Efforts, Experience in and Inspiration of Environmental …
121
become secondary or not a goal at all. In reality, many domestic wastewater treatment facilities went idle after being used occasionally during inspections. Some
local residents dubbed them “environmental protection garbage.” Second, by taking
all responsibilities, the governments tend to ignore social resources and the collective strengths of rural residents in protecting the environment. Also, current fiscal
expenditure cannot fund environmental protection efforts in over 600,000 villages
across the country. If each village needs RMB 1.1 million to treat pollution, the
construction expenses will be as high as RMB 660 billion, excluding expenses for
operations and maintenance. In comparison, the average annual input from the central
authorities are estimated at RMB 4.4 billion. For RMB 660 billion to be provided,
150 years will be needed. Third, environmental protection projects and resources allocated for the projects come from different departments. For example, the housing
and urban-rural planning authority allocates funds for treating domestic solid waste
and wastewater, the agricultural authority for treating pollution from the livestock
breeding and biogas, the health authority for improving water facilities and toilets,
and the water resources authority for improving drinking water and dredging rivers.
Limited funding for environmental protection in rural areas is fragmented and scattered, resulting in low efficiency in resource allocation. This is incompatible with
the nature of environmental protection as a systematic project.
3 Practices and Experience of Foreign Countries in Rural
Environment Governance
In the process of urbanization, industrialization and modernization, various countries
faced the common problem of a withering countryside. The evolution of rural areas
in developed countries shows that a declining share of agriculture in GDP or a
diminishing rural population do not necessarily mean a decline of the countryside,
though. Rather, the countryside of many countries presents beautiful landscape and
an enchanting and serene lifestyle. Particularly in the post-industrialization era, rural
development and rural environmental protection show huge potential.
According to statistics by the World Bank, there were 3.34 billion people living
in rural areas across the world by the end of 2016, accounting for 46.1% of the world
population (in 2007, urban residents outnumbered rural residents for the first time
in world history). Of the 3.34 billion rural residents, 580 million were from China.
By 2035 when China basically realizes modernization, there will still be 400 million
people living in rural areas in the country. The shares of rural population in Singapore,
Japan, the UK, the US and China were 0.1, 17, 18 and 44% in the world total. As
agricultural population moves rapidly to non-agricultural sectors, each country has
to experience a process of rural construction, agricultural development and farmer
migration. Many developed countries and regions have completed the process or
dealt with the pains coming along with it, and restored beautiful countryside scenes.
121
become secondary or not a goal at all. In reality, many domestic wastewater treatment facilities went idle after being used occasionally during inspections. Some
local residents dubbed them “environmental protection garbage.” Second, by taking
all responsibilities, the governments tend to ignore social resources and the collective strengths of rural residents in protecting the environment. Also, current fiscal
expenditure cannot fund environmental protection efforts in over 600,000 villages
across the country. If each village needs RMB 1.1 million to treat pollution, the
construction expenses will be as high as RMB 660 billion, excluding expenses for
operations and maintenance. In comparison, the average annual input from the central
authorities are estimated at RMB 4.4 billion. For RMB 660 billion to be provided,
150 years will be needed. Third, environmental protection projects and resources allocated for the projects come from different departments. For example, the housing
and urban-rural planning authority allocates funds for treating domestic solid waste
and wastewater, the agricultural authority for treating pollution from the livestock
breeding and biogas, the health authority for improving water facilities and toilets,
and the water resources authority for improving drinking water and dredging rivers.
Limited funding for environmental protection in rural areas is fragmented and scattered, resulting in low efficiency in resource allocation. This is incompatible with
the nature of environmental protection as a systematic project.
3 Practices and Experience of Foreign Countries in Rural
Environment Governance
In the process of urbanization, industrialization and modernization, various countries
faced the common problem of a withering countryside. The evolution of rural areas
in developed countries shows that a declining share of agriculture in GDP or a
diminishing rural population do not necessarily mean a decline of the countryside,
though. Rather, the countryside of many countries presents beautiful landscape and
an enchanting and serene lifestyle. Particularly in the post-industrialization era, rural
development and rural environmental protection show huge potential.
According to statistics by the World Bank, there were 3.34 billion people living
in rural areas across the world by the end of 2016, accounting for 46.1% of the world
population (in 2007, urban residents outnumbered rural residents for the first time
in world history). Of the 3.34 billion rural residents, 580 million were from China.
By 2035 when China basically realizes modernization, there will still be 400 million
people living in rural areas in the country. The shares of rural population in Singapore,
Japan, the UK, the US and China were 0.1, 17, 18 and 44% in the world total. As
agricultural population moves rapidly to non-agricultural sectors, each country has
to experience a process of rural construction, agricultural development and farmer
migration. Many developed countries and regions have completed the process or
dealt with the pains coming along with it, and restored beautiful countryside scenes.