The Shanghai Wetland Messengers
have planned to go to a wetland east to Chong-Ming Island on 5th
of June—Global Environment Day. Recently, they have started recruiting
50 volunteers in nearby universities. They prepared three questions and
did a random survey on wetland among college students. However, to their
disappointment, about 80% of the students had no idea about “wetland”,
some had only heard of it and some did not know anything at all. Only
about 10% of the students could generally say what animals are there on
the wetland and only 6 managed to answer the reason for protecting
wetland.
According to a research did on “Building and Preserving Natural Environment within Shanghai Area”,
well-protected ecological groups have almost disappeared. After converting
Dong-Tan into farmland, it is almost impossible to see groups of mini
swans nowadays. Students at Shanghai Wetland Messengers said that they
would need about 50 volunteers when they go there to do some research in
June and therefore they are right now doing some pre-surveys to see how
much college students care about wetland.
Wild Life Photo Exhibition—Special Event for May 22nd International Biodiversity Day
In order to raise public awareness on
protecting biodiversity, China Environmental Protection Bureau, Beijing
Zoo, China Wild Life Conservation Association, China Art Photography
Association held a wild life photo exhibition at May 22nd—International
Biodiversity Day.
It is the whole human
kind’s responsibility and obligation to protect biodiversity, China is
right now at the crossroads of solving environmental, resources and
population problems. This exhibition will finish in mid June.
Analysis
of the role of governments and other major groups in relation to water,
sanitation and human settlement
This section assesses the role
played by governments and the remaining 8 major group in implementing
policies and projects relating to sustainable water, sanitation and human
settlements.
Governments
Governments
are genuinely committed towards sustainable development and poverty
alleviation as reflected in their international pledges and numerous
national policy frameworks. However,
a viable mechanism for translating these aspirations into actions is still
missing and the response to requirements on the ground remains incredibly
slow. The very first step is to develop Water Management Plans by 2005, as
called for in the JPOI, and commit adequate resources towards the
attainment of agreed goals and targets. Policy autonomy is central, and
this must not be undermined by global economic liberalisation rules such
as GATS or conditionality imposed by the multilateral financial
institutions and donors.
A vastly altered post 9/11
geo-political scenario, the elusive nature of peace, security and
stability, increased military spending, counter-terrorism measures that
have undermined human rights, the protracted war in Iraq, the quagmire of
reconstruction, weakened multilateralism, unaltered and inequitable global
trade and financial architectures have all coalesced to make the
attainment of internationally agreed development goals including
sustainable development, more elusive than ever.
This inevitably affects the level of development assistance
required to realize these goals.
Business and Industry
The consensus among NGOs is that
business and industry retain the highest potential for affecting the
achievement of the global goals and targets for water, sanitation and
human settlements. They are
well placed to thwart, even subvert, attempts towards realizing such
goals. The challenge is to realize their potential within a framework of
publicly accountable rules.
Multinational Enterprises (MNEs)
can provide employment, technology, training and financial resources to
local communities in all these areas.
In some cases, MNEs are known to introduce higher environmental,
health and safety standards. They have also become notorious in terms of
profit repatriation, focusing on short term profits and relocating the
moment they smell declining profits. They also enhance economic insecurity
by distancing themselves from the real needs of local communities and by
not being adequately open and transparent in their dealings.
Small and medium enterprises (SMEs)
that form the bulk of local economic activity generally have better and
closer ties to local communities. They also have an interest and stake in
the local investment climate. They should become a stronger part of local
sustainable consumption and production schemes and should be supported to
contribute in more concrete ways to reducing the ecological footprint.
The willing acknowledgement of all
segments of business and industry, including the accounting, investment
and financial sectors, of the need to adhere to strong enforceable
government regulations and standards, will help in defining and refining
their priorities and constructive roles. Community participation and
enforced accountability are tools can greatly contribute to maximizing
their potential.
