Chinese Mandarin -

VI. Environmental Science and
Technology, and Environmental
Publicity and Education

Through adopting the strategy of ``relying on science and education to
rejuvenate the nation,'' China has made certain achievements in actively
accelerating the development of environmental science and technology, as
follows:

-- The research spectrum of environmental science and technology has been
steadily broadened. Research into environmental science and technology in
China began in the 1970s. As an important part of scientific and
technological work, it is put in a position of importance by the
government. For some major environmental research subjects the Chinese
government has formulated corresponding research programs and plans for
environmental protection while organizing forces to tackle key scientific
and technological problems. Besides, China has expanded its research into
comprehensive prevention and control of regional environmental pollution,
environmental background values and environmental capacity, pollution
control technology and global environmental problems. As a result, the
country has made substantial scientific and technological achievements in
some research areas, such as the comprehensive prevention and control of
Beijing's environmental pollution, the capacity of the atmospheric
environment, the background value and environmental capacity of the
nation's major soils, acid deposition and its impact and control, the
forecasting and monitoring of the influence of the changes in the global
climate and corresponding countermeasures, the depollution of coal, and
the control of air pollution. China has also developed research in such
fields as regional environ"imen tal impact assessment, environmental
management and environmental economy, environmental monitoring technology
and equipment, the protection of natural ecology, and the relationship
between the environment and people's health. This provides scientific
basis and technological support for environmental management, the
prevention and control of pollution, and ecological protection.

-- The numbers of research institutes and personnel engaged in
environmental protection have been steadily increased. By the end of 1995
some 390 scientific research bodies engaged in environmental protection
had been established nationwide, staffed by more than 20,000 research and
managerial personnel. A comprehensive scientific research system composed
of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, competent departments of different
trades, colleges and universities, and the environmental protection
departments is basically in place.

-- Work regarding the screening, evaluation and popularization of the
optimum and practical technology for environmental protection has been
organized. The popularization of the optimum and practical technology is
an important measure to expedite the transformation of environmental
scientific and technological achievements into the capability of actual
pollution prevention and control. During the Eighth Five-Year Plan
period, 1,316 kinds of practical technology were recommended nationwide,
and 438 of them were appraised as the optimum items of practical
technology. Among them, 385 kinds have been put into use in 140,000
units, resulting in reduced emission of the ``three wastes'' and
excellent economic returns.

-- The development of the environmental protection industry has been
fostered. This newly emerging industry involves the development of
technology, manufacturing of products, circulation of commodities,
utilization of resources, provision of information, and undertaking of
contracted projects. China gives priority to the development of the
environmental protection industry, with the guidelines of ``actively
fostering, adjusting the structure, relying on science and technology,
improving quality, orienting to the market and providing excellent
services.'' Preferential policies are given to investment, prices, taxes,
etc., to encourage the development of the environmental protection
industry. A general survey of the nation's environmental protection
industry, the results of which were made public in May 1996, shows that
there are 8,651 units engaged in the environmental protection industry,
which is staffed by 1.882 million people and boasts 45.011 billion yuan
worth of fixed assets, an annual output value of 31.148 billion yuan and
4.091 billion yuan in profits.

-- The development of environmental labels has entered the stage of
implementation. In March 1993 China began to carry out a plan for
environment labelling. By April 1996 the environmental label
certification work had been developed in 11 categories of products, and
35 kinds of products from 21 enterprises had been awarded environmental
labels. As the environmentally-labelled products enter millions of
households the environmental label will exert a growing influence in
society.

The Chinese government regards it a strategic task to actively develop
environmental publicity and education and to raise the nation's
consciousness about the importance of environmental protection.

-- China strives to popularize environmental protection knowledge among
the people and raise their consciousness about environmental protection
and gradually to cultivate fine environmental ethics and codes of
conduct. As early as in the 1970s, popular science textbooks on
environmental protection were compiled or translated into Chinese to
widely introduce environmental protection knowledge and enlighten the
people on such knowledge. Since the 1980s large-scale publicity
activities have been organized all over the country every year on World
Environment Day, Tree Planting Day, Love the Birds Week, etc. In recent
years the Chinese media has been further promoting publicity and reports
on environmental protection. Virtually all newspapers, radio and TV
stations frequently offer environmental protection programs, and, in
particular, the media pays special attention to severely polluted areas
and units. Since 1993 the media's ``China Trans-century Environmental
Protection Inspection Campaign,'' centered on news about environmental
law enforcement, has aroused a nationwide responce and accelerated the
solution to a number of major environmental problems. Meanwhile, the
various provinces and cities have also developed such activities. In the
past three years, 1,500 journalists from 750 news units have participated
in these activities, engendering more than 10,000 news articles. Of
these, television news items alone accounted for 1,600.

In 1983 China established the first national-level professional newspaper
on environmental protection in the world -- the China Environment News,
with an annual circulation of nearly 300,000 copies. In 1980 the China
Environmental Science Press was established. By 1995 it had published
over five million copies of books of 860 titles on the environment. Since
1990 the China Environment Yearbook has been published, and its English
version also published since 1994. Besides, there are more than 30 local
environmental newspapers and several hundred professional periodicals.

The Chinese government encourages the whole of society to participate in
environmental publicity and education activities. In recent years the
environmental protection departments, educational departments, cultural
departments, news units, organizations for women and youth, scientific
associations and academic societies have all developed their own
environmental publicity and educational activities, highlighted by the
following aspects:

-- Higher education has provided a great number of scientific,
technological and managerial personnel for environ"imen tal protection
work. A total of 140 colleges and universities, including Beijing
University, Qinghua University, the People's University of China, Beijing
Normal University, Nanjing University, Tongji University and Wuhan
University, all have departments of or majors in environmental studies,
with a total of 206 units having the authority of awarding bachelor's
degrees. Approved by the Academic Degrees Committee under the State
Council, there are 223 units granting master's degrees in 51 majors
concerning the environment, 77 units granting doctorates in 39 majors,
and several postdoctorate positions. Furthermore, more than 40
specialized secondary schools and over 100 vocational high schools also
offer environmental courses. Over the past 20 years, large numbers of
specialists trained by China's professional environmental education have
become a significant force in the environmental protection field.

-- On-the-job training has enhanced the quality of environmental
managerial personnel. In 1981 the Environmental Administrative Personnel
Training College was established for the purpose of offering on-the-job
training, continuing education and academic-level education to
administrative personnel in the environmental protection departments
throughout the country. By the end of 1995 over 5,200 trainees had
completed courses there. These skill-enhanced trainees are playing an
important role in promoting the nation's environmental protection work.
Moreover, proceeding from the actual needs, various types of
environmental training classes and symposiums have been held by various
localities and departments concerned. Statistics show that over the past
decade, more than 10,000 training classes have been held attended by over
400, 000 persons.

-- Basic environmental education has cultivated and enhanced young
people's environmental consciousness. In recent years, environmental
education has been offered in high schools, primary schools and
kindergartens throughout the country to cultivate the children's
loving-the-nature quality and sense of responsibility for environmental
protection.

China is a populous country with underdeveloped education and the
nation's consciousness about the environment remains to be further
enhanced. Therefore, it will be a long-term, arduous task to do well in
environmental publicity and education in China.

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