FINAL REPORT
November,
1999
Washington DC
Executive
Summary……………………………………………………….3
Part I Panel Speeches and Discussions………………………………….4
Part II Forum Participating
Organizations……………………………15
Part III Forum Organizers……………………………………………..17
Part IV Forum Organizing
Committee………………………….……..19
Part V Acknowledgment………………………………………………..20
Appendix I Forum Technical
Program………………………………...21
Appendix II A Letter From FON………………………………………25
Executive Summary
After more than one year preparation, the First NGO Forum on US-China
Environmental Cooperation was successfully held in Washington DC from September
2-3, 1999. Ninety-six people representing sixty-three organizations in the US
and China participated the Forum. The goal of the NGO Forum was to strengthen
communication and cooperation among U.S. and Chinese environmental NGOs. The Forum marked the first time that
the most important environmental NGOs from the two countries had the
opportunity to share experiences, to discuss cooperative opportunities and to
form partnerships in a productive panel discussion setting. It initiated an ongoing forum that will
foster increased cooperation and information exchange between Chinese and U.S.
environmental NGOs.
In the opening ceremony, keynote speeches were delivered by Jonathan
Lash, President of World Resources Institute; Changgen Feng, Vice Chairman of
the Chinese Association of Science and Technology; Kathryn Fuller, President of
WWF-US, and Sherri Liao, President of Global Village of Beijing. Mr. Zhaodong
Liu, Counselor of Science and Technology of the Chinese Embassy, added his
congratulations, and Mr. William Nitze, Assistant Administrator of the US EPA
provided his thoughts as a dinner speaker. The International Fund for China’s Environment led the
organizing committee in conjunction with the Professional Association for
China’s Environment, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars,
Global Village of Beijing and the Overseas Chinese Environmental Engineers and
Scientists Association.
Four panels were conducted in the Forum. In Panel One, NGO-Development
Perspectives from the US and China, four speakers discussed NGOs’ role in
solving environmental problems, shared experience in developing NGOs and
addressed needs to further advance NGO development in China. In Panel Two,
Development of Community-based Environmental NGOs, three speakers addressed the
“enabling environment” for NGOs and different types of environmental
organizations, and emphasized the importance of NGO partnerships. In Panel
Three, Funding Sources, Fundraising, and Legal Issues, three speakers discussed
laws governing NGOs and environmental protection in China, what a foundation
program officer is looking for in a proposal, and ways to generate funding for
environmental projects in China.
In Panel Four, Public Education and Outreach, three speakers focused on
raising public awareness through the media in China, how to move constituents
from environmental awareness to action and strategies for outreach for
conservation issues.
This report summarizes the panelists’ speeches and follow-up
discussion. The other Forum-related documents are also included in the report.
Ping He Ph.D.
Chairman of the Forum Organizing Committee
President of International Fund for China’s Environment
Part
1 Panel Speeches and Discussions
Panel
One: NGO Development—Perspectives from the US and China
The first panel discussed how US environmental
NGOs use legal and political strategies to influence the government and
possible lessons for China. The panel also addressed what types of public
participation in environmental protection are acceptable in China and how
international NGOs can help Chinese NGOs development effectively.
Durwood
Zaelke, President of the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL),
discussed the importance of laws and his organization’s work with NGO partners
around the world. Some advice to Chinese environmental NGOs was provided.
Several roles for environmental NGOs that focus
on law were outlined as following:
**Helping
defend the environmental activists themselves, who may be harassed by
government, industry, or their neighbors;
**Expanding
opportunities for the public to participate in environmental law through
citizen
suits and other means;
**Working
to improve environmental law, keeping it ahead of evolving environmental
problems;
**Using
law to solve specific environmental problems, e.g., impacts of toxic waste on
communities; and
**Expanding
the training of lawyers in international and comparative environmental
law.
Another role for NGOs is to monitor the
environmental performance of the government and
shine a spotlight on problems through the
media. Zaelke noted that this approach is often safer than lawsuits.
Zaelke advised Chinese NGOs to develop
partnerships and collaborative approaches. He said that it is also very
important to work with scientists. He noted that the potential strengths of NGO
staff and volunteers are their creativity, personal commitment, and public
interest spirit. He encouraged Chinese NGOs to keep their courage and
independence, especially intellectual independence, and to be flexible,
innovative and zealous. Zaelke warned Chinese NGOs to avoid arrogance and lack
of appreciation, and avoid letting money rule them or becoming their own
clients.
Shen
Yimin, President of China Population and Environment Society,
discussed his seven years of experience in developing an environmental NGO in
China.
