extent possible. Strong measures should be continued to control acid rain and SO2 emissions in the southwestern region.
In order to protect the water quality of the Three Gorges Reservoir, construction of urban wastewater treatment plants and urban garbage disposal plants in the upper reaches of the Yangtze river should be sped up. In order to promote the prevention and Control of water pollution in the northwestern provinces and improve the water quality of the Yellow River and its tributaries, Planning on the Prevention and control of Water Pollution in the Yellow River Basin should be formulated as soon as possible.
The program on cleaner production demonstration cities and industries has a chieved preliminary results. State Economic and Trade commission (SETC) and State Environmental Protection administration (SEPA) should conduct surveys and research to summarize the experience of the 10 cities (such as Taiyuan) and the 5 in dustries (such as chemical industry) which have participated in this program, and disseminate it to other areas. While the Cleaner Production Law is being formulated, the relevant departments should carry out assessment and make adjustment on the existing policies, and adopt cleaner production as soon as possible as a core requirement for policies related to industrial structure transformation, technological retrofitting and renovation, total amount control of pollutant discharge, and environmental quality management, etc. A national cleaner production d atabase, cleaner production indicator system and cleaner production network shou ld be established and updated.
7. On transportation infrastructure construction
The development of transportation in the western regions should focus on road transportation, and the importance of rail transportation should be emphasized,
while sufficient attention should also be paid to other transportation modes. Importance should be attached to the design and optimization of multi-mode transportation system. Key cities and mining areas should serve as centers, from which road transportation could radiate outward and gradually form a network that connects cities, mining areas and other areas.
Existing transportation facilities should be make full use of, and should be upgraded and improved on a gradual basis. In constructing new roads, the transportation load should be taken into full account. Expressways should not be constructed too quickly and in too large numbers. In accordance with the principle of "stressing on prevention and giving priority to protection", environmental impact assessment should be conducted in a serious manner for road construction. In southwestern regions, land use for road and rail construction should be planned carefully so as to prevent new water and soil erosion. In northwestern regions, ecological protection should be given enough attention during road construction and repair so as to prevent desertification and stabilize sand.
Protection of ecological functions needs to be strengthened during transport construction. Special economic policies should be adopted for water and soil eroded areas. Local governments could be made responsible for planting green belt along the roadsides. Active participation of local residents in this process shoul d be encouraged according to the principle of "whoever takes treatment measures should benefit". Road construction department should strive to save land resources .
Balanced urban and traffic planning should be made, taking into account the projected needs for mobility. State of the art technologies should be utilized for public transportation systems.
The western regions should develop tourism, and attract domestic and foreign tourists.
8. On development of sustainable agriculture in the western regions
The implementation of projects that have both ecological and economic benefits should be given priority. Emphasis should be put on fruit industries, animal husbandry, production of economy crops with distinctive local characteristics, and ecological agriculture, etc. Certain incentives are needed to reduce risks inherent in adoption of new minimum and zero till land management.
Input into grassland protection and restoration should be increased. Development of animal husbandry should be sped up. careful assessment needs to be conducted for grassland resources, so that the production system could be improved and adjusted according to regional natural characteristics. The percentage of artificial grassland should be increased, and the carrying capacity of grassland sho uld be promoted. Demonstration bases for grassland management and applied research projects should be established. Relevant policies regarding grassland use and contract system should be reformed.
Conversion of steeparable land back to forest and grassland and restoration of grassland in the Loess Plateau should be incorporated into the 10th Five-Year Plan. Extension of plantation should be restricted so as to reduce farming pressure and increase vegetation coverage. Land property rights should be clarified. Farmers should be encouraged to invest more in land. Credit services in the rural areas should be improved in a proactive way. Development of non-agricultural industries should be promoted.
9. On the development of science, technology and education in the western regions
Governments at all levels should increase their scientific and technological input into ecological environmental construction and protection, should proatively support domestic and foreign enterprises, the society and experts to researc h and develop advanced and applicable technologies in the western regions, and should promote the dissemination and application of such technologies. The development of human resources should be promoted for the western regions Input into education should be increased. Education and training of the population should be increased.
