Abstract
The impact of environmental degradation on health in China has become increasingly evident in recent years. The Chinese government has steadily increased its investment in environmental protection and emissions of some pollutants are in decline, but air, water and soil pollution continue to pose serious problems, with worrying implications for human health. A recently published report by the Asian Development Bank and Tsinghua University found that fewer than 1 per cent of the 500 largest cities in China meet the air quality standards recommended by the World Health Organization and that seven of the world’s most polluted cities are located in China.1 Official data show that 40 per cent of the rural population (312 million people) have no access to safe drinking water,2 and as much as 10 per cent of China’s arable land is contaminated to some degree by heavy metal pollution, presenting a serious risk to food safety.3
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© 2015 Kathinka Fürst and Jennifer Holdaway
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Fürst, K., Holdaway, J. (2015). Environment and Health in China: The Role of Environmental NGOs in Policy Innovation. In: Fulda, A. (eds) Civil Society Contributions to Policy Innovation in the PR China. The Nottingham China Policy Institute Series. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137518644_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137518644_2
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