Challenges and Chances for China’s Environmental NGOs

It’s commonly acknowledged that environmental NGOs have played and will play an important role in the field of environmental protection. NGOs’ activities during Rio Earth Summit gave us a convincing example. China is a big environment country. Although Chinese government has been actively engaged in protecting environment in recent years. I think China’s environmental NGOs cannot evade their responsibility of preventing China’s environment from getting worse and of helping government with maintaining sustainable development. However, China’s environmental NGOs are at starting stage. We have some environmental NGOs such as ‘China Association of Environmental Science’ and ‘Friends of Nature’ etc, but their role and influence are limited. The development of China’s environmental NGOs is far from being satisfactory due to following challenges:

1. Conceptual challenge. We used to think only government has power to cope with social problems. As a matter of fact, NGO can do many thigs, sometimes even can do things government cannot do. (NGO awareness is very important.)

2. Weak public environmental awareness. NGOs’ strength lies in the participation of ordinary people, but low living standard and inadequate environmental education led to public indifference to environmental problems.

3. Lack of finacial support and technology. In spite of above-mentioned challenges, I am cautiously optimistic about China’s environmental NGO’s future because we are having some chances:

First, the ever-increasing cooperation among NGOs in the Asia-pacific region is a big help for China’s environmental NGOs. (AANEA is a good example.)

Second, as China becomes more and more open to outside, Chinese government will attach more importance to China’s NGOs.

The last but not the least, as Chinese living standard is improved, more and more people begin to show their concern about environment.