Abstract
In China, environmental NGOs have developed over the 20 years despite its strict political system. This chapter describes the types of environmental NGOs in China and their developing and growing process. It also considers the importance of the lessons learned from the Japanese in association with the power of civil society including NGOs in resolving environmental pollution problems. What are the Chinese environmental NGOs doing in dealing with environmental pollution? How do they make relationships with the Japanese counterparts? The objective of this chapter is to answer these questions. In answering these questions, important lessons can be drawn in mitigating environmental pollution.
This article is a synthesis and update of my past published articles in Japanese, especially Aikawa 2008a, b and 2012. They are mainly based on participant observation of Japanese and Chinese environmental NGOs’ exchange projects and interviews with persons related to environmental NGOs in China, which were held in 1994, 1996 and from 1998 to now. Their updating was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number 25340146.
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- 1.
Many previous researches seem to premise that there are same divisions among environmental NGOs in China as I wrote in this article, like Economy 2005, Turner and Lv 2007, and Bao 2009.
- 2.
Climate Action Network; in the climate change area, CAN is the most significant worldwide network of NGOs; the number of member NGOs is over 950. CCAN is the official branch of CAN in China; the number of member NGOs is 18. Website: www.climatenetwork.org.
- 3.
This paragraph is based on participant observation of Japan and China environmental NGOs’ exchange projects since 2010 and interviews with persons who related to environmental NGOs in Beijing and Tianjin in August and September 2014.
- 4.
Compared to GONGOs, the grassroots NGOs could be defined as “real” because their activities and origins are similar to general NGOs in other countries.
- 5.
One of the junior high school students at that time revealed these facts in 2007. Considering political risk, it should be too early to write who the one is.
- 6.
The name of the NGO is Saunders’ Gull Conservation Society of Panjin City (盘锦市黑嘴鸥保护协会). Its website is www.heizuiou.com, but it has no English information except the name of the organization at last of 2015.
- 7.
Here, “economic system” means the whole value chain including supply chain, where pollution sources are generated. Initially NGOs accused each polluter company, but the pollution sources were generated in value (or supply) chains, so they decided to set their target on the whole chain. Detailed information is given in Sect. 10.4.4.
- 8.
This paragraph is based on an interview with Wen Bo who had responsibility in an International NGO called Pacific Environment at that time in China and owned much information about grassroots environmental NGOs in China, on April 1, 2009.
- 9.
This paragraph is based on participant observation of Japan and China environmental NGOs’ exchange project, especially since 2010.
- 10.
This sentence is based on participant observation of Japan and China environmental NGOs’ exchange project and interviews with Chinese participants of the project, especially younger generations, since 2013.
- 11.
This sentence is based on interviews with the late Mr. Liang Congjie who was the leader of FON at that time in August 1994 and January 1999.
- 12.
The 3rd East Asia Environmental Citizen Conference.
- 13.
This paragraph is based on the interviews with persons who are related to IPE and GCA in Beijing in August and September 2014.
Abbreviations
- ACEF:
-
All-China Environment Federation
- CAN:
-
Climate Action Network
- CBO:
-
Community-based organization
- CLAPV:
-
The Center for Legal Assistance to Pollution Victims
- CSO:
-
Civil society organization
- FON:
-
Friends of Nature
- GCA:
-
Green Choice Alliance
- GONGO:
-
Governmental NGO
- GVB:
-
Global Village of Beijing
- IPE:
-
Institute for Public and Environmental Affairs
- JEC:
-
Japan Environmental Council
- NGO:
-
Nongovernmental organization
- NPO:
-
Nonprofit organization
- PO:
-
People’s organization
- WSSD:
-
World Summit on Sustainable Development
References
Aikawa, Yasushi [2005] “Environmental Damages, Disputes and NGOs’ Activities in China”, Annual Bulletin of Research for Social Sciences, No. 35, pp. 17–30 (in Japanese).
Aikawa, Yasushi [2006] “Environmental Pollution in China Getting “Explosively” Worse”, Bulletin of Tottori University of Environmental Studies, Vol. 4 Feb. 2006, pp. 159–178 (in Japanese).
Aikawa, Yasushi [2008a]‛Environmental NGOs in China’, Kitagawa, Hideki ed. “Managing China’s Ecological Crisis: the Current State of Environmental Law and Policy”, Houritsubunkasya, pp. 315–343 (in Japanese).
Aikawa, Yasushi [2008b] “Environmental NGOs in China and the Subject of Japan-China Environmental Cooperation”, Environmental Research Quarterly, No. 150 Aug. 2008, pp. 45–52 (in Japanese).
Aikawa, Yasushi [2008c] “Environmental Pollution in China”, Softbank Creative (in Japanese) .
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Aikawa, Y. (2017). Environmental NGOs and Environmental Pollution in China. In: Kitagawa, H. (eds) Environmental Policy and Governance in China. Springer, Tokyo. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-56490-4_10
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