Trade Unions
Organized workers can contribute
significantly to improving the social conditions of people working for
business and industry. In many cases workers have hands on experience with
sustainability issues and have practical ideas for innovations and
improving existing practices such as those relating to saving water or
reducing pollution. As major organizers of people, trade unions can
contribute significantly in terms of educating their members on choosing a
sustainable path of development that will simultaneously improve the
quality of their lives while preserving the environment for present and
future generations. The commitment with an implementation framework by the
trade unions at the CSD to promote sustainable production and consumption
patterns is a valuable example.
Women
Women are the most vital of all
links in the sustainability chain.
It has been proven time and again that any activity at the local
level that does not involve and empower women is a non-starter and bound
to fail. No issue in
sustainable development is more relevant to women than water and
sanitation. Yet, in many
regions of the world, women remain marginalized from decision- making as
they relate to these issues.
Gender mainstreaming is only now
finding its way into the global vocabulary.
Much more needs to be done to ensure it becomes second nature in
thought processes and practical arrangements. Only when women are
recognized as valuable custodians of the eco-systems will efforts to
improve service delivery at all levels bear fruit.
Youth
It is not simply a cliché that
the future belongs to the youth of today.
What they inherit from the policies we implement today will
determine whether and how well they will live.
Youth movements are gradually being geared into action and to take
on a more proactive role in local planning for sustainability. They must be made more aware of the power they wield through
greater awareness raising programmes and there ought to be greater
opportunities for youth to participate in sustainable development
processes.
Farmers
As primary suppliers of food
products and raw materials for production no one can deny the central role
farmers play in terms of food security, food sovereignty and public
health. Water is the life
blood of their livelihoods and they have the major stake in ensuring a
steady access to water supply. They hold the key to sustainable water use
and must jealously guard fresh water supplies. To be able to do this they
require all the support they can muster especially at the local level.
Traditional and small farmers have been have been marginalized in
decisions regarding the choice of technologies, seeds, and practices. They
are victims of agricultural systems and practices (promoted for decades by
agribusiness, multilateral institutions and national governments) that are
extractive and chemical intensive, polluting waters and soil, as well as
eroding biodiversity. While some farmers have organized themselves and
begun to work with other civil society groups, much more needs to be done
to ensure that their voices are heard and listened to.
Indigenous Peoples
Despite
recent UN efforts to address the concerns for this group, it is clear that
a lot more needs to be done if we are to protect the rights of indigenous
peoples to their land, resources
and knowledge so that they can sustain their livelihoods.
Increased
recognition by governments and the scientific community of the water
rights and knowledge base of indigenous people is needed.
This scientific and technological underpinnings of their knowledge
base can be built upon for the benefit of the communities (e.g. Early
warning systems in prevention of natural disasters - floods in Mozambique,
where the communities have their own references, etc.)
Scientists
Closing the wide gap in the
translation and transmission of current scientific knowledge to the wider
global community is perhaps the biggest challenge for this group.
There is no shortage of studies on urban planning, sustainable
housing, sustainable delivery of public services etc. The scientific
community in general and universities in particular owe, to themselves and
the non- scientific/academic minded peoples of this world have a duty to
inform, share and help demystify their respective disciplines and help all
stakeholders move from words to deeds towards a sustainable society. They must work more closely with community based
organizations and assist in identifying simple ways to make sustainability
a reality for all. At the same time, they must also acknowledge gaps in
scientific understanding and promote the precautionary principle in
resource use and management.
Local Authorities
Local authorities are the obvious
centers for community building, for local planning and sustainable
development. This group has,
in many parts of the world, been identified as having ultimate
responsibility for managing water, sanitation and even housing systems and
they deserve more support and clearer roles within national structures. If
they are to do their jobs properly, they must also have the rights tools,
adequate resources and access to information from all other stakeholders.
While many local authorities have
done excellent work in raising awareness and promoting sustainability,
many others remain closed to public participation and do not provide
information to affected citizens. Given the right circumstances local
authorities are well positioned to pull together various sectors of
society into joint agenda setting and implementation ensuring policy
coherence and a holistic approach to community building at the local
level. In short, local
authorities need to empower their constituencies while also being
empowered themselves in this chain of implementation.
