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Running Head: WATER QUALITY IN CHINA

Water quality in china

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Running Head: WATER QUALITY IN CHINA

The water crisis in China is growing rapidly and this has been attributed to water scarcity

and continuous water pollution which has affected water quality. The trend is unexpected

considering that China has arguably one of the strictest restrictions of environmental protection

standards. Perhaps the water quality issues arise due to the problems faced in the implementation

of the environmental regulations which have made the environmental policies ineffective. In

addition, the government has opted to prioritize the economy over the environment, the NGOs

for EJ have less power, corruption, and low public awareness has affected the enforcement of the

regulations and prevented the environmental laws from being actualized (Ni, 2016). As a result,

China's water quality has not seen improvement and has continually deteriorated throughout the

decades and this is bound to continue until the environmental policies set by the government are

implemented.

What EJ issues were addressed and which populations and places were affected by these

issues? what were the historical factors that led up to this campaign?

Organizations are continuing to play a part in improving the water quality in China and

more people are becoming enlightened and more aware of the environmental dangers and risks

they are exposed to when the environmental policies are poorly enforced. A good example is the

case of the Liulitun incineration for waste material that was proposed to be built in Haidian

district Beijing. The Beijing environmental protection bureau conducted an assessment of the

environmental impact and rejected the incineration construction but due to corruption, the project

was later approved (Kuhn, 2019). The bureau findings indicated that the project would lead to

contamination of the groundwater and warned that no permanent structure was to be developed

within five hundred meters from the location. The Haidian district ignored and continued to build

residential houses. Within a few years, it EJ organizations discovered that the site was
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Running Head: WATER QUALITY IN CHINA

responsible for water contamination and the cause of the health problems that the citizens

contracted.

Which organizations were playing leadership roles? What are specific examples of EJ

organizations’ activities to address key EJ issues? What are specific examples of EJ

organizations’ activities to address key EJ issues?

The CPPCC national committee which is an EJ organization and the local inhabitants

teamed up to raise their voices against the project. Together they raised awareness using the

media and submitted petition letters and proposed environmental administrative litigation. They

argued that the plant affected the tourism industry which had grown due to the beautiful

surroundings that people used to visit in the area. They accused the district leadership of

exposing the residents to a degraded environment and being unconcerned when the issues were

raised about the environmental risks and hazards that the residents had been exposed to. There

were also arguments on the choice of the location bearing in mind the site had around 5000

inhabitants living within the five hundred meters. The residents also argued that the place had

one of the best universities in the area and that the project would affect the business, trade, and

people because it was designed as a very large residential area. Due to the geographical location

of the area, there was a high probability that the winds would carry the toxic smoke to the whole

city (Liu et al, 2012). The conclusion was made that there was enough evidence that the

contamination of the groundwater would affect the water quality of all the inhabitants in Beijing.

How did the different organizations collaborate/ conflict with each other? What kinds of

strategies and tactics were used?

There were conflicts between the government and the Bureau for environmental

protection. The government demanded that every district needed to have incineration and got the
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Running Head: WATER QUALITY IN CHINA

bureau to implement the project. On group insisted on the importance of the incineration while

another group of individuals within the bureau had reservations and pressed for the adherence to

the environmental assessment laws. The projected was halted due to the social leverage that was

applied to by the habitants who formed a collective consensus in opposition to the pollution from

the Liulitun site. The campaign was effective using the legal measures where a consensus was

formed on the need for the government to establish a public consultation forum and the need to

reinforce accountability on issues surrounding environmental governance. They claimed that the

construction of the incineration lacked justice was supported by the law because the public

consultation was unfairly conducted and that the responsible authority failed to guard the interest

of the population. The success of the campaign could also be attributed to the widespread

message sent through the media, demonstrations near the government offices, and lack of

transparency between the authorities and the inhabitants (Xie,2017). The lack of transparency

had resulted in misleading information from the government which asserted that there were no

health concerns. The municipal research institute which was responsible for information

gathering was also accused of impartibility and lacked independence as it was also influenced by

the bureau for environmental protection.

What were the outcomes of the struggle? What EJ issues were addressed and which

populations and places were affected by these issues? How well did these meet the goals of

the EJ organizations? What are lessons learned for future EJ struggles?

The campaign against the Liulitun incineration plant by Beijing residents was a success.

The campaign pointed out that the residents are gaining a higher level of awareness regarding

their legal rights. This campaign enlightened the residents in other parts of China to come

together to fight against environmental injustice. The campaign also served as a good point of
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Running Head: WATER QUALITY IN CHINA

reference on how people in the urban areas react to the growing environmental problems,

especially in the metropolitan setting. The campaign also showed that there was a lack of

accountability by the government organizations as some lacked independence and were

influenced to act as per the government wanted. This means that the information that is availed

on the environmental assessment was rarely used or was manipulated to suit the government

plans. This supports David Pellow's views which on environmental injustices which he claims

they originate from complex processes. These injustices are due to the complex nature of the

justice processes, stakeholders involved and their relationships and the lifecycle approach on

how environmental hazards are studied (Pellow, 2000). This points out that in the future, there is

a need to investigate how processes were followed to ensure efficiency and that residents must

scrutinize stakeholders and the information they provide through an environmental assessment.

In addition, there is a need to ensure public participation and consultation to ascertain that the

information provided is true and projects do not affect residents. If this can be achieved, China

can reinforce the set environmental regulations standards and in turn gradually improve the water

quality or prevent the deterioration of quality within the next few decades.

References
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Running Head: WATER QUALITY IN CHINA

Kuhn, A. (2019). Liulitun Waste Incineration Power Plant, Haidian District, Beijing, China |

EJAtlas. Retrieved from https://ejatlas.org/conflict/protest-against-the-plnnaed-liulitun-

waste-incineration-power-plant-haidian-district-beijing-china

Liu, J Li, W., & Li, D. (2012). Getting their voices heard: Three cases of public participation in

environmental protection in China. Journal of Environmental Management, 98, 65-72.

Ni, T. (2016). China's ineffective water pollution policy: an issue of enforcement.

Pellow, David N. "Environmental inequality formation: Toward a theory of environmental

injustice." American behavioral scientist 43, no. 4 (2000): 581-601.

Xie, L. (2017). Environmental justice in China’s urban decision-making. Taiwan Comp

Perspect, 3, 160-179.