The high rate of economic growth has been an important element of the environmental debate in Asia. Meeting the desire for economic growth with long-term protection of the environment is one of the most fundamental challenges in attempting to achieve sustainable development into the next century in Asia as well as the rest of the world. Since the western model of industrial development is not viable for most Asian countries or for the world as a whole, learning about China and Bhutan is necessary for other developing countries as well as the rest of the world. Even though China and Bhutan are neighbours, their environmental policies are largely different from each other. The evolving environmental policies in China and Bhutan offer global perspectives on how domestic circumstances can affect efforts at global environmental protection. Admittedly, several environmental issues, including biodiversity loss, water pollution and degradation are worth noticing in Asia. This article aims to focus on air pollution and its corresponding environmental policy in China and Bhutan.
China has transformed over the past four decades from an economic backwater to an unrivalled industrial power. Although the tremendous change has lifted hundreds of millions of people out of poverty, air pollution came along with the economic miracle in China. The Government of China declared a war on air pollution and put in place policies to tackle it. Achieving the government’s goal to limit air pollution, nevertheless, requires tremendous efforts.
China’s consideration of Environmental protection legislation can be traced back to the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Period, which is 3000 years ago. Many environmental protection rules can be found in Law of Fields, among which two interesting ones stood out: firstly, river courses should not be blocked; secondly, grass and trees should not be burned to be fertiliser except for summer. Modern day efforts in environmental management, however, were put on the Chinese government agenda only after the Stockholm Conference on Human Environment in 1972.
Except for China’s late transformation from prioritising economic growth to sustainable development, one of the major insufficiencies is public environmental awareness and participation. Specifically, the issue about environmental education in Chinese schools was first raised in 1979 by the Chinese Association of Environmental Science and in 1983 environmental protection became China’s basic state policy. It took until 2001 for the Ministry of Education to develop a country-wide model and until 2003 for its unified curriculum to be activated. Furthermore, Friends of Nature, the country’s first environmental NGO, was founded in 1994 and by 2005 the number of various environmental organisations reached 2,768. Improving environmental education, awareness and attitudes is extraordinarily important and a multitude of players, ranging from government organisations and institutes to NGOs and the media, are contributing to this transformation.
China cooperates with other countries to address environmental concerns and participates in Intergovernmental Organisations. Rather than remaining its domestic focus on developing environmental management policies and regulatory systems, China is now looking globally to environmental conventions and agreements. Since air pollution and many other environmental issues are transboundary and China, given its size, is the largest emitter of greenhouse gases, global environmental problems cannot be solved without China’s engagement. For instance, One Belt One Road (OBOR) initiative, which was inspired by the ancient Silk Road and aimed at improving interconnectivity between countries, seeked to boost trade and economic growth in Asia and beyond. It was officially unveiled at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meet in 2014 along with the establishment of the $40 billion Silk Road fund. As Vice Premier Liu said at the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting in Davos, reducing pollution is one of China’s main strategic goals along with preventing major financial risks and alleviating poverty.
The transformation of China’s environmental policy indicates the importance of balancing economic growth and environmental conservation. If the western development model is not viable for China, then it is not viable for India’s 960 million or for the other developing countries. In this case, China plays an important role and has the responsibility of dealing with environmental issues in Asia today as well as in the future. As noted by the former Australian Prime Minister, Paul Keating: “The way that China responds to its problems will shape the whole East Asian environment. All the available evidence suggests that the environmental difficulties we face in the Asia Pacific over the next twenty-five years will become more pressing and difficult to manage. If we can help China resolve its problems, we are also helping to resolve our own.”
Having different environmental policies from most of the countries in the world, Bhutan is arguably one of the world’s happiest countries as well as the greenest today. How does Bhutan, as one of the smallest economies in the world and having the entire GDP less than two billion dollars, deal with air pollution?
Traditional culture, for example, has played a big role in shaping Bhutan’s environmental approaches. Buddhism, as the traditional cultural norm, influences environmental values in Bhutan. Buddhism aspires to deeply perceive the interdependence of all things and events; in other words, all actions should bring the most help and least harm to other sentient beings. The “middle path” in Buddhism is described as the path of moderation. To Buddhists, it signifies a path of wisdom which strikes a balance between the two extremes of self-indulgence and self-mortification. Having economic growth without harming the environment is another example of how Bhutanese pursue the Middle Path. Bhutan articulates the idea of the Middle Path by having the Middle Path strategy that natural resources, such as air, water, biodiversity, soil, minerals, and forest, shall not be compromised for economic development, hence achieving the policy of sustainable development. According to the Middle Path Strategy, economic development and environmental conservation shall receive equal priority. Besides, the Middle Path requires collective efforts, people should have compassion for other people, animals, plants and themselves to make a contribution to the entire world.
Bhutan’s measurement of development stands in contrast with other countries. Back in the 1970s, the fourth king of Bhutan pronounced that Gross National Happiness was more important than Gross National Product. Ever since, all development in Bhutan has been driven by GNH, a pioneering vision that aims to improve the happiness and well-being of the people. According to Tshering Tobgay’s words, within Bhutan’s 2008 national constitution, the government pledged to protect, conserve and improve its pristine environment and safeguard the biodiversity of the country. Specifically, more than 50% of its land area is designated as protected in national parks, nature reserves and biological corridors; more than 80% of the country is covered by natural forests. Bhutan’s unique way of addressing environmental issues evokes questions to the rest of the world: is compromising the natural environment the only way to develop the economy?
To sum up, even though being different from each other, both China and Bhutan’s environmental policy provide a global perspective of balance and underscore the importance of mindful awareness while dealing with environmental issues. China’s environmental policy emphasises the idea of “因地制宜”, a Chinese idiom referring to “Suit Measures to Local Conditions”. While China’s cooperation on a global scale is as essential as “Suit Measures to Local Conditions”, the adage “think globally, act locally” explains the major norm of China’s environmental policy. Although modern people, overwhelmed by capitalism, gradually got used to an industrialised world, Bhutan’s environmental policy underscores the power of mindset, which brings hope to the path of future environmental policy. Bhutan’s policy thinking is in a direction that other countries can take a leaf from.
Author: Iris Guo
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