Main
Conclusions
1. Water, sanitation and human settlement policies impinge upon every area of public concern. As such they must be addressed holistically and comprehensively. And, whatever approach is settled upon, it must face the light of constant public scrutiny if it is to be effective and meaningful to the bulk of humanity. Making available safe drinking water is not only a technical problem but also a social challenge encompassing issues of ownership, community rights and management concerns, the issue of water wastage, the burden of repair and maintenance of existing infrastructure, corruption, lack of accountability, the choice of options, quantity of resources allocated and so on.
2. Achieving Sustainable Human Settlements requires a cross-cutting (from the perspective of all three pillars of Sustainable Development) approach to building sustainable communities, rectifying environmental and social injustices (including gender aspects) and achieving sustainable production and consumption patterns, whilst ensuring economic and social innovation and development. Public participation (the 4th pillar of Sustainable Development) is crucial in this process. All this must be done while also meeting basic human needs.
3.
Many successful examples of sustainable water and sanitation
projects, and human-settlement development are developed and managed by
Community Based Organizations and Non-Governmental Organizations, yet
these groups frequently do not participate in national policy schemes or
even grander international schemes. Policies are needed to reverse current
processes that marginalize crucial groups in society that play a vital
role in building sustainable communities and integrated water policies.
4.
Globalization in its current form has increased economic
insecurities especially in poorer neighborhoods. The lack of participatory
structures and accountability makes communities relatively powerless in
ensuring environmental and social sustainability.
5.
Human settlements are indeed complex entities. Any strategy for
sustainability needs to work with different disciplines and sectors, and
just as every practitioner needs to understand those working around her or
him, so governments also need to ensure that plans for sustainable
development are integrated across the sectors, and will genuinely meet
international targets while also meeting the needs of the poorest.
6.
A primary concern is the protection and conservation of water
catchment areas and restoration of those that have been degraded and
destroyed, such as wetlands. Deforestation and degradation of water
catchment areas has been going on without adequate checks. The
ecosystem approach should be integrated into water resource management
policies at all levels.
7.
Human rights standards have a key role to play in sustainable water
development. The UN Covenant
on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Committee provides a framework for
action that is anchored to legal accountability, and should be recognized
by the CSD as a means to secure the right to water for all. As such, it
should be reflected in future water management policies, including all
National Water Management Plans expected to be in place by 2005.
8.
The vital role of water resources in rural and urban livelihoods
should be appreciated as water is an essential resource for reducing
vulnerabilities through attaining food security, alleviating poverty and
enhancing people’s health.
9.
There is a need to strengthen the
coordination and cooperation for the mobilization of both internal and
external resources and the wise use of such resources as well as to make
increased effort to allocate more budgets for water resource management,
sanitation and human settlements. Financial and other commitments must be
honored. The type and nature of conditionalities must be fundamentally
reviewed and not be imposed. The donor community must rely less on
standard blueprints for water development and pay more attention to small
scale water management and service provision options, which should be
replicated and up-scaled.
10.
There is an urgent need to introduce innovative approaches in
involving the private sector. The adverse impacts of resource
privatisation and over-exploitation now call for firm regulations and
strong enforcement. This will
help conserve and improve upon the current rural and urban environments
and to promote corporate social accountability and good practices in
private business.
Focusing
on the Move of the Beijing Zoo
Last week, when news of the
planned move of the Beijing Zoo appeared on two major Chinese websites,
the attention it drew from the public was enormous. People showed their
love for the zoo and their concerns towards the future life of the
animals. However, there was a big debate on whether to move the zoo or
not.
In the May 21st edition of
“Environmental Journalist Salon”, people presented their different
opinions on this issue.
Against
1 If
Beijing Zoo were moved, Beijing would lose a green island and a nearest
and very convenient environmental education base that has been there for
almost a hundred years. Also, migratory birds would lose a habitat that is
closest to Beijing residents, and birds in the city would miss a beautiful
refuge.