Special efforts should be made to upgrade and extend the higher education and the vocational training systems in key cities and areas of western China . Only by cultivating human capital can economic growth be accelerated in ways consistent with the objectives of sustainable development. Efforts to promote dissemination of information and communication technologies in western China should be encouraged, with an aim to enable an increasing number of people to use the internet. Demonstration projects in distant learning using be internet should the strongly supported.
Satellite monitoring on the state of natural degradation should be carried out. Analysis on the cause and impact of "sand storms" and quantitative analysis on the environment of watersheds in Yangtze and Yellow river basins should be conducted, so as to provide support for policy making and planning. Monitoring and forecasting should be strengthened for natural disasters such as sand storms.
A monitoring system for ecological environment should be established as soon as possible. Monitoring experts and equipment should be in place to promote the quality of monitoring on resources, and ecological & environmental change in the western regions. As an important basis for the formulation of environmental quality standards, scientific assessment and precautionary control measures should be carried out on the health hazards caused by environmental pollution.
GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS BY THE CHINA COUNCIL TO THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT
The Fourth Meeting of the Second Phase of the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development took place in Beijing from 31 October to 2 November. This was the eighth time that Council had met, and as on previous occasions, it ventures to make recommendations to the Chinese goverment.
Over the years, the Council has expanded the scope of its activities, with eight Working Groups and two Task Forces, and has increasingly shifted its work from the general to the specific. This is partly because the linkage between environment and development has been widely accepted in China as elsewhere. A healthy environment is a fundamental resource for all human society, and the principles of sustainable development enter into all fields, from social and economic policy to the educational system and regional planning.
On this occasion, the Council was invited to give particular focus to plans for t he development of western China. In doing so it did not attempt to work out a specific regional policy for western China, but rather to adopt a regional approach within the framework of environment and development policy as a whole. It took a ccount of the fragility of the western Chinese environment, and relative lack of knowledge about it.
The Council stands by the previous recommendations it has made, particularly on the central importance of policies which reconcile protection of the environment with social and economic development, and confirms the need for effective coordi nation of such policies at all levels, whether national, regional or local.
Attached to these recommendations is a detailed annex by the Secretariat on the problems of western China, and a strategy for dealing with them. Also attached are the reports of the various Working Groups. The Council's broad recommendations now follow.
1.Environmental economics should be applied in all parts of t he planning process. The place of environmental economics in a socialist market economy is critical. A lthough it is easier said than done, governments must determine true costs, covering such issues as environmental damage and depletion of natural resources, and ensure that prices take due account of them. Market forces are indispensable but they must be brought within the framework of the public interest. Within this framework there are many possibilities for partnerships between the public and private sectors, including small and medium sized enterprises. For their part, governments should use economic instruments, including tax incentives and disincentives, across the field, and so far as possible, avoid perverse subsidies.
In the case of western China, the Council recommends that such policies should take account of local circumstances, in particular the fragile environment, climatic extremes, low population density and the relative poverty of the region. The poorest members of society may need at least temporary protection from the impact of reforms.
2.Economic planning and environmental protection should be more closely integrated. With a growing population and rising living standards, pressure on the environment is likely to increase. A high priority is the rehabilitation as well as the protection of the environment, and this needs better recognition in the planning process. So does the growth of environmental industries, which are a major source of wealth and employment in other countries.
The Council recommends fresh efforts to coordinate the work of institutions, in particular Ministries in central and provincial governments, so that all aspects of policy can be brought together and seen in terms of each other. Over the next ten years, the Chinese economy may well double in size, and its success requires far reaching coordination of energy, transport, industrial and agricultural policy, with overriding respect for the environment and comprehensive legislation to give it full effect. Nowhere is this more necessary than in western China.
