Ｎｏｔｅｓ ｏｎ Ｍｙ Ｓｔｕｄｙ Ｔｏｕｒ ｉｎ Ｃｈｉｎａ ｏｎ Ｅｎｖｉｒｏｎｍｅｎｔａｌ Ｐｒｏｔｅｃｔｉｏｎ

Editor’s note:

At the invitation of the CPAFFC， Ms. Tokiko Kato， special envoy of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and well-known Japanese singer， visited Beijing， Datong， Guiyang and Shanghai from July 19 to 28， 2004. Tokiko Kato is a social activist devoted to environmental protection. She has visited the Asian and ASEAN countries since she became UNEP special envoy in October 2000， reporting on the environmental conditions and crises she saw with her own eyes through the media and appealing for environmental protection through her singing. She wrote an article entitled Notes on My Study Tour in China on Environmental Protection upon returning to Japan. The following is the article translated from the Chinese version.

Beijing is looking forward to the Olympic games to be held in 4 years and Shanghai is preparing for the World Expo in 2010. China is advancing at a remarkable speed to achieve its modernization. It is said that there are more than 3，000 tall buildings of 20 or more storeys in Shanghai. These high-rises together with the inflow of foreign investments have reminded me of the bubble economy in Japan.

My trip to China， a UNEP study tour on environmental protection in the country， started in Datong， the headwaters of Beijing. Datong is known for its coalmines and Yungang Grottoes， but few people know it provides precious water for Beijing’s Guanting Reservoir. Chinese scholartrees have been planted in great numbers to ensure the supply of water to Beijing on the one hand and to return farmland to forests to prevent desertification on the other. But， the annual precipitation here is low and the underground water level decreases year by year. The planting of trees in vast areas does not produce optimistic results.

Liang Congjie， president of Friends of Nature， shared my view at a meeting I had with him in Beijing. He said that Japanese expert Mr. Toyama had successfully planted several million trees in Inner Mongolia and that he learned recently that some trees had withered due to the drop in underground water level. The idea of reforestation by planting trees is too simple. It is better to protect the original trees and the ecology and exercise control over relevant consumption rather than to mend after destruction.

I saw a successful example of returning farmland to forests in Wucheng Village of Hunyuan County to the south of Datong. The farmers of this mountainous region used to grow millet and corn. But now patches after patches of apricot trees have brought new hope to them. Sales of almonds have enabled them to live a better life. Farmers in other mountainous regions have started to learn their experience. Mr. Takami of the Japanese NGO Green Earth Network is the witness of this experiment. He and several experts spend at least one third of a year in Datong every year to run training courses for farmers， teaching them skills in selecting seeds and growing seedlings together with the local trade unions. It is said that when apricot trees were first planted， the barks of these young trees were often bitten off by wild rabbits， which resulted in barren harvest in one year. When thinking of the farmers who have persisted in growing apricot trees for more than 10 years under such harsh natural conditions and accumulated valuable experience， a feeling of respect rose in me.

On our way from Datong to Wucheng Village， we passed by the Sanggan River， the source of Beijing’s Guanting Reservoir. We could tell from the 2，000-metre-long bridge spanning across it the width of the river before. Though it was the period of the year with the most rainfall， we could only see a few shallow streams flowing down. Some people expressed the worry that the underground water in Beijing would dry up in a few years. The Yellow River dried up at some parts for the first time in history this year. The shortage of water always produces other chain reaction. Shanghai， which has plenty of rainfall and is close by the Yangtze River， has， of course， no worry of water shortage， but it faces a shortage of electricity. Perhaps， the construction of the Three Gorges Dam is to meet the needs of economic development. Looking at the skyscrapers rising up， I wonder when electricity supply can meet the continuous and fast growing demand. It is truly not a small matter to guarantee the supply of water and electricity to these high-rises.

We also visited Guiyang， an experimental ecological model of recycling city. Guizhou Province where Guiyang is located has many ethnic groups and is one of the less developed provinces in China. But it has beautiful natural landscapes and rich local characteristics.

A cement plant in Guiyang once was closed due to the large emission of dust and sulphur dioxide. Now， the recycling production line the plant built with Japanese yen loan has been put into operation. Another chemical plant was ordered to stop production in 1998 because of its over discharge of mercury. Now a substitute low pollution plant with an investment of 600 million RMB yuan is under construction. During the visit I was told that some printing and dyeing factories and paper mills have been closed because of their serious pollution， which worried me. To give support and assistance to these traditional industries in environmental protection to ensure their healthy development does not necessarily need too much money. The point is whether you support them or not. In the period of reform， to overlook the traditional industries and agriculture usually results in neglect of the majority of people in the society.

In Guiyang， we also visited the Jinyang New District where a typical modern city was taking shape. In the bustling streets we saw from time to time farmers carrying baskets of vegetables on their backs walk past. It seems they were reminding us that we should not concentrate all our energies and funds on modernization alone and that we should pay attention to many more areas so as to achieve a balanced development of the society.

In Shanghai， we visited modern garbage disposal and wastewater treatment plants. The three well-equipped incineration plants could only handle one tenth of the waste the city produced each day. With the government support， foreign investments and bank loans， more garbage disposal and wastewater treatment plants with modern equipment and using new technology were under construction. But I wonder if they can catch up with the speed of waste increase. In Shanghai where skyscrapers form the skyline， life of the old days and bustling scenes could still be seen in the small lanes and alleys——farmers selling fruit from the baskets they carried with shoulder poles， bicycles and tricycles. Those who collect scraps contribute to the recycling of the waste. Of the 1.3 billion people in China， farmers take up two thirds of the total and only a small number of people enjoy the modern and prosperous life.

On the last day of my trip， I paid a visit to a private school in Shanghai Pudong New Area， and had a discussion with a student group that was interested in environmental protection. The students of the first grade of high school briefed me on the activities they had carried out such as cleaning the river， letting cultivated fries into the river， planting trees， etc. I was happy to see their enthusiasm for being close to nature and told them sincerely that apart from these visible large-scale activities， there were many more behind the scene problems including pesticide pollution， recycling of the waste， over consumption of resources， etc. that needed us to think over seriously and begin with examining our way of life.

In the global warming today， the measures China takes to protect the environment will no doubt influence the trend of global environment. It was out of this consideration that I started my trip to China. It was here that I met the volunteers of Friends of Nature， one of the first NGOs engaged in environmental protection in China. The steadfastness and enthusiasm of these young people gave me great encouragement. At the same time， I also noticed that in this fast modernizing country the consciousness for environmental protection of the whole nation still needs to be raised. I sincerely hope that consideration will be given to the installation of environmental protection facilities during their urban construction. I wish the farmers who account for the majority of the population better lives in the future and the country’s agriculture vigorous development.