REPORT OF THE WORKING GROUP ON POLLUTION CONTROL

Dr.T.Schneider

The Working Group on Pollution Control based its work on the following terms of reference:

1) to study and analyze the present situation, and study future trends of environ mental pollution in China;

2) to review China's experiences in pollution control while drawing on the practices and lessons of advanced and newly industrializing nations;

3) undertake in-depth studies on the priorities in combating industrial and urban pollution as well as pollution of major waterways and watersheds; and

4) to offer recommendations to the Chinese Government on the objectives and policy measures of pollution control for the coming decade.

Subsequently the work carried out under the separate items of the workplan will b e summarized.

1. Present and future state of the environment

Although it was, and still is, the final aim of the working group to prepare a national state of environment report, it was soon realized that reaching this goal was beyond our means in the first phase, It was therefore decided to prepare first a number of regional studies, and restrict the nation-wide efforts to a number of items of pollution control that did merit priority. The areas selected for the regional studies are: Guangzhou, Chongqing, Suzhou, and Zibo, The first national priority item to be studies is :CO2-Emission.

As the first Watershed study selected was the Dongjiang River basin as part of t he Pearl River Watershed.

2. Guangzhou Region

During the first phase a series of reports has been prepared by the Chinese expert group:

—Environmental status in Guangzhou;

—Industrial pollution control strategy and policy study in Guangzhou;

—Urban pollution control strategy and policy study in Guangzhou;

—Research report on policies to coordinate growth between economic development and environmental protection in Guangzhou;

—Policies for industrial pollution control;

—Strategies and policies for pollution control in TVEs;

—Agricultural modernization and environmental problems;

—City group development, economic developmental and environmental problems of the Pearl River delta.

On the basis of a number of the reports mentioned above a Dutch task force of experts prepared an Environmental Status Report for the Guangzhou/Guangdong area covering the air, water, and waste pollution in relation to the demographic/economic development scenario's.

Recently the Chinese expert group has prepared a planning report:

Pollution control strategy and policy study in Guangzhou.

The results of all studies have been used in the preparation of the Guangzhou Environmental Protection Master Plan what should be an important part in the new 9th Five-Year National Plan.

3. Chongqing Region

The Chongqing study group has prepared the following reports:

—Chongqing environmental quality status report;

—Report of industrial pollution, control strategy and policy study for Chongqing;

—Research report of strategy and policy of pollution control of Chongqing's TVEs;

—Study report on several pollution control problems related to Chongqing City development.

The Dutch expert task force prepared, in co-operation with the Chinese experts the report: Chongqing Environmental Assessment-urgent control measures and long term strategies. The report discusses priority environmental problems, the environmental outlook with current policy and possible addition-al policy options.

4. Suzhou Region

In 1996 a preparatory task force of U.S. and Dutch experts met with Chinese experts to discuss their detailed report: Suzhou case on strategy and policy for controlling pollution. Three main subjects in the discussion were: Industrial development and in-factory environmental control, water supply-water pollution-water management, and rural air pollution.

A further report is expected after the task force meeting in Suzhou in August 1996.

5.Zibo Region

The study for the Zibo region is for the most part still in the planning stage. A first fact finding meeting has taken place in April 1996,and the collection of data and information has been initialized by the Chinese experts. The Chinese back ground reports are expected to be finished by the end of this year, and a task force meeting has been tentatively planned for spring next year.

6.The Dongjiang River Basin Study

The Dongjiang Rivers one of the three mainstreams of the Pearl River Valley. The Dongjiang River totals 562km in length, and 31842 km2 of its watershed belongs to Guangdong Province. The main functions of the river include: water supply, power generation, irrigation, and fishery. Due to the rapid economic and population growth, and the change from agriculture-dominant to industry-dominant, excessive exploitation of the water resources has led to more and more serious water pollution. There is also a great gap in economic development between the upstream and the downstream areas, a gap which is only expected to widen in the near future.

How to make rational use of the water resource and at the same time protect water quality is a matter of utmost importance to the administrators of the Dongjiang River Basin. A study has been made on the water management system of the basin which is documented in the following reports (in English):

—Water Quality Management Planning for the Dongjiang Basin, Guangdong Province, PRC ,by Li Kaiming and Qiang Binghuan.