CPES was founded in 1992. It has 300 members
throughout China, mostly senior experts and scientists in geography, education,
and sociology. The group focuses on academic studies of population and
environment, public environmental education and international exchanges. Its activities include organizing
seminars, publishing a journal and video, compiling an atlas, compiling a
series of popular readings on environmental protection for children and
students, and participating in international exchange activities. CPES receives
support from the European Union, the United Nations Development Programme, the
World Bank, and the Ford Foundation. The CEPS is cooperating with IFCE for an
environmental education project encouraging students to write essays on
environmental protection. The 2500 students who responded pledged to become
environmental guardians. If the group is able to raise additional funds, CEPS
will edit the essays, publish them in an attractive format with artwork, and
distribute them to other students throughout the country. CEPS believes that it
is essential to build public awareness and to enhance international cooperation
for the success of environmental protection in China.
Deb
Callahan, President of the League of Conservation Voters (LCV),
described her organization’s role as one of the political arms of the US
environmental movement.
The directors of several major national
environmental organizations founded LCV in 1970. LCV’s Board of Directors is
composed of the leaders of environmental organizations, such as the Wilderness
Society and the Sierra Club, that engage in scientific analysis, lobbying,
litigation, and grassroots organizing. LCV tracks the environmental performance
of
lawmakers, then works on political campaigns,
supporting candidates with good environmental records. LCV has 30,000 members,
and is funded by members and foundations. The group does not take government or
corporate money.
LCV’ work is to watch the Congress and make
sure those lawmakers who refuse to support environmental goals are not
re-elected. LCV’s goal is to tell the public what their lawmakers are doing,
whether governments are enforcing laws and let the lawmakers know they are
being watched. An issue in the election cycle should be a national
environmental scorecard. In 1999, for example, over 80% of people in Iowa
believed that the environment was a top priority.
Dan
Viederman, Vice-President of the International Fund for China’s Environment provided
a perspective on public participation in China’s environmental protection.
China needs broader participation in
environmental protection because the problems are so large, Viederman said. An
increase in participation can be used as a tool to solve problems. Current NGO
efforts to involve the public are primarily aimed at educated people in urban
areas, with a focus on the issues of recycling, wildlife, and environmental
awareness. Chinese NGOs are
growing faster in sectors other than environment, e.g., in the areas of social
welfare, education, and poverty alleviation. These are models and potential
partners.
Several conditions suggest the potential for
NGOs in the environmental sector to grow, too.
**People
are already concerned about environmental issues that affect their quality of
life,
such as pollution and erosion.
**The
media are very receptive to environmental stories.
**The
government supports some types of public participation in environmental
protection,
such as tree planting, recycling, and reporting polluters to the
authorities.
**China’s
openness is attracting overseas students back to China to work on environmental
issues.
In order to realize their potential, Chinese
environmental NGOs need more institutional
development, to move beyond the stage of being
a small group of volunteers. Given their minimal funding, Chinese NGOs need to
be careful in accepting corporate money, ensuring that they adopt safeguards to
prevent polluters from using “green” donations to improve their environmental
image. Viederman stressed the importance of partnership between US and Chinese
NGOs. In order to build successful partnerships, US NGOs need to understand
what is happening in China at local levels, not just the national level. Chinese
organizations need to find ways to benefit from technical assistance, as well
as funding, from US NGOs. Another challenge for Chinese NGOs will be to develop
projects that combine environmental protection with economic, labor, and health
issues. The challenge for US NGOs is to develop project-specific international
partnerships on an equal basis, based on a mutual agenda. Ongoing technical
assistance mechanisms are also needed.
Discussion:
Question
1: How applicable is the US experience to China, considering the major
differences in the legal and political situations in China and the US?
Hu
Tao, of the Policy Research Center for Environment and Economy at the State
Environmental
Protection Agency (SEPA), noted that NGO
participation is weak in China because of China’s political structure. However,
individual participation is significant. For example, local environmental
protection bureaus receive many calls from citizens complaining about noise
pollution. Individual participation can even influence policy. For example, the
new Air Pollution Act includes dust control because of all the complaints from
citizens.
Callahan
commented that, in the US, organized groups are more effective than individual
citizens at goading the government to do its job because they represent a large
group of constituents.
Liu
Chuang, Director of the Center for Environmental Science Information Network at
the Chinese Academy of Sciences, commented that US
and Chinese NGOs have to communicate, but need to recognize their differences.
Question
2: The relationship between NGOs
and the government in the US.
Viederman
commented that there is great variety among US NGOs.
Some are cooperative with government and/or corporations and some are critical.
Callahan added that NGOs like The
Nature Conservancy can safely take money from corporations because the funds
will be spent on land purchases, not political campaigns. A political NGO like
LCV can’t take money because there
are potential conflicts of interest in their work.
