A Report on the Development of Environmental NGOs in China

History & Growth

In 1993 when Beijing was selected as a candidate city for the 2008 summer Olympics, officials from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) asked representatives from Beijing Olympic committee about the non-governmental environmental movement in Beijing. Representatives from Beijing did not know how to answer this question because the word NGO was new to them.

In order to establish a NGO in mainland China, one has to register the organization according to the Social Organizations Registration and Administration Act to obtain legal status. Organizations without legal status are prohibited from accepting outside donations. Also required is a regular business location, full-time staff, registration capital of more than thirty thousand yuan (about US$ 4,200) and official documents with a stamp of approval from a governmental agency that has been designated as a "supervising office."

One year later, in 1994, the first formally registered Chinese environmental NGO, Friends of Nature was founded by Mr. Congjie Liang. This was quickly followed by Global Village Beijing in 1995, which was registered as a private business entity under the Bureau of Industry and Commerce. Since that time, officially, more than 3,500 NGOs have formally registered in either form (2008).

Looking back at this history of growth, three periods categorize the development of environmental NGOs in China.

The first period (1994-2000) is best described as "saving the nature." NGO activities in this period had three basic features: first, promoting general environmental awareness; second, lacking participants and support from the general public; and third, nature-preservation-centered initiatives.

Unlike NGOs from industrial countries like Japan, which start activities from fighting against industrial pollutions, Chinese environmental NGO pioneers begin with wildlife protection, water conservation and other ecological activities. Friends of Nature focused on saving endangered animals in the western part of China in its very early years.

The reasons why Chinese environmental NGOs started from protecting nature instead of fighting industrial pollution mainly attribute to two factors: social-economic and cultural.

On the one hand, during the period 1994-2000, the Chinese government adopted massive investment strategies for industry and successfully created much social wealth for the nation. Compared with the dramatic improvements of living standard brought by industrial development, industrial pollution problem at that time was not a major concern. Besides, most of society was not directly affected by pollution because most of the waste was transported to rural and undeveloped areas.

On the other hand, the first pioneers of Chinese environmental NGOs were mostly nature-lovers or outdoor-sports lovers. Their activities and interests were seriously influenced by industrialization and pollution in rural areas. Many outdoor activities and eco-tour sites were severely impacted. For these nature-lovers, starting an environmental NGO would not only help save nature but also save their interests and passions.

The second period (2000-2005) is what I called the "national involvement time" for environmental NGOs. The real force of such national involvement was the unique political power of China. Politicians in China had a strong power to connect citizen's personal vision and development with the whole nation's future.

Things that are positive for national growth will be favored by each citizen and interestingly, most citizens tended to think of themselves as important contributors to the nation. The "Go West" government campaign in 1994 and the "Green Beijing Olympics Initiatives" in 2001 were two good examples on how a national environmental vision stimulated the growth of individual environmental involvement. In this period, Chinese citizens' strong patriotism was tightly connected with their public environmental contribution.

The third period (2005 to now) is best summarized as "serious NGO period." With the rise of the Chinese economy and the degradation of the domestic environment, more and more Chinese people are thinking about environmental issues seriously. From 2005 to 2008, the number of environmental NGOs increased from 2,758 to 3,559.

Thanks to globalization and the exposure of China's great potential to the world through media, Chinese local environmental NGOs have started to cooperate with foreign forces to improve their own professional level and to gather more funds. Many new NGOs were founded by Chinese youths who have experience in developed countries like the United States or by pro-China foreigners. Foreign environmental NGOs in China have also been very active.

Measures by Central Government

In 1999 there was the "Go West" campaign initiated by Chairman Jiang Zemin. It was an effort to develop the western part of China and bring living standards closer to those of the coastal region. The government set out ecological construction or environmental protection as one of the five major parts of this campaign. In response to this campaign, many new environmental NGOs were founded in the western part of China, particularly in Yunnan province. They worked together with governments to protect the ecosystem in western China by keeping it from the damage of massive construction projects.

In 2001 after Beijing was selected to be the host for the 2008 Olympic Games, the organizing committee, mainly the Beijing city government, announced the "Green Olympics" campaign. Local environmental NGOs had increased dramatically to help the government achieve this goal. The "26 degrees Celsius" was a campaign in Beijing aiming to make hotels, restaurants and other public spaces keep their thermostats set higher, at 26 degrees Celsius during the summer, for energy conservation. "No Car Day" is another campaign launched by environmental NGOs.

After 2005, as the Beijing Olympics approached and the central government was making massive investments to develop clean energies and other environmental construction projects, new environmental NGOs were founded in all fields in response to government measures. After the new government administration began in early 2005, the Chinese central government became ever more transparent regarding environmental issues, declaring the message of sustainable development and inspiring many professionals to take part in the fight for global warming.

Public & Media Recognition

Internet has become one of the most influencing factors of the growth of China's environmental NGOs. Beginning early in 2000 with the dramatic growth of Internet service throughout China, environmental NGOs started to communicate with their volunteers and stakeholders through their own websites. Having its own website was at one time a fashion to newly-started NGOs. Today, many Chinese environmental NGOs have set up online donation systems for their volunteers as the main means of obtaining financial support.

Business sectors are also a part of the recognition. Many international companies as well as large domestic companies have established funds or competitions for Chinese youths who are willing to take "green" initiatives. Google (China) launched a program in 2007 to encourage youths to start new organizations or projects and this program has been very popular among youth in China.

The word "volunteer" appears in China even before the first environmental NGO was founded. Chinese people, especially youth, like to help each other and treat each other as family. Thus environment volunteering has become very popular in China since the beginning of the twenty-first century. Chinese universities usually have summer assignments for students that require them to volunteer a certain amount of time and write a report. Environment volunteering has become one of the most popular types of summer volunteering.

Environment clubs are very popular in Chinese universities, particularly in the past three years. Many inter-collegiate programs have been founded, such the China Youth Climate Action Network (CYCAN).

China Youth Climate Action Network (CYCAN) http://www.cycan.org/

Challenges

China's environmental NGOs are becoming an indispensible force both for China and for the world as a whole, as China is taking more and more responsibility on the issue of climate change. In the past 15 years, the number of environmental NGOs in China has evolved in quantity (from zero to more than 3,000) and in quality, yet compared to the heavy environment responsibility China is about to take, this growth is still not enough. In this report, I suggest the following to help solve these problems:
International Learning: Many Chinese environmental NGOs are small with around 100 membership, and thus has not gained much professional experiences. Chinese environmental NGO leaders should learn more from their counterparts in other places of the world. More foreign help is needed in China to educate and train the young movement with professional skills in project management, fundraising skills, grant writing and organizational management.

Inter-organizational Communication: An efficient inter-organizational communication system will help NGOs connect with each other faster and distribute resources more efficiently. Competition should be reduced and cooperation should be encouraged.

Government Change: Environmental NGOs cannot fully grow under the current legal system, so changes are needed. Academics, businesses and NGOs should all work together to push the government to make in the NGO regulation and registration system.

Fifteen years of history for China's environmental NGOs have proven the determination and persistence of Chinese environment activists, even under harsh political and local conditions. Yet another change is needed at this point of history, where the survival of humanity is at risk due to climate change and other environmental issues.

Admittedly, the Chinese Central Government will still be the key player in this fight in China, but without NGOs, I can hardly imagine that the government can solve the problems alone. It is time for the Chinese government to see the need for such changes in order to recognize and cooperate with NGOs and it is time for China's environmental NGOs to work even harder. China's environmental NGOs need to be ready to take leadership positions in the coming era of change for the global environment.

Written by Jian Gong

Source: Japan for Sustainabiloty