And the following detailed reports (in Chinese):

—Investigating and predicting of the social and economic development;

—Balance analyzing between water resource supply and demand and rational allocation study of water resource;

—Data collection and prediction of water quality and pollution sources;

—Planning on non-point pollution sources control;

—Determine the water function and calculating the water environmental capacity;

—Survey and analyze of current organic toxic compounds;

—Water qualyty management planning and main pollutants control;

—Water quality management dynamic decision-making support system;

—Study on strategies and policies for effective economic development and promote water quality management.

7.National priority subjects

As a first priority subject to be studied was the CO2 emission of all sources within China. After a review of available national and international reports, a contract was given to the Dutch TNO institute to prepare a report on

—The CO2 emission in China

Starting from the national energy and economic statistics, a breakdown of CO2 emission for the 30 provinces of China has been constructed. In each province the ma in category of fossil fuel combustion is split up in eight sectors of which the industrial sector is the most important. It has been subdivided into 13 sub-sectors and 30 branches. Also included in the study are the CO2 emission of biomass burning and coal fires. The report presents a wealth of valuable data and merits further refinement and a wide application of the information that is now available in a consistent form.

It must be stressed that this report thus far represent the views of the research groups. The report itself still has to be studied in detail by the Working Group on Pollution Control.

As a next priority item for study on a nation-wide scale has been chosen the effects of Acid Rain and the relative importance of the different pollution sources that cause Acid Rain.

8.Working Group meeting and technical study tours

Every year the working group held two meeting to discuss the results of the task forces (regional studies) and of the other items of the workplan. where possible one of the yearly working group meetings was held abroad. Two of such visits were made, one to the Netherlands and one to the U.S..On both occasions a technical study tour was made that gave the working group members the opportunity to study the pollution control systems that are in use or are being planned for the near future.

At their own initiative, the Environmental Bureau's of the study regions are planning foreign technical study visits .In 1995the E.B.of Guangzhou city visited t he Netherlands,France and the United Kingdom. This year the Suzhou E.B.will visited the UK.Also thid year a delegation under the leadership of the Environmental Protection Bureau of Guangdong Province, will visit the Netherlands to study the management of the river Rhine system.

9.International cooperation

As also expressed at the last Council meeting it is of great importance for the Chinese experts to become involved in and participate in larger international networks and joint research projects.

In this context it was arranged for Chinese participants to become involved in t he work of the Economic Commission for Europe of the UN.

More specifically in the work carried out under the Convention on Ling Range Transport of Air Pollution (EMEP, SO2 protocol, Ox protocol ect.)

At first Chinese experts will participate as observers in the September meeting of EMEP.

10.Workplan for the coming year(s)

The major subjects to be incorporated are:

—Finalizing of the four Regional studies;

—National environmental planning for: acidification, greenhouse gases, and the large river basin (delta's) studies;

—Develop a methodology for an Emission Data Base (Emission Registration) for China, starting with priority pollutants;

—Translation of assessment studies, national as well as regional. into short and long term policy alternatives;

—Identification of concrete demonstration projects to implement such policy alternatives.

The meetings that are tentatively planned for 1997are:

— two working group meetings(January and April/May );

— a task force meeting in Zibo in April/may ;

— a study tour in east U.S.;

— one or two training workshops in China.

11.Recommendations of the Working Group on Pollution Control

Seen from the regional studies done by the Working Group in the past few years, we hold that, in the context of rapid economic growth and to prevent it from deterioration, the local governments should formulate comprehensive environmental planning guided by goals of the urban sustainable development strategy. Only by depending upon end-pipe control measures is no longer effective. We recommend that:

·To formulate an Urban Water Resources & Environmental Protection Plan that effectively combines water provision and pollution control, and that takes into account all aspects of water resources protection ,water Provision, water saving, waste water control and recycling.

·To formulate an Urban Energy &Environmental Plan that Plan that priority exploitation and utilization of cleaner energies ,and that takes into account all aspects of energy provision, energy structure ,energy saving, comprehensive utilization of waste ,pollution control.

·To list environmental protection as one of the priority goals of urban transportation planing.

The co-chairmen Prof. Qu and Dr. Schneider are opinion that some solid results are obtained during the first phase by the working group. They would like to express their sincere thanks to all those experts, both Chinese and Foreign, that have contributed to the final outcome .A special word of thanks is due to all those workers "behind the scene", the experts in the research institutes that supported the E.B.'s in the Regional Studies, the local experts that took care of all the logistics in organizing the large number of meetings both in China as well as abroad, and finally to all the hard working Chinese members of our working group .If we are to continue our work in the second phase of the Council ,we as chairmen would like to hope for a comparable excellent performance.