Panel
Two: Development of Community-based Environmental NGOs
This panel discussed the supportive “enabling environment” for NGOs, different types of
environmental organizations in the US and experience of NGO partnerships.
Joel
Levin of Counterpart International spoke
of strengthening the NGO sector through
creating a supportive “enabling environment” for NGOs.
Counterpart International has worked
extensively in other societies in transition, particularly in Central Asia and
elsewhere in the former Soviet Union. Levin emphasized that the enabling
environment can change over time, becoming more amenable to the growth and
development of an independent NGO sector. Key questions in assessing the
enabling environment for NGOs include ease of registration; clarity and overall
burden of taxation; willingness of the government to cooperate with NGOs;
access of NGOs to the media and community.
Of fundamental importance to the enabling
environment is the attitude of government officials towards NGOs, according to
Levin. Often governmental opposition is caused by lack of familiarity with or
understanding of NGO roles. NGOs need to get government officials to understand
that their purpose is not to oppose government, but rather to supplement the
work being done by government. This can be addressed with workshops and, most
importantly, when NGOs demonstrate programmatic success.
Regulation and taxation of NGOs is another
vital aspect of the enabling environment,
and also amenable to improvement through
long-term, patient efforts by the NGO community. The support of the public and
the media is a third key aspect of the enabling environment. Truly
community-based NGOs should bring their constituents into their work. A fourth
is the degree to which NGOs are organized among themselves. These latter two
issues are related: public and media support is greatly facilitated by unity
among the NGO community, just as it is harmed by public disagreements. Levin
also suggested that NGOs identify ways in which they can recruit government-organized
NGOs (GONGOs) to their cause. GONGOs often have the benefit of strong
infrastructure already in place. Levin also introduced several types of
organizations which provide services to NGOs, like the locally-focused Support
Center of Washington, and the International Center for Not-for-Profit Law which
has worked on NGO sector law around the world. The development of the NGO
sector is very dependent on having a supportive enabling environment, and the
enabling environment is changeable but it requires hard work and time.
Steve
Viederman, President of the Jessie Smith Noyes Foundation, discussed
different types of environmental organizations in the US.
Land conservation organizations, like The
Nature Conservancy, are apolitical, he said. They take money from corporations,
in some way legitimizing corporations that may be polluting. National
environmental organizations, such as the Natural Resources Defense Council and
the Environmental Defense Fund, operate in an atmosphere of political
compromise, and focus on getting the best deal for the environment. They are composed of experts. Grassroots,
community-based, environmental justice organizations are often composed of
people of color who are being affected by environmental pollution in their jobs
and communities. They are not always highly educated, but have their own areas
of expertise. Viederman noted that an anti-environmental movement has also
developed in the US. It is often driven by corporations, and results from the
failure of national environmental organizations to pay attention to needs of
working people, especially in communities that rely on logging and ranching.
Viederman encouraged Chinese NGOs to consider
equity as well as efficiency. We need to think about how change occurs, he
said, and how we can be most effective. Viederman said he believes community
work is essential, and that an critical environmental NGO community is needed
even when government is supposedly pro-environment (e.g., the Clinton
administration).
Alex
Watson, Vice President for International Conservation at The Nature Conservancy
provided a perspective on what works in NGO
partnerships, based on TNC’s experience working with local partners in Latin
America.
Watson outlined the strengths and weaknesses of
NGOs. He noted that NGOs are good at generating and disseminating new knowledge
about relationships between people and nature. They can be independent and
innovative, and are increasingly sophisticated in their technical and
managerial skills. They can deliver services to the grassroots better, and are
sometimes more flexible, efficient, better managers, and have more credibility
than government. They effectively draw the public into project implementation,
and are better at project evaluation and assessment. They can hold non-partisan
forums. A weakness of NGOs is that they can marginalize themselves, failing to
address complex issues, or failing to engage government effectively. NGOs are
sometimes uncritical of themselves, and can sometimes exaggerate claims of accomplishments.
Watson advised US NGOs to seek partnerships
with Chinese counterparts because local NGOs have a better understanding of
local problems and the local government, a better capacity to engage the
public, and they legitimize the US NGO’s work. Watson recommended working with
NGOs that have charismatic leadership and innovative approaches, but that also
have a sustainable structure, including plan for succession. US NGOs should
seek partners with the capacity to achieve the project’s objectives, or help
build that capacity through training. The partners need to jointly establish
goal and objectives, and do joint fundraising. US NGOs can help their partners
develop a board of directors that allows them to reach different segments of
society and fundraising. For example, TNC produced publications in Spanish on
NGO fundraising and setting up board of directors.
Discussions:
Question
1: How can local NGOs do well without foreign
support?
Levin
replied that, in countries where the economy is doing
well, NGOs can support themselves with fees for services and other means.