2 Beijing
Zoo and several other sites around it form a special cultural atmosphere
in Beijing. It is a precious cultural island in this commercial city. If
we lost all these old buildings and the cultural atmosphere, Beijing would
not be a cultural capital anymore.
3 I
don’t want to have to tell other people some day that there used to be a
zoo here and therefore this place is called “Beijing Zoo”. That would
be a terrible feeling.
4 I
think we should think about the majority of Beijing people. Now, they
could spend just a little money to take a bus to see the animals but after
the move, they will have to spend a lot more money to travel outside
Beijing. Although Beijing people have become richer, how many of us can
really afford a car? How many of us have the time to drive all the way to
see the zoo?
Agree
1 It
would be good for the animals if the zoo were moved, they would breathe
less polluted air and hear less noise. Have you ever thought about the
feelings of the animals? It is already cruel enough to put them in a cage,
then why don’t we even try to give them a better environment in which to
live? They need to be closer to nature!
2 It
is too noisy downtown, moving to a relatively quiet and natural place is
good for the animals. Why not move them to a better place where they can
live a happier life? What is wrong with us spending more time on traveling
there? Do we consider animals friends or toys? Speaking of transportation,
it is a lot better now outside the fourth ring road, we have more private
cars and the problem could be easily solved with shuttle buses.
4 When
the zoo was first built, the location was considered to be “countryside” at that time. The air in town is really not good,
countryside is a lot better, good for the animals’ throat and health.
Mutual-split
the zoo into two
1
It is getting crowed in the zoo here, and if we could build a
bigger zoo outside the town and have more animals, also making it more
comfortable for the animals living in downtown, it would be good. The
original one could be transformed into a museum or institute.
2 The
current zoo is quite small, why can’t we build a branch zoo? So that
people will be able to have a choice either to drive out of town to see
animals or go downtown.
3 The
space in Beijing Zoo is quite limited. We should control the quantity and
density of animals so that they could have better living conditions. New
born babies and new comers could be kept in the original zoo and the one
in countryside could be a branch of Beijing Zoo. We should avoid moving
big animals and try to reduce fear and injury while transporting.
Other
opinions
1 One
question, if we move the zoo somewhere else, what shall we use this old
one for? Are we going to make it new real estate or a “zoo without
animals”? Or a square, department store, amusement park or something? If
we are only moving the animals away and keeping this place as a park, I
suppose it’s good. However, I wouldn’t support it if it would be
converted into a commercial center or something.
2 The
first question is this, if this historical place were to be changed into a
commercial area, the public should have the right to know it and to
participate in the decision making process. Secondly, would moving the zoo
do anything good or bad to the public’s welfare? Thirdly, I think moving
it to the countryside is bad for the animals’ welfare because there will
probably not be enough visitors and therefore not enough money to support
the zoo, then how can we talk about animals’ welfare?
100%
animal protectionist
1 The
existence of the zoo itself is depriving animals of their rights. Those
animals are not living under good conditions in the zoo.
2 Every
time I see those animals kept in such a small place, I feel sad. We should
close down all the zoos and return the animals to nature. If people want
to see animals, they should act like the volunteers of “Friends of
Nature” or “Green Earth Volunteer”: go watch the birds from far
away. Or we could produce more documentary films for people to watch and
know more about animals.
Specialists
According to historical record,
Beijing Zoo was first built in 1906 and was the first public zoo in the
history of China. It was called “Park of a Thousand Animals”. Up until
today, Beijing Zoo has about a hundred years history and has gained a lot
of precious experience in management and research, which is not only
valuable for other Chinese zoos but also for zoos around the globe. Since
it was named Beijing Zoo in 1955, it has played a role of Chinese National
Zoo.
-
China Engineer Institute, Agricultural Environment Department,
Chen-Jun-Yu
Beijing Zoo is the oldest
zoo in China. I did research there in 1930s. It is now already a
historical site and should not be moved quickly.
The
main function of the zoo is education, especially to kids and youth. It
educates children to love nature and science. If the zoo is too far from
downtown and not easy for people to go, then it is hard for it to function
in the way it should. Speaking of the need of animals to be close to
nature, that is another story. Compared to the current zoo, conditions in
countryside are too bad and could make the situation even worse. It will
be more like the animals’ tomb then!
