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J. Wang
level. The development of China’s attitudes and policies towards environmental
protection can be roughly divided into five stages.
Stage I (1949–1978): take-off
After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the country desperately wanted
to end poverty. It regarded air pollution and land reclamation as a necessary evil in
order to promote development. Environmental pollution did not receive much attention from the central government at the time. There was even a big misunderstanding
of the relationship between man and nature. Many people believed man could conquer
nature in the end. Before 1972, it was generally believed in China that environmental
pollution was a problem that only appeared in a capitalist society and China did
not have environmental pollution. But in fact, in the early 1970s, environmental
pollution in many places across the country was already very serious. Due to a lack
of experience, urban infrastructure remained insufficient and extensive growth of
resource-based industries prevailed. Low productivity resulted in excessive waste of
resources. Environmental pollution and degradation began to pose a serious challenge to the country. Premier Zhou Enlai requested industrial waste management
and utilization be incorporated into the national plan for economic development.
There were only a few pollution control measures taken during this period, including
building vegetation barriers for air pollution abatement and simple sewage treatment
and smoke and dust removal facilities for polluting projects. The country did very
little to protect the environment at the time.
In June 1972, the Chinese government sent a delegation to participate in the United
Nations Conference on Human Environment held in Sweden. In August 1973, the
State Council of China held the first National Environmental Protection Conference
and adopted the Environmental Protection and Improvement Regulations (Interim),
proposing to plan environmental protection in a holistic and reasonable manner,
improve resource efficiency, reduce the negative impact of human activities on the
environment, and encourage everyone to participate in environmental protection,
officially putting environmental protection on the Chinese government’s agenda.
After the National Environmental Protection Conference in 1973, all provinces,
autonomous regions, and municipalities, as well as relevant departments of the
State Council established environmental governance institutions and environmental
research and monitoring institutions, and strengthened pollution prevention and
control as well as the treatment and utilization of wastewater, exhaust gas, and solid
waste. At the same time, the country stepped up pollution control in heavily polluted
areas, including the control of water pollution in rivers and lakes such as Guanting
Reservoir, Fuchun River, Baiyangdian Lake, Ya’er Lake (in Wuhan), and air pollution in cities such as Beijing, Tianjin, Zibo, Shenyang, Taiyuan, and Lanzhou. The
experience accumulated during this period proved to be useful for later river and
urban pollution control efforts.
J. Wang
level. The development of China’s attitudes and policies towards environmental
protection can be roughly divided into five stages.
Stage I (1949–1978): take-off
After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the country desperately wanted
to end poverty. It regarded air pollution and land reclamation as a necessary evil in
order to promote development. Environmental pollution did not receive much attention from the central government at the time. There was even a big misunderstanding
of the relationship between man and nature. Many people believed man could conquer
nature in the end. Before 1972, it was generally believed in China that environmental
pollution was a problem that only appeared in a capitalist society and China did
not have environmental pollution. But in fact, in the early 1970s, environmental
pollution in many places across the country was already very serious. Due to a lack
of experience, urban infrastructure remained insufficient and extensive growth of
resource-based industries prevailed. Low productivity resulted in excessive waste of
resources. Environmental pollution and degradation began to pose a serious challenge to the country. Premier Zhou Enlai requested industrial waste management
and utilization be incorporated into the national plan for economic development.
There were only a few pollution control measures taken during this period, including
building vegetation barriers for air pollution abatement and simple sewage treatment
and smoke and dust removal facilities for polluting projects. The country did very
little to protect the environment at the time.
In June 1972, the Chinese government sent a delegation to participate in the United
Nations Conference on Human Environment held in Sweden. In August 1973, the
State Council of China held the first National Environmental Protection Conference
and adopted the Environmental Protection and Improvement Regulations (Interim),
proposing to plan environmental protection in a holistic and reasonable manner,
improve resource efficiency, reduce the negative impact of human activities on the
environment, and encourage everyone to participate in environmental protection,
officially putting environmental protection on the Chinese government’s agenda.
After the National Environmental Protection Conference in 1973, all provinces,
autonomous regions, and municipalities, as well as relevant departments of the
State Council established environmental governance institutions and environmental
research and monitoring institutions, and strengthened pollution prevention and
control as well as the treatment and utilization of wastewater, exhaust gas, and solid
waste. At the same time, the country stepped up pollution control in heavily polluted
areas, including the control of water pollution in rivers and lakes such as Guanting
Reservoir, Fuchun River, Baiyangdian Lake, Ya’er Lake (in Wuhan), and air pollution in cities such as Beijing, Tianjin, Zibo, Shenyang, Taiyuan, and Lanzhou. The
experience accumulated during this period proved to be useful for later river and
urban pollution control efforts.