Question
2: Does TNC have a political
agenda?
Watson
responded that TNC would like to see a political environment that enables
conservation, such as that in Costa Rica. Changes in legal and tax structure
can enable conservation easements. However,
TNC’s political efforts are very focused, and are not partisan. Chinese NGOs
can avoid the appearance of being politically manipulated by outsiders if they
broaden the number and type of groups with whom they collaborate.
Hu noted that because GONGOs are a financial
burden on the government, they are getting their funding cut and are becoming
more like real NGOs.
Su
Liying, a Research Associate at the International Crane Foundation,
commented that the survival of Chinese NGOs depends on changing Chinese
people’s values, i.e., increasing public support for saving nature and cleaning
up the environment. This can be accomplished by cooperation among scientists,
NGOs and the media to get the message out to television audiences. Su noted
that people spend lots of money on nutritional supplements to improve their
health, but don’t spend any money on supporting efforts of environmental NGOs
to clean up the air in order to reduce their respiratory problems.
Question
3: Please comment on the issue of NGO cooperation in the context of
globalization.
Steve
Viederman warned that international cooperation
threatens to homogenize NGO community. Joel
Levin countered that local NGOs can fight globalization by forming
links with international partners while still
retaining their national identities.
Panel
Three: Funding Sources, Fundraising, and Legal Issues
This panel discussed laws governing NGOs in China,
ways to raise funds to support environmental projects and elements of a winning
proposal.
Richard Ferris, Attorney with Beveridge &
Diamond, P.C. and Geographic China Counsel for the Center for International
Environmental Law, discussed laws governing NGOs and environmental protection
in China and how environmental laws and information on these laws can provide
unique and significant opportunities for NGOs.
Mr. Ferris noted that China’s Social Organization
Registration Management Regulations, were promulgated and effective on October
25, 1998. These Regulations
specify the required number of members, amount of money, and oversight
requirements for organizations established per the provisions of the
Regulations. He also commented,
among other things, about the fact that many NGOs, such as Global Village
Beijing, were opting to register as economic organizations (under the relevant
corporate laws) because of the burdensome “supervision” that was imposed on
organizations registering under the relatively new Regulations.
China has a large body of environmental, health and
safety laws, Ferris said, but the development and effectiveness of the legal
system are complicated by a wide range of challenges. Ferris went on to state that these challenges include a
general lack of access to information about the law, a general dearth of
popular understanding of the law, and insufficient resources (including
infrastructure) to implement the law.
Ferris noted that NGOs face the same difficulties that Chinese legal
experts face in researching, monitoring, and keeping pace with the rapid
changes that characterize the current legal system. Because of the growing recognition of the important role
that law can play in the development of China’s economy and civil society, he
said, much attention is being given to the creation of laws covering all
aspects of economic and social life.
However, Ferris noted, more law does not automatically translate into a
better reception and understanding of the law.
Ferris pointed out that the Chinese Academy of
Sciences is planning to mount key Chinese environmental laws and regulations
(in Chinese) on the Internet as a first step in enhancing the transparency of
China’s notoriously inaccessible legal system. A representative of the Academy
of Sciences noted that compilations of China’s laws (including many
environmental laws) are also available in Chinese on CD, a fact corroborated by
Mr. Ferris. NGOs have a role to
play in the dissemination of legal information, more particularly for this Conference—the
dissemination of information on environmental laws and how these laws are given
effect by the government and citizens throughout China. Ferris stated that laws that remain in
a file on someone’s desk are of no use—to China or the environment. He went on to say that legal documents
can only be given meaning through “active” review and application by the public
that must comply with the law.
Thus, he asserted, NGOs can serve a unique role by, among other things,
calling attention to the growing body of law in China, testing the application
of laws to determine whether they are as good in application as they are on
paper, and generally providing needed educational and monitoring services that
are so important to the development of successful governance systems.
Ferris also remarked on some promising developments
toward increasing transparency in the Chinese legal system that would be of
interest to NGOs. These included
the printing for public comment, in the People’s Daily [Ren Min Ri Bao] and
other publications, of certain draft laws such as the amended Economic Contract
Law and the amended Land Administration Law. Ferris noted that more work is certainly needed on the
system for formally addressing and incorporating, if possible, the many public
comments received in response to these efforts. In summing up, Ferris quoted William Ruckleshaus, the first
Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Administration (and one of
the founding members of Beveridge & Diamond). According to Ferris, Ruckleshaus commented in April 1990
issue of Smithsonian Magazine that “[a]fter about 90 days at U.S. EPA, I
decided that the laws we were expected to administer were poorly conceived and
in many instances unworkable.