-
Beijing Normal University, Life and Science Institute,
Assistant Professor Liu-Ding-Zhen
To move it or not depends
on the purpose. If it is for animal welfare, I think it is good to move
it. First of all, it could keep the animals away from air pollution and
noise; second, it could be a good chance to give animals a better living
condition. However, if this is only for making empting space to make more
room for city development covered by the flag of animal welfare, I would
definitely go against it! Some people think that a zoo in downtown is a
hidden danger for public health. I think this is not reasonable. SARS and
Bird Flu were not caused by the zoo, Beijing Zoo has not caused any
contagious diseases at all. Why were there serious contagious sicknesses?
Because people ate too much meat? This theory is not convincing.
The
best solution would be for the government to invests enough to build a
better zoo in countryside while remodeling the current one and keeping a
few animals there. The current zoo is still not strong enough in
scientific research and we are wishing that the new one in countryside
will be able to do better.
-
Green Earth Volunteer, Wang-Yong-Chen
It is
not surprising that the move of the zoo has brought such a big debate, I
think this is because of people’s love and concern towards the fate of
the animals. It is not important how many ideas we come out with, but the
opportunity for the public to express their will in this issue that
counts. This issue is very relevant to our residents’ benefit and youth
education, hence we should have a channel to participate in decision
making.
NGO
Capacity Building (Back To Top)
NGO’s
Role in Promoting Environmental Improvement in Rural Areas
--Provided
by Shanxi Mothers’ Voluntary Environmental Protection Association
The year of 2003 was very
important for our Shanxi Mothers’ Voluntary
Environmental Protection Association. With the
momentum of the WSSD, the Association’s mission clearly focused on capacity building for rural
women in environmental protection. We raised 540,000 RMB to conduct
training for 2384 women in 24 rural towns and villages in 17 counties in
Shanxi. The training programs included the introduction of new concepts of
family eco-ethics and new technology for ecological construction. In the
meantime, we helped 354 rural families build up their family sustainable
agriculture practice facilities that use pigs’ waste to produce
electricity and bio-fertilizer. The funding came from three sources:
project funds, rural families’ contributions, and government subsidies.
Combining funds from these three sources is referred to as the “three-parts” method. The project achieved visible results called
“The Three Improvements” (improvement in pig enclosures, toilets, and
cooking stoves), “Four Reductions” (reduced usage of chemical
fertilizer, pesticides, reduced labor intensity for rural women, and
reduced production cost), and “Three Changes” (animal waste converted
to useful resources, the sanitary conditions improved for rural families,
and the relationship among the neighborhoods has become more harmonious).
In
2003, the rainy season lasted more than 40 days and many families didn’t
have enough dry fuel wood, but the families with bio-gas facilities had
more than enough energy. They shared their clean energy with their
neighborhoods. This result was very encouraging for rural women to further
develop this production pattern. For Shanxi Mothers’ Voluntary
Environmental Protection Association, this is not only encouraging, but
also enlightening. This
reinforced the effectiveness of their working methods and their
willingness to continue working hard.
In
the following parts of this article, their basic ideas of NGOs’ roles in
rural environmental improvement will be presented.
1.
Help
the people whose interests are marginalized, making up for the
government’s failures
With the strategy of developing western China, the
government has invested a lot of effort and money into environmental
improvement in these areas. However, the policies are macroscopical and
nonspecific, especially with limited government funding. In northwestern
areas, women, especially poor women, are much less likely to express their
opinions. NGOs have diverse methods for working in rural areas with
respect to women’s roles. This kind of work can be done with much less
cost and with much more efficiency by NGOs than by the government.
1.
Fund
raising
As a NGO, we can never achieve our goals and
expectations without the necessary funding. We do fund-raising through
various channels, but most of our funding comes from small grants from
international institutions. We are careful to use the grants properly
according to a strict financial management system. Currently, our
financial management is consigned to the project financial management
department of Shanxi Women’s Federation. We also tried to learn the
advanced management methods from the World Bank by asking the project
beneficiary to begin the projects with their own funding and later
providing our funding after evaluation.
