THE GREEN HANJIANG RIVER NGO HELPS RESOLVE A TRANS-BOUNDARY RIVER POLLUTION PROBLEM

Jin Fen

With the economy soaring, the pollution of rivers, especially pollution affecting multiple provinces, is becoming a major issue. Apart from the severe consequences of the pollution itself, trans-boundary pollution has become a contentious issue for Chinese water resource managers because it causes disputes between interested parties in a river’s upper and lower reaches. For example, the Tangbai River, the largest tribu- tary of the Hanjiang River, suffered severe pollution in recent years, posing serious threats to both the environment and those living near the river. This matter is especially complicated because pollution of the Tangbai River involves both Henan and Hubei provinces. Finding a resolution acceptable to interests in both provinces has proven dif- fi cult. However, the Green Hanjiang River, an environmental protec- tion non-governmental organization (NGO) based in Xiangfan, a city in Hubei province, has played a signifi cant role in working toward a mutually satisfactory settlement for both parties. This NGO’s effort has established a paradigm for public participation in the resolution of trans-boundary pollution confl icts.

Pollution of the Tangbai River

The Tangbai River is the biggest tributary of the Hanjiang River. Covering a drainage area of 24,500 square kilometers, it fl ows through Henan and Hubei provinces. The Bai River, which fl ows from Nanzhao County, and the Tang River, which fl ows from Mount Funiu in Henan Province, join at the city of Xiangfan in Hubei Province; from this point downstream this waterway is called the Tangbai River. Since the early 1990s, many polluting enterprises were set up along the river, and water quality of the once-clear Tanghe and Baihe Rivers deteriorated. The Hanjiang River Water Quality Index taken from the Hubei Environmental Protection Net in July 2005 revealed that the Tangbai River experienced Level V pollution—the worst ranking—in 364 jin fen three sections (including the Xiangyang Tangbai River in Zhangwan).1 An offi cial in charge of the Xiangfan Environmental Protection Bureau said that the main pollution sources on the Tangbai River are in Nan- yang City in Xinye County, in the river’s upper reaches, where quite a few small-scale paper mills discharge their waste water into the river without any treatment.2 In recent years pollution has rendered the Baihe River useless as a food or water source. Its best known fi sh species, the White Fish, is basically extinct. Biological diversity has been damaged and residents along the river face health threats from the pollution. The Tangbai River joins the Hanjiang River at Zhangwan, 90 kilometers downriver from the Danjiangkou Reservoir dam in Hubei Province. Therefore, water quality of the Tangbai River directly affects that of the middle-lower reaches of the Hanjiang River. In addition, since the Hanjiang River (the major tributary of the Yangtze River) rather than the Yangtze River is the source of the middle route of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project, the negative impact of the Tangbai River pollution could reach a vast area. After the completion of the Water Diversion Project, it is expected that the total runoff of the Hanjiang River would drop by 1/3, which would reduce the river’s environmental carrying capacity, its self-purifi cation capacity, and its pollutant-carrying capacity, thus complicating efforts aimed at water treatment, pollution prevention, and environmental protection in the Hanjiang River region.

Failure of the Trans-Boundary Process

Both the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Prevention and Control of Water Pollution and the Environmental Protection Law of the People’s Republic of China provide that water pollution disputes involving more than one administrative division should be resolved by consultation between the disputants or settled by a common higher authority. For instance, for confl icts between provinces, the Central Committee would serve as arbitrator. However, these laws and regulations are weak in practice.

1 The Hanjiang River Water Quality Bulletin (58th issue), http://www.hbepb.gov. cn/admin/htmup/200507hjgb.htm. 2 Guangming Daily, “Tangbai River Pollution: Who Deserves the Biggest Blame? Nanyang and Xiangyang, Join Hands Rather Than Shirk Responsibility,” Feng Yongfeng, July 26, 2005.