Congress mandated that we do the impossible—create a permanently perfect
environment.” Despite the bleak
realism of Ruckleshaus’ comment, Ferris stated that NGOs are and will continue
to be a key ingredient (the civil society ingredient) in helping China develop
well-conceived and workable laws.
At some point in the future—we can then enjoy a livable environment.
Zhang
Jiqiang, Program Officer at the W. Alton Jones Foundation,
discussed what he and his colleagues look for in a funding proposal.
Zhang said that foundations are looking for the
best ideas and smartest people. They need a
matchmaker to help funders find good
candidates, and sometimes the Internet can help.
Zhang noted that US foundations have become
more specialized in their donation strategies. In fact, NGOs often complain
about the difficulty of obtaining grants because foundations are too focused,
and their focus is always shifting. NGOs need to understand that foundations
are driven by white papers defining their view of a problem. The website only
gives very generally indication of the foundation’s focus; NGO staff members
need to talk to program officers to get more details. Grantees must also become
specialized, Zhang said, because people who work on one issue for a long time
are more attractive to funders. Foundations recognize that their funds are
small compared to government funds, Zhang said. Rather than try to usurp the
government’s role, foundations try to leverage larger sums of money from
government and multilateral sources. Foundations like to fund projects that
will be self-sustaining and multiply after foundation funding is used up. Zhang
noted that lack of good accounting is a barrier to giving to some grantees in
China. Chinese NGOs need to increase their transparency and accountability, and
work on building the donor-grantee relationship. He also noted that foundations
look for a diversified funding base for a grantee and even within a project, to
reduce foundation’s risk and responsibility.
Marc
Brody, President of the US-China Environment Fund (USCEF),
discussed ways to
generate more funding for environmental
projects in China.
Brody said that USCEF, which set up its Beijing office in
1995, was established to integrate
environmental protection and sustainable
economic development. USCEF would like to provide funding for environmental
protection in China, but has had trouble raising money. China is becoming a
very prosperous country, Brody said, and needs to fund its own environmental
protection. In order to motivate donations and grants, Chinese NGOs need to
define what services they provide and what role they play in decision making
processes. Brody noted several barriers to NGO development in China.
**NGOs
represent the grassroots, or the bottom up approach. Since China has
traditionally been a hierarchical society, it will take time for people to
accept this approach.
**NGOs
try to form partnerships and leverage resources, but China has most recently
been
organized around the ‘Danwei’, isolated units
that often fail to cooperate.
**NGOs
tend to rely on philanthropy, but China doesn’t have a tradition of giving to
abstract public interest causes.
Brody also pointed out several hopeful signs
for NGO development. The Chinese government’s decision to cede control of
businesses, institutes, and a range of social services has created
opportunities for NGOs to deliver new services. This may increase the value of
NGOs in the eyes of the Chinese public. Environmental NGOs can also benefit
from focusing on issues that affect people in their daily lives, such as
agriculture, and air and water quality.
Discussion:
Question
1: Please provide details on problems regarding Chinese NGO accountability.
Zhang described an NGO survey on which
he recently worked. Many NGOs
surveyed were unable to provide their financial
statement, and most lacked independent auditing systems. Some had management
problems beyond financial management. For example, few had hands-on boards of
directors. In other cases, Chinese government agencies set up GONGOs simply to
channel funds, including state funds.
Question
2 : What is the feasibility of suing the
Chinese government to enforce environmental laws?
Ferris
noted the first step is to exhaust one’s administrative remedies after
petitioning SEPA for enforcement of environmental laws. Then one can bring a
case to the courts. Recipients of environmental damage have sued for redress
under civil law, not criminal law, Ferris said. The Ford Foundation has
established a fund to help pay for these cases.
Jeanny
Wang, Program Director of the China Biodiversity Network at Earth Island Institute,
noted that some international NGOs are doing “sub-granting” to Chinese
colleagues. For example, the foundation Global Green Grants has provided funds
to Chinese environmental groups and individual activists through the Pacific
Environment and Resources Center and Earth Island Institute. ECOLOGIA has also
facilitated small grants to Chinese environmental volunteer groups.
Zhang
said that the W. Alton Jones Foundation has not used this approach yet.
However, W. Alton Jones is starting to give small grants for information
technology support in the US, and is now expanding that program to South
America.
Slide
Presentation by
Daniel Miller, an independent consultant, on
conservation and development in the Upper Reaches of the Yellow, Yangtze, and
Salween, and Brahmaputra Rivers in Western China.
Miller formed an organization in collaboration
with nomads in Tibet. He and his colleagues were told not to call their group a
“pastoral association” because it sounded too political. Instead, they called
it a “poverty alleviation working group.” The Tibet Poverty Alleviation Project
involved improving livestock operations. Miller noted that one has to be
careful in China about criticizing official programs. He advised US NGOs to be
diplomatic in order to be effective, and to make sure local leaders do not lose
face.