2.
Cooperation
with experts, technicians, and the spread of advanced technology to
enhance the capacity of rural women
Currently, most men in rural areas work in cities
to earn money except during harvesting time.
Hence, women are more involved in farm work nowadays. Therefore, it
is a key element to enhance rural women’s capacity in environmental
improvement. We provide environmental education on new concepts of
eco-ethics and help rural women to master new technology to increase
productivity while protecting the environment.
3.
Find
capable individuals and those who most need help in implementing the
project
Those who are capable are more likely to implement
the project well, and those who most need the help will most cherish the
help. How to consolidate the two objectives and select most suitable pilot
families is not very easy, but we can do it if we work hard. The most
important thing is to go to the villages and get to know the rural people
and their conditions. After a basic understanding, we will ask the
villagers to apply for the project, and the project selection team
(project officer, local government, village chief, villager
representatives, and among them at least 1/3 women) will discuss, select,
and announce the families. The team will inform the selected families of
the final details. There are some conflicts during the process, but we can
resolve them if we listen to the opinions of the villagers and work in an
open and fair manner. The pilot families are helped out of poverty and
they will help others after their success. Their success will educate
other villagers and the project will be replicated and spread to other
families and places.
4.
Gender
awareness in the project
Although the trainees and main objective groups are
rural women, we insisted on including gender issues as part of the
training programs. We invited the Shanxi Women’s Studies Association to
conduct the training in this respect. In the beginning of the project, we
stressed women’s participation. However,
the actual situation in most cases is that women are only participating as
a labor force and men continue to mainstream the project design and
decision-making. We realized the problem and have made an effort to make
rural women more active and involved in the project design,
decision-making, and management.
In
conclusion, we have to admit that there are many difficulties for NGOs,
including a lack of funding and professional personnel, but if we work
hard, we will find the solutions and achieve our goals.
Policy Watch (Back To Top)
Investment
Follows Environmental Improvement---a description on dealing with water
pollution in Tai Lake area
“Environment is resources,
environment is capital”. During the process of dealing with water
pollution in Tai Lake, Jiangsu Province has implemented market methods in
environmental management and received unexpected good results. Because of
environmental improvements, investments in this province have increase
dramatically. This is the first successful attempt to solve the
contradiction between dealing with pollution and shortage of capital.
This project focused on Wu-Li Lake
and Mei-Liang Lake (which are part of the Tai Lake water system). During
recent years, Wuxi City has invested over 600 million into the project and
has done an integrative renovation to Wu-Li Lake, which has raised the
price of the land around the lake mounted up from 300,000/Mu to 2,45,000/Mu.
The 38 pieces of land sold for 4.12 billion RMB and 1.65 billion was in
turn directly used in the project.
Most important projects at Wu-Li
Lake are almost completed. Forty-eight factories around the lake were shut
down and moved away. The area of water increased from 5.6 km2 to 8.6 km2;
self-refreshing ability of the lake has been strengthened; water quality
has improved from worse than V grade to IV grade; restoration of water
plants project and inter-lake wetland preservation project are under
construction. Several sewage disposal factories has been built, which has
increased the ability of Wuxi City to deal with 583,000 tons of sewage per
day.
Wuxi City is not the only
municipality using market-style environmental management, Zhenjiang City
has built an “eco-road” under the same kind of environmental
management method. The idea of building this road was based on an overall
planning and through market-style management to raise up the price of land
and real estate properties along the road to rise up so that there will be
enough money to deal with pollution. City officers said that before
building this road, the price of the land was only 100,000/Mu but it is
now 500,000/Mu. The government has made 170,000/Mu net profit.
“Investment follows
environmental improvement”—the key factor in this win-win situation is
management.
The officer of Zhenjiang City
said, we want to marketize the environment and therefore have to count on
the market. Before, environmental infrastructure was built by local
government with the money from taxes, and after the price of land
increased, the money was all taken away by developers, not the government.
