Polluters in China Feel No Pain
When a fertilizer plant in southwestern China tried to expand production earlier this month, it inadvertently dumped so much nitrate and ammonia into the local river that the chemicals killed 440,000 pounds of fish, halted farm irrigation in the area and poisoned drinking water for several cities downstream.
About the only people who haven't felt any fallout so far: senior officials who run the polluting factory, the Second Fertilizer Factory of the state-owned Sichuan Chemical Works Group Ltd. in the city of Chengdu. "We should have the power to shut down a plant like that immediately, but we don't," says Pan Yue, deputy director of China's State Environmental Protection Administration. "We can only fine them, and such a small amount at that," he said. "They basically decide it's a cost that doesn't matter."
Such is the conundrum facing China's largely toothless watchdog in charge of protecting an increasingly damaged environment. As the country's economy continues to race ahead, it is paying the costs associated with the fast pace of growth. New and bigger factories have fueled the economy and created jobs, but they also are jacking up energy demand, straining natural resources and fouling the air and water.
Top leaders are taking notice of the problems, but they haven't armed China's environmental watchdog with effective weapons to tackle them. Mr. Pan says the Second Fertilizer Factory case has been handed up to the State Council, or cabinet, for resolution. Sichuan Chemical Works and the Second Fertilizer Factory referred questions to the local environmental-protection bureau, which said it didn't have the authority to punish the alleged offenders in the case.
Mr. Pan, a 44-year-old former journalist, is part of an effort to make the state's watchdog more effective. Later this week, his agency plans to introduce a policy that, if implemented, would hold officials accountable for spoiling the environment. Under the policy, Chinese officials who fail to clean up local pollution and water, or to introduce other measures to make the environment more livable, would be docked points in job-performance evaluations. Evaluations would be based on tests of air, water and soil in their governing areas, as well as on information collected from nongovernmental organizations, media reports and citizens. A poor rating could hurt officials' chances for promotion.
The national environmental-protection agency also is working with China's National Bureau of Statistics to compile indicators for "green growth," a measurement that would draw attention to cities that improve the environment and conserve resources, Mr. Pan says.
China isn't about to abandon the progrowth policies that have propelled its economy at an average 8% clip for the past decade, environmental-protection officials say. Major foreign investors, which face strict environmental guidelines of their own, aren't expected to be affected much by the new initiative. But Mr. Pan says he hopes increased environmental accountability will send a stern message to officials who have tolerated industries that expand at the expense of the environment.
"China's population is so big and its resources so scarce that if we continue to ignore our environmental problems, that will bring disaster for us and the world," he says.
The antipollution plan has received powerful backing. President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao, who have won praise for their efforts to help the common people since taking office a year ago, touted "sustainable development" at China's annual national legislature meeting earlier this month. Achieving a more environmentally friendly balance between consumption and growth is taking on urgency as China's capital, Beijing, prepares to host a "Green Olympics" in 2008.
During 2002, the environmental watchdog received about 90,000 petitions from citizens complaining of environmental abuse, often industrial accidents, Mr. Pan said. He said the total probably rose to about 100,000 for 2003.
The damage has been extensive. According to a report issued last fall by Mr. Pan's agency, acid rain falls on a third of China's land, and more than 90% of the rivers running through China's cities are seriously polluted. Three-fourths of the population in China's monitored cities breathe unclean air, and 13,000 people die each year from heart disease caused by air pollution, the report says.
Some experts remain skeptical about whether a policy aimed at making Chinese officials more accountable will bring change, especially without greater penalties to back it up. Traditionally, the top priority for many local officials has been achieving fast economic and employment growth. "China doesn't lack laws and regulations. The problem is enforcement," says Wang Yongchen, founder of Green Earth Volunteers, a nongovernmental group based in Beijing.
Some regions experimenting with an accountability policy, such as Sichuan province, are still plagued by some of the worst pollution. Three weeks after the fertilizer-factory spill, the region around Chengdu is still suffering. Upstream, power stations have been asked to stop operations to conserve water. Downstream, residents in the city of Neijiang continue to line up daily for clean water delivered by fire trucks. They say they have been told that river water should be used only for flushing toilets.