Panel
Four: Public Education and Outreach
This panel discussed raising
public awareness through the media in China, moving constituents from
environmental awareness to action and outreach efforts to promote crane
conservation worldwide.
Sherri
Liao, President of Global Village of Beijing,
discussed raising public awareness through the media in China. She described
the environmental television programs produced by her group, Global Village of
Beijing. She also noted that GVB works with a network of 500 journalists that
report on environmental issues. In response to the earlier discussion of
environmental litigation, Liao commented that environmental groups have to help
SEPA, not sue them.
Liao noted that Chinese environmental NGOs are
developing along two pathways. One type of NGO is independent of the
government. Groups in this category have limited funds and are struggling to
survive. Examples include Friends of Nature and Global Village of Beijing. The
second type of organization is the
government-organized NGO (GONGO), which sounds to many like a contradiction in
terms. However, many GONGOs are gradually becoming more independent. Liao sees
environmental NGOs in China serving as a link among scientists, the media, and
the government. Their functions are to interpret scientific information from
researchers, relay that information to the media, and provide proposals to the
government. It is also essential for NGOs to educate the public to plant trees,
recycle, choose environmentally-sound products, promote enforcement of
environmental laws and regulations, and provide input to the government.
Joan
Haley, Acting Executive Director of the North America Association for
Environmental Education, discussed moving
constituents from environmental awareness to action.
Environmental Education unfortunately often
does not get the priority it needs due to a focus on short-term instead of
long-term solutions. This is
understandable because so many of our environmental problems are serious and
need fast solutions. But it is
very interesting to think where we would be now if 20 years ago we had invested
significantly in environmental education--that is if we had incorporated
learning about the environment in schools and other venues such as the media so
that everyone from top level politicians to the average teen-ager had a much better understanding about
the environment, how our behaviors affect it, and vice-versa. One thing seems clear-- we would not be
working so hard to simply convince people why it is important to consider the
environment in our decisions. It
would just be a part of how we do business.
One of the greatest challenges we face in the
environmental education (EE) field is that many people don't even understand
what EE is. They think it is
simply information dissemination.
In fact that is only where it starts. It spans the spectrum of awareness to knowledge to attitude
or values clarification, to skills development to ensuring participation in
prevention of or solutions to environmental problems.
EE is NOT advocacy, it is not taking a stand on
a particular environmental issue.
It considers the environment in its
totality--including economic and social factors.
It is about improving environmental literacy so
that we can all make well-informed decisions.
Environmental education is critical to creating
the paradigm-shift that is necessary to prepare us for present and future
environmental challenges. We need
to invest it in today so that we do not continually find ourselves fighting the
same battles due to environmental ignorance.
She suggested for more information about
environmental education, see EE-Link (http://eelink.net).
Jim
Harris, Deputy Director of the International Crane Foundation (ICF),
discussed outreach efforts to promote crane conservation.
Harris said that ICF tries to involve people
from Wisconsin in their programs overseas. He noted one has to develop
different messages for difference audiences in the US and China. For example,
if you want to work with poor farmers in Guizhou on preserving wetlands, you
have to listen to what their wants and needs are. You have to sell them on
protecting their resource base, not on saving cranes, Harris said. It is also
important to link people in the US and China who care about the environment
through personal and participatory activities. Exchanging artwork can bridge
the language barrier, and the Internet is
another important tool.
Harris said that involving farmers in designing
and implementing projects is the most rewarding part of the job. ICF brings
journalists out to talk to the farmers and see the project. Their message is
about farmers and conservationists working together to
solve environmental problems. Unfortunately,
journalists tend to want to focus on conflict and even try to generate
conflict.
Discussion:
Question:
Can the Chinese NGO movement rely on foreign funds?
Liao
commented that all Global Village of Beijing’s money comes from foreign
sources, but it is not practical for a NGO movement in China to use foreign
funds. The international community can help Chinese NGOs, Liao noted, by
demanding NGO participation in aid-funded development programs and establishing
mechanisms for such participation. International organizations can also provide
training to NGOs in capacity building, assist in the transformation of
government-affiliated organizations, and enhance NGO networking and information
exchange.
Hao
Bing of Friends of Nature (FON) commented with
regard to functions of journalists. said her group is working closely with
local people on preserving the Tibetan antelope and can introduce journalists
to these people. FON can also provide journalists with the scientific
information about the antelope. Hao said that FON will send a group of
journalists to Hamburg, Germany to learn from journalists there.
Part
II Participating Organizations
•All China Women's Federation
•Alliance to End Childhood Lead Poisoning
•Ashoka: Innovators for the Public
•Beveridge and Diamond P.C.