Now that through marketizing environmental improvements, developers can
participate directly in infrastructure building. This has not only solved
our financial problem, but also increased government income. During these
three years, the total invest in environmental infrastructure is over 10
billion RMB with only 120 million actually from the Zhenjiang government.
More than 95% came from market investment.
At the same time, Jiangsu Province
has added up more values to their water resources. They actively promote “emission ticket trade” which is one of the most effective
environmental management techniques widely used in developed countries.
This method gives factories and enterprises a choice: they can either buy
emission tickets to allow themselves to dump more sewage or use modern
technology to reduce their emission.
So far, Jiangsu Province has set
up a great model for environmental development and management in other
provinces and cities. Market magic has just started in China and will be
playing a more and more important role in the future. Although we should
also note that pure market methods did not do all that well in most
developed countries, we should still encourage it in China at the current
stage. Now that it is almost the end of the “9th Five-year-plan”,
Jiangsu Province in solving water pollution problems has contributed great
experience to China’s market economy.
•Forum
Barcelona (World Environment Day Special
Program Co-held by: Universal Forum of Cultures and UNEP)
Location:
Barcelona, Spain
Date: 2004/06/05
Theme:
Wanted! Seas and Oceans—Dead or Alive?
Contact:
Ms. Elisabeth
Guilbaud-Cox: elisabeth.guilbaud-cox@unep.org
More
Information: htttp://www.unep.org/wed/2004/
•Sustainable
Tourism 2004: International Conference on Sustainable Tourism
Location:
Segovia, Spain
Date:
2004/07/07—09
Contact:
mckeogh@wessex.ac.uk
More Information:
www.wessex.ac.uk/conferences/2004.sustainabletourism04/index
•International
Travel Expo Hong Kong
Location:
Hong Kong, China
Date:
2004/06/10—13
Contact:
Adsale Exhibition Services Ltd. 4/F Stanhope House, 734 King’s
Road, North Point, Hong Kong
More
Information: www.itehk.com
•ASTA
2004: 74th America Society of Travel Agents World Travel
Congress
Location:
Hong Kong, China
Date:
2004/09/28—2004/10/03
Contact:
Colette E. Skeen, CTA
ASTA Meeting and Conventions Manager, 1101 King St., Suite 200,
Alexandria, VA 22314
cskeen@astahq.com
More Information: www.astanet.com
Shen-Nong-Jia—What can we do to protect you?
Shen-Nong-Jia—a
rather small place in Hubei Province, but precious to all human kind.
Shen-Nong-Jia—the home to many endangered species, including the golden
monkeys. Since the 1980s, Shen-Nong-Jia forest has been
protected and has become a paradise for all animals.
Today, under stricter and
stricter environmental law and wild life conservation, Shen-Nong-Jia,
however, is under commercial threat.
Hu-Zhen-Lin’s leaving
Hu-Zhen-Lin, who has devoted almost
all his life to this forest, and the golden monkeys whom he calls “his
relatives”, was required, against his own preference, to leave.
December 2nd 2003, five
people, including the director of the nature reserve and the manager of an
invest company came to visit Hu at his small cottage in the center of the
reserve. They want to develop this reserve into a “golden monkey
research institute” and would like Hu to retire before this project
starts. They know, that unless they get rid of Hu, they would never
be able to “develop” this place.
Hu had no choice, the only thing he
is concerned about is the monkeys. “If people start to feed the monkeys,
they will lose their ability to live in the forest, their survival ability
will surely deteriorate,” Hu said, “and if they want to enclose the
monkeys to make money, it’s even worse.”
December 15th 2003, Hu
left his last footprint on the mountains.
High
voltage wires—being built quietly
There are not so many places where
golden monkeys can really live in Shen-Nong-Jia, they have very few
habitats, once the area is developed, they will inevitably lose their
security and the number of golden monkey will drop greatly.
February 14th, a reporter
found a huge construction site at the centre of the reserve, which was
declared by some departments to “not exist”.
