The China Environment Yearbook, Volume 4 The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Yearbooks: Environment International Advisory Board Judith Shapiro, American University Guobin Yang, Barnard College Volume 4 BEIJING 2010 The China Environment Yearbook, Volume 4 Tragedy and Hope: From the Sichuan Earthquake to the Olympics Edited by Yang Dongping Friends of Nature LEIDEN • BOSTON 2010 This yearbook is the result of a co-publication agreement between Social Sciences Academic Press and Koninklijke Brill NV. These articles were translated into English from the original《环境绿皮书: 中国环境发展报告 (2009)》 Huanjing lü pi shu: Zhongguo huanjing fazhan baogao (2009) with fi nancial support from China Book International, supported by the General Administration of Press and Publication and the Information Offi ce of the State Council of China. This book is printed on acid-free paper. 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Fees are subject to change. printed in the netherlands CONTENTS List of Figures .............................................................................. ix List of Tables ............................................................................... xi Acknowledgements ...................................................................... xiii List of Contributors ..................................................................... xv Preface .......................................................................................... xix Yang Dongping Introduction ................................................................................. xxiii Arthur P.J. Mol VOLUME OVERVIEW GENERAL REPORT We Are All Victims of Pollution and Responsible for Our Planet ....................................................................................... 3 Li Dun PART I 2008: AN EVENTFUL YEAR 1. Beijing’s Environment during the Olympic Games and the Post-Olympic Outlook ............................................................ 43 Li Hujun 2. Large Projects in Quake-Stricken Areas after the Sichuan Earthquake ............................................................... 55 Fan Xiao vi contents PART II ECOLOGICAL PROTECTION 3. Forestry Decentralization May Lead to Crisis ..................... 73 Feng Yongfeng 4. Plateau Wetlands: Functions, Values, and Environmental Deterioration ................................................ 83 Tian Kun 5. Pastoral Industrial Policies and Grassland Ecology ............. 97 Gai Zhiyi 6. Opportunities and Risks of Genetically Modifi ed Crops ..................................................................................... 107 Zi You 7. Road Construction: Ecological and Social Problems .......... 115 Piao Zhengji and Shen Xiaohui PART III POLLUTION 8. Air Quality and Quality of Life ........................................... 131 Peng Yan 9. Agricultural Pollution Zoning and Comprehensive Control Measures .................................................................. 145 Liang Shumin 10. Marine Pollution in China: A Gloomy Outlook ................. 161 Yu Chen 11. A Turning Point in China’s Energy Conservation and Emissions Reduction? .................................................... 175 Qie Jianrong contents vii PART IV POLICIES 12. Signifi cant Developments in China’s Environmental Legal System in 2008 ........................................................... 193 Feng Jia 13. The Ministry of Environmental Protection: From Organizational Upgrade to Functional Enhancement ........ 207 Zhang Shiqiu 14. Natural Resource and Environmental Issues in the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference ............ 219 Chen Hongwei 15. Plastic Bag Restriction: An Unfi nished Mission .................. 233 Mao Da 16. Environmental Public Interest Litigation ............................. 247 Lü Zhongmei 17. Promoting Open Environmental Information ..................... 261 Wang Jingjing and Ruan Qingyuan PART V GREEN ECONOMY 18. New Developments in Environmental Economic Policy ..... 279 Hu Kanping 19. China’s Comprehensive Engagement with a Low Carbon Economy .................................................................. 293 Zhuang Guiyang 20. Ecological Compensation and Payment .............................. 301 Zhang Ke 21. Environmental Performance of Enterprises in 2008 ........... 317 Su Jianhua and Guo Peiyuan viii contents PART VI APPENDIX Annual Indexes: Environmental Trends ..................................... 333 Terminological Glossary .............................................................. 353 Index ............................................................................................ 357 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 5.1: Increase of the three main types of plant-eating livestock in Inner Mongolia ................................. 101 Figure 8.1: Volume of news on air quality of Chinese cities by IHT, BBC, and China Daily 2003–2008 ...... 132 Figure 8.2: Monthly average concentration of PM10 from 2001 to 2008 in Beijing ....................................... 135 Figure 8.3: Monthly average API in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou in 2008 ............................................. 136 Figure 9.1: Comprehensive evaluation of major regions of agricultural pollution in China ............................ 156 Figure A.1: Emission of industrial waste gas in China, 2004–2007 ............................................................ 334 Figure A.2: Emission of SO2, 2004–2007 and the target for the Eleventh Five-Year Plan ................................ 334 Figure A.3: Wastewater discharge in China, 2004–2007 ....... 336 Figure A.4: Wastewater treatment in China, 2004–2007 ...... 336 Figure A.5: Ammonia nitrogen discharge in wastewater in China, 2004–2007 ................................................ 337 Figure A.6: COD discharge in wastewater in China, 2004–2007 ............................................................ 338 Figure A.7: Water quality of China’s seven major water systems, 2007 ........................................................ 339 Figure A.8: Water quality of lakes and reservoirs with close governmental monitoring, 2005–2007 ................ 340 Figure A.9: Coastal water quality, 2007 ................................. 342 Figure A.10: China’s industrial waste generation and disposal, 2004–2007 ............................................................ 343 Figure A.11: Total energy consumption in China, 2004–2007 and the controlled amount for the Eleventh Five-Year Plan period .......................................... 344 Figure A.12: China’s energy consumption per unit of GDP, 2005–2007 ............................................................ 345 Figure A.13: CO2 emission in selected major countries ........... 346 x list of figures Figure A.14: Investment in environmental pollution treatment in China, 2004–2007 ........................................... 347 Figure A.15: Air quality in urban areas, 2004–2007 ............... 348 Figure A.16: Air quality in China’s major cities, 2006 ............ 349 Figure A.17: Days of up-to-standard air quality in Beijing, 1998–2007 ............................................................ 350 Figure A.18: SO2 content in the air in Beijing, 2000–2007 .... 350 Figure A.19: NO2 content in the air in Beijing, 2000–2007 .... 351 Figure A.20: NO1 content in the air in Beijing, 2000–2007 .... 351 Figure A.21: PM10 content in the air in Beijing, 2000–2007 ... 352 LIST OF TABLES Table 4.1: Total area of plateau wetlands of 3,000 meters or more in elevation .................................................. 85 Table 5.1: Inner Mongolia pastoral area arable land increase .... 99 Table 5.2: Decrease in the acreage of pastoral, semi-pastoral, agricultural, and forestry areas of Inner Mongolia .. 99 Table 5.3: The development of secondary and tertiary industries in the pastoral areas of Inner Mongolia since 1993 .............................................................. 100 Table 5.4: GDP growth rate in the pastoral area of Inner Mongolia since the 1980s ..................................... 100 Table 5.5: The increase of the three main types of plant-eating livestock in Inner Mongolia .............. 101 Table 8.1: Burden of disease from urban outdoor air pollution in Western Pacifi c Region B and China in 2000 ....................................................... 137 Table 8.2: WHO air quality guidelines and interim targets for PM, annual mean concentrations ................... 140 Table 8.3: Chinese standards vs. WHO guidelines and United States standards ........................................ 140 Table 8.4: Survey results of the public satisfaction rate to urban air quality in 2007 ...................................... 143 Table 9.1: Comprehensive evaluation of China’s agricultural pollution on the provincial level ........................... 152 Table 9.2: Comprehensive