•Blobaum & Associates
•Center for Earth Science Data and Information Network, China
•Center for International Environmental Law
•China Diversity Network, Earth Island Institute
•Tibetan Plateau Project, Earth Island Institute
•US-China Environmental Fund
•China Population and Environment Society, China
•China Sci. & Tech Daily
•China Studies, Council on Foreign Relations
•Chinese Academy of Agriculture
•Chinese Assoc. of Science and Tech.
•Conservation International
•Counterpart International
•Center for Environmentally Sound Technical Transfer, China
•ECOLOGIA
•Embassy of China
•Environmental Economics Program of Policy
Research for
Environment & Economy, SEP, China
•Environmental Protection Magazine, China
•Friends of Nature, China
•Global Village of Beijing, China
•Green Earth Volunteer, China
•Honeywell Inc.
•ICF Consulting Group
•ICF Kaiser
•International Fund for China’s Environment
•Indiana University, Bloomington
•Institute of Atmospheric Physics, CAS, China
•Institute of Human Ecology, China
•International Sustainable Development Foundation
•International Crane Foundation
•International Technical Cooperation, US EPA
•Jessie Smith Noyes Foundation
•Johns Hopkins University, School of Advanced International Studies
•League of Conservation Voters
•North American Association for Environmental Education
•National Committee on US-China Relations
•NGO Energy & Climate Change Caucus
•Bureau for Ocean, Environment & Science, and Office of Chinese and
Mongolian Affairs,
State Department of USA
•Overseas Chinese Environmental Engineers & Scientists Association
•Professional Association for China’s Environment
•People's Daily Overseas edition, China
•Pesticide Action Network, North America Regional Center
•Research Center. for Eco. & Environmental Economics, China
•Shanxi Mother Environment Volunteers Assoc. China
•Tetra Tech, Inc
•The Bridge Fund
•The Rockefeller Foundation
•The World Bank
•The World Conservation Union
•The World Resources Institute
•University of Maryland
•International Environmental Policy and Office of International
Activities,
US EPA
•US-China Association for Environmental Education
•USDA/Foreign Agriculture Service
•W. Alton Jones Foundation
•Western Return Scholars Assoc. China
•Winthrop University, South Carolina
•Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars
•WWF-China and WWF-US
Part III Forum Organizers
The Forum was jointly organized by:
The International Fund for
China’s Environment (IFCE)
Professional Association for
China’s Environment (PACE)
The Woodrow Wilson
International Center for Scholars
Global Village of Beijing
(GVB)
Overseas Chinese
Environmental Engineers and Scientists Association
(OCEESA)
The International Fund for China’s Environment (IFCE):
IFCE, a non-profit organization with its main office in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area and a branch office in Beijing, was established by a group of concerned scientists and professionals in 1996. Its mission is to help ensure the protection of the world's environment and biological diversity by assisting China's effort in resolving its environmental problems. IFCE publishes a quarterly newsletter on China's environmental problems, conservation practices, and IFCE's activities. IFCE develops environmental management training centers inside China and facilitate environmental technology and information
transfers between the U.S. and China. IFCE organizes forums and symposium for the discussion of China's and the world's environmental issues, including scientific, educational, legal, social and cultural dimensions. IFCE consists of a Board of Advisors, a Board of Directors and a membership network. For further information, please contact Dr. Ping He, President, at P.O. Box 3284, Fairfax, VA 22038.
Tel:703-222-1280, Fax:703-830-3951. IFCE's home page is http://www.ifce.org.