3.Energy policy should have high priority. Demand for energy is constantly increasing, and supply has difficulty in responding. So far coal, which is abundant and easily available, has been the primary source, and this will continue. But there are heavy environmental penalties. In both the short and long term the introduction of new and cleaner techniques for extracti ng energy from coal-in particular coal gasification-is essential. In the meantime measures are already in train to cope with air pollution and acid rain caused b y combustion of coal with high sulphur content. There are good prospects for poly-generation whereby low cost chemicals, clean liquid, gaseous fluids, heat and electricity are obtained from coal and natural gas. Of increasing concern is the problem of increasing atmospheric carbon, which must be seen in the context of climate change. Here the possibilities of carbon sequestration are already opening up, and it is in China's interest to join with other countries in promoting what has been called the low carbon economy.
The development of other energy sources and technologies is an equal priority. Among them are natural gas, hydrogen and photovoltaics for industrial as well as transport purposes. Worldwide there is increasing interest in small scale electricity generation, and over a quarter of new annual investment in generation capacity comes from units of ten megawatts or less. Of particular importance in rural are as such as western China is biomass technology, where more research is needed to improve energy transformation. Local generating systems from photovoltaics would give greater local self-sufficiency, and reduce costs arising from dependence on extension of the grid.
For western China, wind energy resources (accounting for half the national total) should help to meet energy demand not only in the west but elsewhere in China. A mbitious Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) policies should be put forward at the national leval to ensure that power supply departments include a percentage of green electricity (i.e. generated from renewable resources) in their supplies, either self generated or purchased.
4.Sustainable agricultures is another priority. There are four broad issues. The first is over of pesticides and the need for a national strategy for integrated pest management. There is clear evidence that farmers use more pesticides than they need, and that reduction in pesticide use can be lowered without damaging rice, cotton or other crop yields. It can also be of direct benefit to crops. In this area, government departments seem to play conflicting roles in the regulation, production and sale of pesticides. Excessive pesticide use can lead to health problems, waste farm resources, and damage water quality with effects on meeting drinking water standards and fish production.
The Council believes that existing national food security policy needs reconsideration. The effect of current regulations is to limit the internal grain trade to no good purpose, and to cause grain to be produced on land not suitable for the purpose. Now that food can be distributed without difficulty throughout China, the main constraint is not lack of grain but of low farmers' income in different parts of China.
Although there has been some progress in agricultural management, some unsustainable practices continue, for example soil erosion, burning of crop residues and waste in use of water, fertilizers and pesticides. The Council recommends a new look at the whole subject.
Last there is concern over the introduction of genetically modified organisms. Biotechnology has many positive aspects,and its applications have great potentiali ties. But although no ill effects have so far been detected on human health, they raise serious environmental issues, which have yet to be resolved. The Council re commends caution in the use of genetically modified materials until greater unde rstanding of them is achieved. It is proposing to set up a Task Force to enquire further into how the rich resources of China be converted into economic wealth through the application of biotechnology.
5.Biodiversity should be cherished.
China has unique biological resources which still seem to be undervalued. While destruction of topsoils and forests, and soil erosion are visible to the naked eye, the impoverishment of the natural resource base,and the organisms within it, fail to attract the public and political attention they deserve. Diversity of crop species and the microorganisms which support them are of fundamental importance. Conservation in gene banks, aboretums and botanical gardens as well as farm conservation methods adopted by farming families need strengthening.
The good management of land, water, fauna and flora,and forests is essential for sustainable agriculture. The increasing demand for grain for livestock production as population and living standards rise underlines the importance of healthy agriculture in China.
Conservation or restoration of grasslands and forests is already under way. But expert advice is always needed on the appropriate treatment to be used. Indeed environmental impact assessments are as necessary for conservation and restoration as they are for new urban and industrial development, particularly in such vulnerable areas as western China.
The Council draws particular attention to the following points:
On the international side,China has responsibilities under the Convention on Biological Diversity, and the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety. The enormous wealth of Chinese plant species calls for particular attention in their exploitation for human purposes. China should enter into biopartnerships with national and intern ational companies. It should also develop guidelines for such partnerships based on prior informed consent and sharing of the benefits.