中国污染日趋严重，监管部门有心无力
本月初，中国西南地区一家化肥厂为扩大产量而造成含有大量硝酸盐和氨氮的污水进入河里，导致约44万磅鱼死掉、农民不敢用河水灌溉农田，下游几个城市的饮用水有毒物质严重超标。
有一些人倒是还没受到这一事件的影响，那就是这家化工厂的头头们。这家工厂位于四川成都，是国营的川化集团(Sichuan Chemical Works Group Ltd.)下属的第二化肥厂。中国国家环保总局副局长潘岳说，他们应该有立即关闭这类工厂的权力，但实际上他们并没有。他们只能罚款了事，而且也罚不了多少钱。他说，这家厂的头头认为，这点罚款对他们没什么大不了的。 这就是中国环保机构所面临的难题。虽然环境问题越来越严重，但环保机构却软弱无力。在经济持续快速发展的过程中，中国也付出了相应的代价。规模越来越大的新工厂带来了新的就业机会，刺激了经济增长，但它们也加大了能源需求，造成资源紧缺并加剧了空气和水资源的污染。
中国高层领导人也注意到了这些问题，但他们并没有给环保部门有效的武器来解决问题。潘岳说，他们已将第二化肥厂的问题上报国务院(State Council)处理。川化集团和第二化肥厂将问题推到了当地环保局那里，但该局表示无权处罚此次事件的责任者。
今年44岁的潘岳曾是一名记者。目前，他所在的国家环保总局正在努力使他们的工作更有效。他们计划本周晚些时候推出一项政策，如果得以实施，那么对环境污染事件负有相关责任的政府官员将被追究。
根据这项政策，如果政府官员不能采取措施治理环境和水污染，不能有效改善居住环境，那么他的政绩将受到影响。
对官员在治理环境方面的政绩评估将基于对其所管辖地区的空气、水以及土壤进行检测，并将参考从非政府组织、媒体报导和公众舆论方面搜集到的信息。评价不佳将影响官员的晋级和提拔。
潘岳说，环保总局还将协同国家统计局(National Bureau of Statistics)制定"绿色增长"指标，以评估各地在改善环境、保护资源方面的成绩。
环保部门的官员说，中国不会放弃注重国民生产总值(GDP)增长的政策，过去十年来，正是这种政策推动中国经济以8%的平均增幅快速发展。由于一些主要的外国投资者本身有严格的环保制度，因此预计新政策对他们不会有太大影响。
但潘岳说，希望新政策能向那些对以牺牲环境为代价发展经济的行为采取容忍态度的官员发出严厉的警示。
他说，中国人口太多，资源又很有限，如果中国继续忽视环境问题，那将对中国自己以及全世界带来灾难。
环保总局的这一旨在加强污染治理的政策得到了有关方面的大力支持。国家主席胡锦涛和总理温家宝上任一年来因对普通民众的关心而获得了普遍赞誉，在前不久刚刚结束的全国人大会议上，他们表示要实现经济的可持续发展。在中国首都北京准备将2008年奥运会举办成一次"绿色奥运"之际，如何在消耗和增长之间取得更有利于环保的平衡已成为北京优先考虑的紧迫问题。
潘岳说，2002年，环保总局共收到约9万份各地群众有关破坏环境的投诉，其中有很多是跟工业生产有关。他估计，2003年的投诉总数可能增加到10万份左右。
破坏环境造成的危害是多方面的。据环保总局去年秋天发布的报告显示，中国三分之一的面积都遭到酸雨侵蚀；流经城市的河流中有90%以上被严重污染；在实行环境监测的城市中；有四分之三的人口都生活在不清洁的空气之中；另外，每年还有1.3万人死于因空气污染引发的心脏疾病。
但一些专家对这样一种旨在加强官员环保责任的政策能否奏效表示怀疑，特别是考虑到没有相应的处罚机制来与之配套。在现行的官员选拔和重用机制下，许多官员首先考虑的是经济和就业增长指标。
北京非政府组织绿家园志愿者(Green Earth Volunteers)的创始人汪永晨说，中国并不缺乏法律制度，问题是执行不力。
像四川等地已经实施了所谓的责任制，但仍时有严重污染事件发生。在第二化肥厂污染事件过去三周后，成都附近地区仍深受其苦。 为保护水源，上游的发电站已被要求停止发电以节约水源，下游内江市的居民每天仍要排队等待消防车从别处拉来清洁水。居民们说，政府已通知他们，从河里抽上来的自来水只能用来冲厕所。
