Ecologizing Industrialization in Chinese Small Towns Promoters: Prof.dr.ir. A.P.J. Mol Environmental Policy Group, WUR Promotion committee: Prof.dr. Jining Chen Tsinghua University, Beijing Prof.dr. Ph.J. Vergragt Delft University of Technology Dr.ir. P.P.S Ho Wageningen University Prof. dr. E.C. van Ierland Wageningen University Ecologizing Industrialization in Chinese Small Towns Lei Zhang Proefschrift ter verkrijging van de graad van doctor op gezag van de rector magnificus van Wageningen Universiteit, Prof.dr.ir. L. Speelman in het openbaar te verdedigen op dinsdag 3 december 2002 des namiddags om half twee in de Aula. Lei Zhang Ecologizing Industrialization in Chinese Small Towns / Wageningen: Wageningen University PhD-Thesis Wageningen University ISBN 90-5808-755-7 Copyright Lei Zhang, 2002 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without prior permission of the author. Preface About five years ago, when I first touched upon the issue of environmental management towards Township & Village Enterprises (TVEs) in Small Towns and decided to do my MSc thesis on this topic, I was not really aware of the complexity of the problems. I was eager to apply what I had learned from the environmental management courses in Wageningen University in those TVEs, and I believed that the problems could be decisively solved with the appropriate attitude, management approaches and technologies. This belief was further confirmed during my two months fieldwork in three Small Towns in China in 1997. Those meetings, discussions, interviews and on-site visits left me with the impression that the idea of development first and environmental concerns second was firmly entrenched in the Small Towns visited. At that time, local leaders, entrepreneurs and town citizens were either reluctant to talk about environmental issues unless these efforts would be accompanied with other visible benefits or unaware of the environmental problems around them. Not surprisingly, I concluded my thesis with suggestions on environmental education, awareness raising, public participation and environmental management strategies based on multiple instruments. The more fundamental causes of TVEs environmental behaviors and management difficulties in Small Towns remained understudied in this small study. Fortunately, during the first fieldwork in China, very useful contacts were made with some governmental authorities, technical experts and information resources in both Beijing and the towns visited. Cooperation with a major United Nation Development Program (UNDP) Project on capacity building for sustainable town development (CPR/96/507) started me on the path of learning about ‘rural China’- that is, the local states. This, together with the contacts with the Administration Center for China Agenda 21 (ACCA21) and the Department of Systems Ecology of China’s Academy of Sciences, laid the foundation for my Ph.D. research. This dissertation presents my findings, thinking, interpretations and suggestions regarding the issue of TVEs environmental management in Small Towns. I offer it with the hope that it will contribute to the unveiling of the mysterious rural China and farmers’ logic. The issues studied in this dissertation have been the interest of many researchers from both abroad and home. As observed by R. Kirkby et al., while the Western academics suffer from considerable problems in gathering of primary data of any kind in China, especially when it comes to the social sciences, the contextualization of primary data by the first generation of local Chinese social scientists remains problematic as well. This fact suggests to me the challenge of going deeper into this subject, from a new perspective; with advantages of being Chinese and a social researcher who has studied in a Western country, the Netherlands. There is only one way to build up this competence – to learn from both sides. This doctoral research project involved four institutions, including the Department of Environmental Sociology in Wageningen University and Research Center (WUR), the Dutch Academy of Sciences, the Center for Eco-Environmental Research in the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Administration Center for China Agenda 21 (ACCA21) under the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST). This dissertation would have never been made without their financial support and academic guidance. The past four years for me has been a great learning process. Many people have helped me to continuously correct my directions before I got lost. To name all who have helped would be pretentious; to name only some is invidious. But I owe special thanks to Professor Dr. Arthur Mol of the Environmental Policy Group in Wageningen University of the Netherlands. It is he who showed interest in this research topic and has guided me from the beginning to the end of my work. Without his critical and detailed comments on the design, analysis and writing with his research expertise, there could have been no guarantee of the academic quality of this dissertation. I was surprised many times by his knowledge on and insight into environmental issues in my home country. I have also learned from him how to behave like a scientific researcher, which will benefit me for my entire lifetime. I am also very grateful to my Chinese supervisor, Professor Dr. Wang Rusong in the Center for Environment and Ecological Research of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. As one of the leading figures in the field of human systems ecology, he inspired me with the Chinese theory of Socio-Economic Natural Complex Eco-system (SENCE), which lays the base of the established theoretical framework. But his influence on me goes beyond the discussions on this dissertation. I admire him for his knowledge on ancient Chinese philosophies and his devotion to his academic career. Special thanks go to Shi Han, the director of the China Center for Environmentally Sound Technology Transfer (CESTT), for his willingness to cooperate for this research in China. I have benefited enormously from working with him and his group in Beijing and being involved in several international projects in environmental field. Through him, I have developed valuable contacts and carried out the case studies. His sharp comments and rich knowledge of Chinese environmental issues have contributed to the generation of some important ideas presented in this dissertation. He also set me an example of a professional consultant. I wish I had learned more from him. I owe many thanks to Professor Yan Jianfu, who has been always helpful with his rich experience and knowledge on rural China. His encouragement and caring have protected me from getting depressed at the moments when things went wrong. I have learned from him how to stay firm and optimistic in difficult situations. My life in China during 1998-2000 would have been unbearable without those friends I made there. Their friendship is the most precious thing I harvested during this period. Zhang Jichen, Xu Hesheng, Zhu Minjing, Lu Yi, Liu Chong, Shen Zhennin, Chen Dong, Tan Yajun, Yang Yuchen, Wang Yuxiang, Liu Yi, Feng Yecheng, Xie Wei, you all will remain the brightest stars in my sky. Many friends in the Netherlands have helped me to discover and enjoy a life which is different from that at home. I am very grateful to Peter Hekstra, Dick Legger, Wenner Haas, Lajos Kovacs and their families who have shown great concern on my study here and have shortened the gap between the natives and the foreigners. Special thanks go to Dr. Kovacs for painting the cover picture of this dissertation. I also wish to extend my thanks to all colleagues and fellow PhD candidates of the Environmental Policy Group of Wageningen University for showing strong interest in the Chinese people and China issues. I am very glad to see that our group has become more and more active in China and some of the lecturers got chances to work in China for cooperation projects. I wish they will know my homeland better and will promote China in a more positive way in Holland. My special thanks to several people for their either academic help or administrative support: Professor Dr. Gert Spaargagen, Dr. Peter Ho, Dr. Kris van Koppen and Ms. Corry Rothuizen. I owe many thanks to Anne Scheinberg for her great help on the English language of this dissertation. During my seven years stay in Wageningen, many Chinese friends have shared with me my joys and sadness. Special thanks go to Weng Liping, Jiang Bo, Zhu Xueqin, Dang Jie, Han Beizhong, Chen Nan, Zhang Rong and Tian Dexue. I am in great debt of my parents for their love, understanding and support over years. I would have never come to this academic point without their education and encouragement. Many thanks to my brother, Zhang Jing, and sister-in-low, Huo Fang, for their affection toward me and for taking care of our parents when I am far away from home. At last, I would like to thank my beloved friend, Sun Zhongkui, for his love and companion in the past years and for all the sunny and dark moments we have shared. Wageningen, 15 October 2002 Table of contents 1 China’s environmental dilemma: TVIEs in Small Towns 1.1 Introduction 1 1.2 Framing research questions 6 1.3 The organization of this dissertation 7 2 Environmental sociology: analyzing social roots of environmental problems 2.1 The emergence of environmental sociology 9 2.1.1 Upsurges of environmental concerns in the West 10 2.1.2 Environmental concerns in China 12