There is an opportunity for classifying land into conservation,restoration and sustainable and intensified use aeras. Genetic gardens might be created in certain areas where both native and introduced food and medicinal plants could be grown and evaluated.
Efforts to enhance in-situ conservation of biodiversity through effective management of existing and new protected areas should be undertaken.
In all environmental impact assessments, the biodiversity dimension should be included and fully respected.
There are particular dangers arising from invasive species which might do harm to native ecosystems.There is also a potential danger arising from incautious use of genetically modified organisms.
There is widespread ignorance of the importance of biodiversity, and the need for better public understanding of the issues. In promoting such understanding, it is important to use local knowledge and engage the interest and support of local communities.
6.Cleaner industrial production and contro of pollution need further encouragement.
The Council makes three main points.
Cleaner production and pollution control go hand in hand with environmental benefits. They give many opportunities for more efficient and profitable production as has been well shown elsewhere. Failure to adopt them can carry heavy penalties, which in future could become heavier, with implications for human health and impacts on ecosystems generally. Different pollutants can combine to have serious con sequences.
We need to know more about water pollution in river basins, and how best to protect aquifers.
Demonstration projects bringing together public and private enterprise might be made to show what can be done in specific areas, perhaps in a Chinese province or region. Western China might provide the opportunity for showing what might be done under careful management.
In t he future work of the Council, more weight should be given to industry,and greater business representation on the Council would be welcome. There is already a proposal by the China Enterprises Confederation for a Working Group on Sustain able Industrial Development which would have wider scope than the existing Worki ng Groups on Cleaner Production and Pollution Control.
7.Integrated transport policy is another priority.
China is no different from any other country in needing an intergrated transport policy in which the advantages and disadvantages of different modes can be weighed and judged against each other. As the number of private cars increases, so does the need for better and more reliable public transport. Prices for such transport, whether of people or freight, should reflect the real social, economic and environmental cost. Throughout strict environmental standards need to be applied. Particular attention needs to be given to planning of urban transport systems to respect local circumstances.
This has direct application to western China. In some cases, railways may be of more value both for freight and passengers than roads. In others, roads may be requi red, but in this case upgrading of existing roads, and building of feeder roads rather than expensive new expressways may be the more desirable option. To minimize the impact of new transport systems, rail and roads can often be laid in parallel.
Energy planning for cities needs to take account of pollution control and development of transport. Pilot studies are necessary to cover public and private transport systems, and eventually limitations on the of private cars.
Again, public understanding is essential.Pedestrian areas and use of bicycles in relatively small communities may be the best mode of personal transport, and no social stigma should be attached to them.
The costs of aviation also need environmental assessment. At present, worldwide, aviation has a hidden subsidy in that aviation fuel is not taxed in the same way as fuels for surface use. China may wish to consider joining in an international ef fort to correct this anomaly.
8.More work is needed on the implication of Chinese membershi p of the World Trade Organization.
Chinese entry into the World Trade Organization will carry additional obligations for an improved environmental management system, and China will have to adjust some of its investment and trade policies accordingly. This may serve to attract new investment to western China and elsewhere. Chinese experience in eastern coas tal development zones could be of value in shaping better investment policies in designated state-level zones in western China. Trade, investment and sustainable development need to be more tightly linked.China could profit from the experien ce of other countries in this respect.
At the same time the Council recognizes that the role of environment within the World Trade Organization is far from clear. There are risks of conflict between the World Trade Organization and the multilateral environmental agreements, and a choice may need to be made between bringing the environment into a more central place in the World Trade Organization or creating some new organization of equal standing to menage the issues.
So far as western China is concerned, the Clean Development Mechanism under the K yoto Protocol may offer significant opportunities for bringing in foreign capit al and accelerating technology transfer, particularly in the field of energy.