The reporter was shocked: a high
voltage wire was being built! So far, the rumor about a project in the
center of the reserve was finally proven. This place is pure virgin
forest, undeveloped and hidden, this is the real core of the whole
reserve!
Interestingly, the reporter met an
officer of the reserve right there. This officer did not know who built
this wire. He pointed to the wire tower and said, “as soon as this is
completed, it will be like a bomb in the forest.” All kinds of possible
dangers will be associated with this project such as leaves and branches
falling on the wire and breaking it; animals will be easily killed by
several thousands of voltage electricity; possible forest fire caused by
broken wire and so forth. We can never teach golden monkeys to read
“electricity—dangerous”, can we?
The reporter later visited
Shen-Nong-Jia management office and the answer was—“this project does
not exist. This is our place, any project has to be approved by us before
it starts”.
Why is this project so mysterious?
Maybe this could be explained by the mechanism through which the nature
reserve works.
Shen-Nong-Jia nature reserve was
authorized directly by the central government, their routine affaires are
under the management of Hubei Provincial Forestry Minister, however, the
real responsible body is Shen-Nong-Jia local government. An officer who
did not want to disclose his name told the reporter: in theory, provincial
forestry minister can not manage us, we should report directly to the
central government. But now, our staff are under control of local
government, and therefore, it is difficult to ensure our reserve’s
conservation. He is worried: this mechanism to some extent, created more
authorities. There is a gap
between the authorities at different levels, orders are, sometimes, more
powerful than science.
Shen-Nong-Jia—a
nature reserve? Or tourist spot?
It seems, on the surface, that every
step of developing this place is very careful, almost every project went
through the process of evaluation. However, slowly and nervously,
development at Shen-Nong-Jia is going further and further.
It is a fact that during these 20
years, the reserve has achieved many accomplishments, the number of wild
golden monkey has increased to about 800 already. The people here
contributed a lot to all these. However, in the trend the whole nation is
developing at an amazing speed, Shen-Nong-Jia tourism development is
speeding up as well.
From 1990s, people started to notice
this beautiful place. Small groups of researchers became big group of mass
tourists organized by travel agencies. Reserve management office saw the
trend and set up their own travel agency.
During recent years, infrastructure has improved, wherever cars can
go has become a money-making-spot.
Why were these tourist spots allowed?
According to a reserve officer, tourism development was done carefully and
scientifically, with specialists’ evaluation and permission, also, all
development is not in the core area.
Now, Shen-Nong-Jia reserve has
“eco-tourism areas” that occupy 200 acres. This seems little compared
to the 70,000 acres of land the reserve has in total. However, after
looking at the map, it is obvious that some of the tourist areas are
either surrounded by core areas or at the edge of core areas.
More and more people are still coming
to this reserve, monkeys are disturbed and can only hide themselves deep
in the mountain where tourists can not find them. In 2000, a live TV
program called “Go through Shen-Nong-Jia” brought a tourism boom in
this place. Even in November, tourists are still coming.
“The resources we have here can
directly be turned into cash, how can we not feel attracted by the idea?
The U.S. also has development in reserves!” February 13th 2004,
an officer of the management office told the reporter.
Obviously, the fund the government
gave is far less than enough, this has made the reserve a difficult case.
In the middle of 1990s, the government allowed nature reserves to “build
themselves and feed themselves”, this somewhat rescued nature reserves
from this embarrassing financial situation, while also gave a reason for
“range-less development”. Since
the end of 1990s, tourism income has become the dominant economic source
in this area. In 1999, there were in all 42,000 visitors and 55,000 in
2000. It is estimated that income from tourism accounted for about 40% of
the total income of the area.
Other projects were suggested for
development including cable cars, artificial islands for monkeys, tourist
facilities… Many of the projects were stopped by public opposition and
strong resistance from specialist and Hubei provincial leaders, but
development is still going on, slowly, and quietly.
This nation needs very
detailed policies and regulations to monitor and manage nature reserves.
When can we eventually stop this kind of development? Scholar Hu-Hong-Xing
said.
