58
Y. Wang
1 A Brief Review of Development and Environmental
Protection in China
The history of environmental protection in China is a history of balancing between
environmental protection and development needs. Based on a comprehensive
comparative analysis, I divide China’s process of environmental protection and development into four stages: Stage 1 centers around the building environmental awareness, Stage 2 is marked by the adoption of a problem-oriented approach, Stage 3
features the scaling up of environmental governance, and Stage 4 is a stage of systematically promoting environmental protection. In this section, I will list the progress
made at each stage, summarize the experience and lessons of late-starting countries
in pursuing sustainable development, and give a summary of China’s theories and
practices relating to the balance between development and environmental protection
and its contributions to the global efforts towards environmental sustainability and
sustainable development.
1. Stage 1—building environmental awareness (1973–1978)
China had its first National Environmental Protection Conference in 1973, marking
the official inclusion of environmental protection into the Chinese government’s
responsibilities. At the conference, the Chinese government promulgated the Environmental Protection and Improvement Regulations (Interim), proposing to plan
environmental protection in a holistic and reasonable manner, improve resource efficiency, reduce the negative environmental impact of human activities, and encourage
everyone to participate. In 1974, the Environmental Protection Leadership Group
of the State Council was established, and environmental protection was officially
included in the agenda of the central government. The focus of the group at the time
was the treatment and utilization of wastewater, exhaust gas, and solid waste.
In fact, environmental protection had always been a controversial topic in China
before this. Although the Great Leap Forward, the Cultural Revolution and the Third
Front Movement caused various environmental problems in China, the general understanding among the general public at that time was that environmental problems were
unique to capitalist countries and had nothing to do with China as it was a planned
economy. In 1972, a Chinese delegation attended the United Nations Conference on
the Human Environment. It was only until then that Chinese official began to realize
that many environmental issues are global problems and we should not turn a blind
eye to them. With the Office of the Environmental Protection Leadership Group of the
State Council as the competent authority specifically responsible for environmental
protection, China made significant progress in environmental protection.
2. Stage 2—adoption of a problem-oriented approach (1979–1998)
China began to step up environmental protection efforts towards the end of 1978,
in parallel with the launch of the reform and opening-up. Milestones in this stage
included the enactment of the Environmental Protection Law (Trial) in 1979, the
inscription of environmental protection as a basic national policy in 1983, and the
adoption of sustainable development as a national strategy in 1996.
Y. Wang
1 A Brief Review of Development and Environmental
Protection in China
The history of environmental protection in China is a history of balancing between
environmental protection and development needs. Based on a comprehensive
comparative analysis, I divide China’s process of environmental protection and development into four stages: Stage 1 centers around the building environmental awareness, Stage 2 is marked by the adoption of a problem-oriented approach, Stage 3
features the scaling up of environmental governance, and Stage 4 is a stage of systematically promoting environmental protection. In this section, I will list the progress
made at each stage, summarize the experience and lessons of late-starting countries
in pursuing sustainable development, and give a summary of China’s theories and
practices relating to the balance between development and environmental protection
and its contributions to the global efforts towards environmental sustainability and
sustainable development.
1. Stage 1—building environmental awareness (1973–1978)
China had its first National Environmental Protection Conference in 1973, marking
the official inclusion of environmental protection into the Chinese government’s
responsibilities. At the conference, the Chinese government promulgated the Environmental Protection and Improvement Regulations (Interim), proposing to plan
environmental protection in a holistic and reasonable manner, improve resource efficiency, reduce the negative environmental impact of human activities, and encourage
everyone to participate. In 1974, the Environmental Protection Leadership Group
of the State Council was established, and environmental protection was officially
included in the agenda of the central government. The focus of the group at the time
was the treatment and utilization of wastewater, exhaust gas, and solid waste.
In fact, environmental protection had always been a controversial topic in China
before this. Although the Great Leap Forward, the Cultural Revolution and the Third
Front Movement caused various environmental problems in China, the general understanding among the general public at that time was that environmental problems were
unique to capitalist countries and had nothing to do with China as it was a planned
economy. In 1972, a Chinese delegation attended the United Nations Conference on
the Human Environment. It was only until then that Chinese official began to realize
that many environmental issues are global problems and we should not turn a blind
eye to them. With the Office of the Environmental Protection Leadership Group of the
State Council as the competent authority specifically responsible for environmental
protection, China made significant progress in environmental protection.
2. Stage 2—adoption of a problem-oriented approach (1979–1998)
China began to step up environmental protection efforts towards the end of 1978,
in parallel with the launch of the reform and opening-up. Milestones in this stage
included the enactment of the Environmental Protection Law (Trial) in 1979, the
inscription of environmental protection as a basic national policy in 1983, and the
adoption of sustainable development as a national strategy in 1996.