The Council commends the papers and recommendations made by the individu al Working Groups and Task Forces. It also draws attention to certain broad strategic considerations, first with regard to western China:
In the development of western China, careful urban planning, covering al l aspects of urban life, will be essential if mistakes made elsewhere permitting urban sprawl and loss of community are to be avoided. So far as possible, new towns and cities should have a personal dimension and be of manageable size.
Environmental impact assessments will be essential. They should be followed by careful monitoring of the outcome of development.
The importance of education and training facilities in what are still relatively poor communities cannot be exaggerated. Better public understanding of change together with respect for cultural diversity (and use of local knowledge in such fields as medicine) are likewise vital. Local communities must feel themselves to be associated with the development process, and in some sense to exercise ownership over it.
More generally, China needs to play a full part in international negotiations on such issues as climate change,and to ensure that environmental considerations are taken properly into account.China also needs to work out the regional impacts of po ssible changes in weather systems and rises in sea level.In tackling the greenho use issue,it is important to take account of emissions of methane as well as car bon dioxide.
China enjoys good governance but it needs to review some of its enviro nmental legislation and to do more to enforce it.
Full consultation at all levels,including that of ordinary citizens, is essential. In this respect information about environmental conditions can be a powerful force for reform. The Council urges the Chinese government to expand the amount of publicly available information about environmental conditions and tren ds.
As before the Council underlines the need for the Chinese government t o leapfrog over the mistakes of other countries,protect its unique environment and culture,and increasingly make its own distinctive contribution to sustainabl e development.
POINTS MADE BY PREMIER ZHU RONGJI DURING HIS MEETING WITH CCICED MEMBERS AND WG COCHAIRS AT THE 4th MEETING OF THE 2nd PHASE
I am very glad to meet you once again in Autumn, the best season in Beijing. I have met with most of you before. You have devoted considerable energy and made a lot of contribution to China's environment and development. I would like to tak e this opportunity to express my thanks to you.
Due to limited time, I am sorry that I could not ask every China Council Member to speak, nor could I give more time to those who have spoken. But I could assure you that the Chinese Government would attach great importance to the recommend ations you have raised.
In recent years, China has got increasingly deeper understanding of environmenta l protection and the strategy of sustainable development. We attach a lot of imp ortance to environmental protection, and made a lot of investment into it. This is unprecedented in Chinese history. Now it is the best period for China's envir o nmental protection. In the past, we indeed didn't have sufficient understanding of environmental protection and sustainable development. But there had also been some practical reasons. For example, China used to be short of grain. Therefore, people reclaimed land wherever possible, and carried out some industrial projects which caused serious pollution. Now, China has basically solved the problem o f food shortage, and there is even grain surplus for some years. Therefore, we c an afford to convert arable land back to forest and grassland, that, to turn the land that has been over reclaimed and overgrazed back to forest or grassland. A t the same time, with our economy developed to the present level, we can afford t o invest more money to improve ecological environment, promote environmental con struction, and implement sustainable development.
Of course, we still have a lot of important tasks and work to undertake. This year is one in which drought has been very serious. In some places, sand storms have occurred. These storms carried sand to Japan and Korea, and reportedly to Hawaii as well. I feel sorry for this. We have enough evidence to show that the sand did not just come from China, but also from other countries. But we nevertheless would solve this problem by any means. We are currently formulating relevant plans in this regard. It is not easy to treat sand storms. Therefore, I would ve ry much like to listen to your recommendations.
I remember that during a previous meeting with you, I said that pollution in Beijing was very serious. 3 years has passed. I think you have found that the envir onmental quality of Beijing has been improved visibly. Beijing is bidding for 20 08 Olympic Games. Although the field of competitors is very crowded, I am confid ent that Beijing will win. 8 years from now, although Beijing's problems cannot be totally solved, its environmental quality would become as good as other cities. I hope that, when foreigner talk about the sand storms in Beijing, you could put in a few objective words for Beijing. I hope that you come to Beijing each year in the next 8 years, and provide your valuable recommendations to us . I am fully confident that, in 8 years, the environmental quality of Beijing would reach the level of sydney.
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