Professional Association for China's Environment (PACE):
PACE, a non-profit and non-governmental organization with its headquarters in Washington D.C., has a global network with over 650 registered environmental professionals on China's environment. The objectives of PACE are to facilitate information dissemination in the area of China-related environmental policy and research, to develop educational and technical training programs for Chinese
environmental policy makers and professionals, and to conduct researches on China's environmental problems. PACE organizes public seminars and publishes quarterly electronic journals Sinosphere and China Environment Reporter. PACE's listserver (pace@gmu.edu) and web page have become very useful means for information exchange and discussion on China's environment. Contact Information:
Changhua Wu, PACE President, Tel.: (202) 729-7720, Email: changhua@wri.org. PACE Web site: http://www.Chinaenvironment.net
The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
Established by Congress in 1968, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars is a living memorial to the nation's 28th president that fosters intellectual exchange among scholars and policy makers. Since 1994, the Wilson Center's Environmental Change and Security Project (ECSP) has been serving as a "road map" to a myriad of views, activities, and policy initiatives falling under the rubric of "environment, population, and security." The ECSP has created a network of experts from diverse backgrounds, fostering new dialogue and comparative insights as a neutral forum and information clearinghouse. The ECSP's Working Group on Environment in U.S.-China Relations is an ongoing multi-disciplinary forum that facilitates discussion of policy options regarding China's sustainable development through meetings and publication of the annual journal, china environment series. It stresses both government and non-government cooperation on environmental issues between the U.S. and China. Contact information: Environmental Change and Security Project; Woodrow Wilson Center; One Woodrow Wilson Plaza; 1300 Pennsylvania Ave., NW; Washington, DC20004-3027; Tel. 202 691-4233; Fax 202 691-4184; Email chinaenv@erols.com; Web http://ecsp.si.edu
Global Village of Beijing (GVB)
Global Village of Beijing, registered in March, 1996 as an independent NGO in China, aims to enhance public awareness and to promote public involvement in environment protection in China by means of the mass media and various social activities. Its major projects include: 1. Environmental TV program. Since April, 1996, GVB has been independently producing a regular TV program, "Time for Environment" which is aired weekly nationwide. 2. Environmental Publications. Since 1996, GVB has been running environmental columns in a number of national newspapers, including "China Consumer Daily", "China Youth Daily", and "China Women's Daily". It has also published the "Citizen's Environmental Guide", China's first guidebook for environmental behavior in citizens daily life, and "Environmental Guide for Children". 3. Environmental Radio Program. Working together with China National Radio station (CNR), GVB initiated a regular radio program "Environmental 30 Minutes". 4. Recycling Campaign. GVB initiated the Recycling Campaign in April, 1996 and set up recycling pilot projects in Beijing. GVB is currently the GEF focal point in East Asia to promote NGO involvement. On July 2,1998, Ms. Sheri Liao, president of GVB was invited to an independent environmentalists roundtable meeting hosted by US President Clinton.
Overseas Chinese Environmental Engineers and Scientists Association
(OCEESA):
OCEESA, a non-profit corporation with its headquarters in Cleveland, Ohio, was established by a group of overseas Chinese environmental engineers and scientists in 1980. The late Dr. Robert H. L. Howe was elected the first OCEESA president. OCEESA provides a network for its members to promote
scientific research and professional growth. Its membership includes regular members, student members, affiliate members, and corporate members. The OCEESA publishes the OCEESA Journal and sponsors the Annual Best Paper Award Competition in China. It also organizes environmental technology seminars to bring together scientists from Mainland China and Taiwan. OCEESA contact information: Dr. Yung-Tse Hung, Professor, Civil Engineering Department, Cleveland State University, Cleveland, Ohio 44115-2440 USA. Tel:.(216) 687-2596 FAX: (216) 687-5395 Email: Yhung@csvax.csuohio.edu,
homepage:http://csaxp.csuohio.edu/civil/hung/oceesa/
Part IV Forum Organizing Committee
Ping He Ph.D. Chairman of the Forum Organizing Committee, President of International Fund for China’s Environment (IFCE)
Baruch Boxer, Ph.D., Professor of Geography and Environmental Science, Rutgers University; Visiting Scholar, Resources for the Future
Richard J. Ferris Jr., Esq., International Environmental Practice Group, Beveridge & Diamond, P.C.; Geographic China, Counsel, Center for International Environmental Law, PACE Director
Aaron Frank, Coordinator, Working Group on Environment in US-China Relations, the Woodrow Wilson Center
Oliver Hao, President of OCEESA, Professor of the University of Maryland
Zhen-Gang (Jeff) Ji, Ph. D., P.E., Senior Environmental Engineer, Tetra Tech, Inc.
Sherri Xiaoyi Liao, President, Global Village of Beijing, China
Jacqueline Luo, Chairwoman of Board of Directors, IFCE
Ray Phillips, Sr. Associate, ICF Kaiser Inc. PACE Director
Judith Shapiro, Ph.D. Assistant Professor, American University, Board of Directors, IFCE.
Ellen Spitalnik, Attorney, International Environmental Policy, US-EPA
Daniel Viederman, Vice-President of International Fund for China’s Environment, Board of Directors, IFCE
Hua Wang, Ph.D. Chairman of PACE; Environmental Economist, The World Bank
Jeanny Wang, Program Director, China Biodiversity Network, Earth Island Institute, PACE Director
Chieh Wu, Ph.D. Senior Environmental Engineer, US-EPA
Changhua Wu, President of PACE, China Program Director, World Resources Institute
Jian Xie, Ph.D. Former Chairman of PACE, Environmental Economist, The World Bank
Jentai Yang, Ph.D, China Program Manager, US-EPA, Board of Directors, OCEESA
The Forum received financial contributions from:
Beveridge & Diamond,
P.C.
Office of International
Activities, U.S.-EPA
China Environmental Fund
Chinese Academic Link
Jessie Smith Noyes
Foundation