Among the horror stories of environmental destruction is the major problems caused by the enormous Gorges Dam, the world’s largest hydropower project. When it was first planned in 1992, more than a third of delegates to the National People’s Congress opposed its construction but the project went ahead regardless. Today the government has admitted the dam has caused soil erosion, landslides and drought, increased the risk of earthquakes and is linked to social upheaval.
Meanwhile, in Shanghai – the centre of China’s financial power – more than 16,000 pigs were fished from the rivers that bring in the city’s water supply in March 2013.
The environmental situation within the world’s most populated nation has now reached crisis point and deputies at the National People’s Congress are following in the footsteps of their predecessors from 1992 to protest once again at the nation’s record on sustainability and environmental protection. There has been very vocal opposition to the reappointment of the Minister of Environmental Protection, as well as street protests against the pollution and smog that is a daily feature of life in Chinese cities.
The new Prime Minister, Li Keqiang, has now pledged to protect the nation’s environment by making it the no.1 priority ahead of the economic growth that has dominated government policy since the 1980s. He has promised transparency in releasing figures on pollution and allowing the public access to data about China’s worst polluters.
The rhetoric may have changed but only time will tell if China can put the environment first and relegate its economy performance to second place.