High-level advisory panel pitches 15-year pollution fight, but holds China up as modelA high-level international advisory body applauded China's efforts to improve the environment and suggested a 15-year strategy against pollution in a draft recommendation report on Monday.China has made building an ecological civilization an important goal and has taken comprehensive measures to improve the environment. This has resulted in positive results, including improved air quality, Vice-Premier Zhang Gaoli said when chairing the annual meeting of the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development, a high-level international advisory body.Like Zhang, Erik Solheim, executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme, said he was impressed by China's tremendous achievements regarding its environment in recent years, in particular curbing much of the smog problem.China is capable of solving the environment problems themselves, said Solheim, the council's vice-chairman, adding the best practices taken by China could provide guidance to other areas facing similar issues.His praise of China's approaches to move toward being an ecological civilization won wide support from other members of the environmental council, which includes senior officials and experts from home and abroad.The council's draft recommendation presents highlights of the war against pollution in air, water and soil, and suggests the creation of a 15-year strategy that will be focused on cost-effectiveness, synergies and ways to build public confidence about eventual results.Ideally, the integrated rollout should be ready before 2020, to be in line with the 2035 pivot point, when China expects to be a basic modern country, the draft said.Solheim said he is confident that China can reach the 2035 goal to build a beautiful China, considering the determined and effective efforts adopted in recent years.Along with the longer-term strategy to curb pollution, council members suggested creating conditions for fair competition and incentives for green industries.Based on the input from Monday's meeting, the advisers and their support teams will modify their proposal and provide a final version to the State Council through the Ministry of Environmental [email protected]?? silicone wristbandswellies and wristbands 2017rubber wristbands custom cheap
Liu Xiangrui speaks with a member of a Miao embroidery and dress cooperative in Huayan, Hunan province. Wu Hongyan / For China Daily Editor's note: In the run-up to the 19th Communist Party of China National Congress, China Daily sent six reporters to live in poor villages for a month to see how China's poverty eradication plan is improving people's lives. Three of those stories were published on Wednesday, so these are the final three personal accounts of life in some of the nation's poorest regions. A sense of collective responsibility My month in the countryside was a rare opportunity to spend an extended period observing and experiencing the lives of the residents of a remote village that is home to people from the Miao ethnic group. Before I arrived in Shibadong, in Huayuan, Hunan province, I was expecting to find a stereotypical ramshackle village. At least, that's what my knowledge and impressions of villages in other poor, mountainous regions had led me to believe. However, during my interviews with villagers, I learned that Shibadong was indeed once run-down, but that was several years ago. Present-day Shibadong is totally different, and it offered surprises from the beginning of my trip to the end. The road to the village is a well-built blacktop which zigzags along the mountainside and overlooks a valley. The village is clean and tidy, and the traditional-style wooden houses are well maintained. Located at the top of the mountain, the superb views, lush greenery and clean air make the village a popular destination for tourists. However, you have to learn from the villagers' own mouths how they and their ancestors suffered from a lack of arable land, inconvenient transportation links and a dearth of clean drinking water - the main causes of poverty. That was before the changes that have happened in the past few years. The first road capable of being used by motorized vehicles was built in 2001 by mobilizing the entire village under the guidance of the old village chief Yang Wuyu. Before that, only narrow mountain paths existed. We dug the road hoe by hoe, and it took three years to complete, recalled Yang, adding that many senior villagers used crutches to attend the completion ceremony, where they saw a car for the first time. Related: Medical refunds give hope to impoverished rural households At the time, the village was still very isolated. When President Xi Jinping paid a visit in 2013, he passed by the home of villager Shi Basan and stopped to shake her hand. However, the villager, 64 at the time, didn't recognize him and asked How should I address you? Her comment aroused surprise among bystanders. During his visit, Xi stressed the importance of precision in eradicating poverty, saying that poverty alleviation should be based on real situations, must be targeted at the right people and industries, and appropriate methods should be used. Since then, the local government has endeavored to explore new methods and develop suitable industries to eliminate poverty in areas such as Shibadong. One of the biggest projects is a collectively owned kiwi fruit plantation, which was started in 2015 when the villagers pooled the relief funds provided by the government - about 6,000 yuan ($884) per person - some of the villagers' own money and investment from an agricultural company. Without enough farmland, they creatively transferred land and rented about 67 hectares from another village. They then mortgaged the land management rights to secure a bank loan of about 10 million yuan so they could farm the extra hectares. The kiwi trees will start bearing fruit this year, and the plantation is eventually expected to bring each villager about 10,000 yuan every year. As a reult of the growing number of tourists, many cooperatives, such as one for raising pigs and another to cultivate honeybees, are flourishing, as are family-based businesses, such as home restaurants. In 2014, the original road was upgraded and widened to 6 meters, thanks to money from a special poverty alleviation fund. The village infrastructure and people's homes have also been renovated via a joint program between the local government and the villagers themselves. The greatest change, in addition to the financial improvement, has taken place in the villagers' minds, according to members of the poverty alleviation team who live in Shibadong. Encouraged by the improvements in the past few years, the villagers are now confident and optimistic, and they all aspire to a better life through hard work. The villagers are more cooperative and have a strong sense of participation because they can see the blueprints we promised several years ago gradually becoming a reality, said Shi Denggao, Party chief of the village. The villagers also have a strong sense of collective honor. For example, they are willing to sacrifice personal or family interests to benefit the whole village - one family gave up their farmland to make way for public projects, including a public parking lot and the new road. Contact the writer at [email protected] Related: Fighting poverty with resilience and hope
