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The state of
pollution
By Florence Chan
As China steps into the year of the
rooster, all its provinces have submitted their
economic performance reports for 2004. On the face
of it, Guangdong, Shandong, Jiangsu and Zhejiang
ranked as the top four in terms of gross domestic
product (GDP), with each exceeding 1 trillion
yuan. But behind the fancy numbers lies the tale
of a ruthless state wreaking havoc on nature for
prosperity.
If the environmental damage
caused by reckless economic development is
factored in, the economic growth rates in these
provinces could actually be negative. To whitewash
their performance reports - which serve as the
only criterion when it comes to assessing
governance, and thus translate into promotions -
local officials think nothing of laying waste to
the environment, as long as they can churn out the
right numbers.
Guangdong topped the list
with 1.604 trillion yuan (US$193 billion) in the
2004 national GDP chart and an annual growth rate
of 14.2%. Disposable incomes for urban and rural
citizens reached 13,628 and 4,366 yuan, up 10.1%
and 7.7% respectively from 2003. Last June, Chen
Guangrong, deputy director of the Guangdong
Provincial Bureau of Environmental Protection,
conceded in the Communique of Guangdong's
Environmental Status that environmental
deterioration might have overtaken economic
growth. According to Chen, 2003 saw GDP growth of
13.6% year-on-year in Guangdong, while emissions
of carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen
dioxide and wasted water recorded increases of
10.2%, 13.6%, 14.8% and 10.3%, respectively;
chemical oxygen demand (COD), an indicator of
pollutants in wasted water, climbed 32%.
Shandong grabbed the No 2 slot with a GDP
of 1.5 billion yuan and a per capita income of
$2,000. An investment of 760 billion yuan in fixed
assets made the province the second-best
performer. But when it comes to carbon dioxide
emissions, Shandong is king. In April 2003, Wang
Wenxing, a researcher at China's Academy of
Engineering, pointed out that Shandong emitted
more than 180 tons of sulfur dioxide annually,
leaving all peers far behind. Shandong ranks sixth
on the national list for fume and aerosol
emissions, fourth in wasted water, fourth in COD
and fifth in solid industrial waste.
Jiangsu's story is pretty much the same. A
report on local rivers released last December by
the Provincial Department of Environmental
Protection showed that Jiangsu's water resources,
including some waterheads, are all heavily
polluted, its aquatic ecosystem is seriously
destroyed and, worse still, many species are on
the brink of extinction. More than 50% of sources
for drinking water were found contaminated, 73.3%
of the 45 monitoring stations along the rivers
reported heavy pollution, and local biodiversity
was reported close to extinction.
The
devastating pollution has put public health at
risk. Zhou Jiannong, head of Jiangsu Tumor
Hospital blames the increasing number of cancer
patients on the deteriorating environment.
According to Zhou, cancer deaths have increased
18.31% and 11.03% in urban and rural areas in the
10 years between 1991 and 2000. Lung cancer is
rampant, climbing 29.38% and 47.73% in urban and
rural areas. Cases of breast and bladder cancers
have also jumped. Nine counties in Jiangsu were
found among the top 30 with the highest death
rates caused by cancer.
Zhejiang's GDP has
gone up by 14.3% to 1.124 trillion yuan. From 1978
to 2003, the province achieved an annual GDP
growth of more than 13.1% and per capita income
skyrocketed from $40 to $2,440. But Zhejiang is
also a top polluter. An official in the State
Environmental Protection Administration admitted
last December that the spate of coal-fired power
plants - a fallout of the nation's thirst for
energy - led to galloping emissions of sulfur
dioxide. Three of the six cities that recorded
over 90% acid rains are in Zhejiang.
Statistical authorities said in December
that 2003 recorded 2.703 billion tons of wasted
water, 1,043 cubic meters of industrial exhausted
gas and 197.6 billion tons of industrial solid
waste. That is, for ever 100 million yuan Zhejiang
generates, it produces 288,000 tons of wasted
water, 238 million cubic meters of exhausted gas
and 4,500 tons of solid waste. Compared with 1990,
the three indicators increased 84.8%, 300% and
130%, respectively, in 2003. Ironically, the
province invested 23 billion yuan to guard against
pollution in 2003, a paltry 2.5% of its then GDP.
As researches indicate, the permissible
limit of sulfur dioxide emissions should be 12
million to 14 million tons if China wants to rid
itself of acid rains. But the nation is emitting
28 million tons of sulfur dioxide into the air.
Currently, China loses 110 billion yuan every year
because of acid rains. Obsessed with higher
growth, China has failed to take into account the
toll it is taking on the environment. This
oversight has weakened sustained economic growth
momentum and is leading to environmental
degradation.
In order to cope with such
problems, the World Bank has developed an
alternative macro-indicator - environmentally
adjusted gross domestic product (green GDP). The
ratio of green GDP to the standard GDP is an
indicator of a nation's environmental health.
"Calculated in this way, China reports a negative
GDP growth," said Li Peilin, a researcher of the
Chinese Academy of Social Science. Since its
foundation in 1949, communist China's GDP has
grown 10 times while its resource consumption has
gone up by over 40 times. Considering the way
Beijing's bureaucratic evaluation works, that
seems inevitable. All that government officials
really care about is economic growth, as that is
the real determinant of how far they move up the
ladder. In February 2004, Chinese Premier Wen
Jiabao reiterated the importance of sustainable
development and suggested assessing officials'
performance in environmental protection as another
indicator for promotion - but in vain.
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