China Environmental Law

The Shanghai International Conference on Development and Environment Protection was a truly inspiring event.  As if to underscore the environmental progress Shanghai has over the past several years, the day was sunny and warm.  The conference was held at the old official state guest facilities in Hongqiao where important foreigners and high national officials on a visit to Shanghai were lodged in the past.  After you enter the compound, the road to the Four Seasons Conference Hall winds past manicured lawns, across streams with picturesque bridges, and through palm and bamboo groves.  The birds were having a wild end-of-fall party, and their singing filled the black Buick, even with its windows tightly closed. 

The purpose of the conference was to solicit comments from experts on the scope of Shanghai’s 4^th three-year environmental action plan (2009-2011).  It was hosted by a Deputy Party Secretary of Shanghai, Sha Hailin, the United Nations Environmental Programme’s Director for Asia and the Pacific, and Zhang Quan, Director of the Shanghai Environmental Protection Bureau. 

The conference began with a look at the achievements of the previous three-year plans, and these are really very impressive.  While there is much to be done, the dedicated efforts over the past eight years to get the basic things right are commendable.

Today we’ll look at the progress Shanghai has made and where it is now on the major environmental fronts.  Tomorrow will look at the major challenges it faces, the new plan components, and the expert recommendations for improvement of the plan.

BASIC FACTS:

• Land Space: 6340 km3
• Registered Population (2007): 18.58 million
• Local GDP has maintained a 10%+ growth rate for 16 consecutive years.
• Since 2000, more than 3% annual GDP has been allocated as environmental investment (actually the graph that accompanies this text does not support this statement-showing for instance that environmental investment as a percentage of GDP didn’t hit 2% until 2004, and didn’t reach 3% until 2007)   Total investment amounts to 220 billion RMB (US$32 billion).

WATER

• Sewage Treatment:
  • Total Plants: 53
  • Average Design Treatment Capacity: 730,000 m³/day
  • Overall domestic sewage treatment rate: 80%
  • Sewage treatment rate in central area: 90%
• 173 livestock farms located in water source protection zone have been closed, reuse of animal waste is encouraged.
• In 2007, 148 monitoring points were in operation on the rivers of Shanghai.
• 187 major water polluters are required to provide online monitoring.
• Water quality in the Huangpu River, Suzhou Creek, and the Yangzi Estuary have been stabilized.  Request to translators: please use “foul smelling” to translate chòu (臭), and not “stinky.”  The use of the phrase “the formally stinky Suzhou Creek,” for instance, while perhaps accurate, just seems to lower the tone of the proceedings in my opinion.

AIR

• By the end of 2008, there will be 10.32 million kw generating units installed with Flue Gas Desulphurization (FGD), accounting for 85% of the total installed capacity citywide.
• Cleaner energy replacement has been carried out at 5975 facilities previously fueled with coal, and all coal burning boilers within Inner Ring Road have been removed.
• Shanghai has 45 automatic ambient air monitoring stations, and 23 manual monitoring substations.
• 183 major air polluters are required to provide online monitoring.
• 70% of the air pollution in downtown area is caused by vehicles.
• For 5 consecutive years, more than 85% of the days reached the “good” air quality level, with 2007 hitting 89.9% (fortunately, Shanghai doesn’t use the misnomer “blue sky days” to designate “good” conditions).

SOLID WASTE

• Capacity of domestic waste sanitary treatment facilities:
  • 2008: 10,250 tons/day
  • 2009: 16,730 tons/day

INDUSTRY

• Shanghai has focused on three traditional industrial zones (Wusong, Taopu, and Wujing); heavily polluting industries in these zones have been closed, production lines have been shifted to less polluting manufacturing, and pollution control equipment has been installed.
• Since 1994: 7800 polluting enterprises and production lines have been closed down citywide.

TRANSPORTATION

• By the end of 2007: 9 metro lines with 263 km in total
• 991 bus lines, with18,000 buses and 81.6 km of bus-only lanes in operation
• National III standards are enforced for new vehicles in 2008; National IV for new vehicles will be required in 2009.

CLIMATE CHANGE

• Shanghai will achieve 20% reduction of energy consumption per unit of GDP one year early (by 2009), and is developing renewable energy, including wind, solar and biomass.

OVERALL

• Shanghai has adopted a “Three Convergence Strategy,” pursuant to which it seeks to concentrate population in “towns;” concentrate industry in industrial parks, and increase scale of agricultural operations.
• COD discharges and SO₂ emissions were down 3.16% and 2.96% in 2007 against the baseline of 2005.  The COD percentage decrease is slightly better than the national decrease, the SO₂ reduction is less than the national average.
• 85% of Shanghai citizens acknowledge an improvement in the environment over the past five years; 68% are satisfied with the current environmental situation and an additional 26% can “accept” it. 

BOTTOM LINE

“Under rapid economic & population growth, the overall environmental quality in Shanghai has been stabilized and some areas have seen recent improvement.”  For a mega-city that has experienced 10%+ growth rates for 16 consecutive years, this really isn’t a bad record.  As we will report tomorrow, Shanghai will face increasing environmental challenges in the future (as it continues its rapid growth and its increasingly wealthy citizens adopt Westrern lifestyles).  Fortunately, it seems prepared to meet those challenges, and embrace some innovative environmental concepts.