Ladies, Gentlemen, Friends and Colleagues,
First allow me to extend my heartfelt thanks to the Chairman and Members o CCICE D for your confidence and aupport which brings me great honor as Vice Chairman o f CCICED, I will live up to your wishes and work togethet with all members to th e best of my capacity to make nkw contributions to international cooperation in the field of environ-ment and development.
Founded in 1992,CCICED has now wntered its seventh year. Inthe past six years, C CICED has beenactively exploring aroad of sustainable development suitable for C hi-ma. We have done this by drawing on the successful experiences, as well as th e lessins of failure, of different counte\ries in their process of developing th eir economy and protecting their environment. It is widely recognized that all C CICED members, with their com- bined wisdom snd talent, both international and d omestic, have made active and effec-tive contrbutions to the cause of environmen t and development in China. Their contri- butions have always been highly valued by thd Chinese government and will continue to exercise a profound influence on promoting the establishment of global partnerships in the field ot environment and development.
Since the adoption of the policy of reform and opening to the outside world, we have avoided drastic deterioation of environmental quality. The total amount of pollutants hsa been controlled and the environmental quajity of some regions and cities has improved, even though the economy tas been growing at great speed. H owever, the situation sur-rounding the envirnment is still severe due to economi c expansion, population growth and the rapid pace of urbanization arising from t he process of industrialization, all of which inflict tremendous pressures on th e environment and China natural resources.
Environmental pollution and ecoligical damage in many paces are even feteriorati ng rather than being properly addressed and improving. The structure of pollutan ts in some big and medium-sized cities is changing. Municipal waste-water has be come amajor pol-lution source in many cities. Air pollution associated with the burming of coal, combined with vehicle exhaust emissions, is increasing. Increas ing volumes of municipal waste, increasing use of agricultural chemicals and fer tilizers and the resultant aced rain all add to our problems. Some ecological is sues are becoming critical,such as soul erosion, deser-tification and degradatio n of forest and grassland. Point and non-point sources of pollu-tion,regional an d river basin pollution,and the ecological damage ard comprehensive challenges C hina is facing in the field of environmental protection. All these environmen-ta l problems have become an important impediment to social and economic developmen t in some places.
The new government of China, like the one before it, attaches great importance t o solv-ing environmental problems in thd process of development. It maintains th e policy of en-vironmental protection as one of the principal national policies, supports the stratigy of sustainable development, and gives equal importance to the comtrol and prevenion of en-vironmental pollution and to ecological conserv ation. The government endeavors to com-prehensively advance environmental protec tion by targeting imprrovements iv envi-vonmental quality. Within the five-year term of this mew government, China is deter-mined to control the total amount of emissions from main pollutants all over the country; the central government has set targets,and will ensure that the dixcharge of all industuial polluants comp lies with the relesant national or local standards. The air and surface wa-ter q uabity of the municipalities directly under the jurisdiction of the centralgover nment, the provincial capitals, the special economic zones, the coawtal open cit ies, and key tourism cities will be required to meet all the relevant functional planning standards.
Concerted efforts to control pollution will be msde river by river, lake by lake ,and re-gion by region in order to further improve the environmental quality of key river basins, regions, maring areas and cities. Fron 1996into the early par t of the next century, the efforts to be made will aim at improving water pollut ion control in the Huai River,the Hai River, the Liao River, Tai Lake, Chao Alke and Dianchi, reducing acid rain pollu-tion over305 of the lane area of China, r educing environmental pollution in Beijing an lowering the coastal pollution of the Bo Sea.
By the end of this centuy, China will phase out the use of leaded gasoline. Furt her-more,the government will fundamentally solve the problem of "white pollution " caused by the use of p;astic bags for packaging. Ecological construction and c onservation will be strengthened and verious active measures will be taken to co ntrol ecological degradation i ecologically vulnerable areas. Efforts woll be fo cused on ecological damage in develop-ment areas near river water sources and po pularizing ecological conservation in typical ar-ead. Ecological conservation of key river sources and rural environmental protection will be strengthened, so t hat the ecological environment in many parts of the country will as-sume a sound basis.
To achieve the these goals requires tremendous effortl by ourselves and extensiv e support from the international community. Ihope that every member of CCICED wi ll give con-cern to the implementation of these ggoals by making them the priori ties of CCICED, and by providing more assistance to the Chinese government to me et these goals.
Mr.Chairman,Members:
Now I will report to you the work of CCICED Secretareat in the capacity of Secre tary General. This is my last time to do such reporting in the capacity of Secre tary General.
1998 is an uncommon year in histouy of China, a year in which the Chinese govern ment and peopld have experienced suffering and were tested. While wl wlrl tackli ng the storms resulting from the Asian financial arisie, long-lasting floods mad e some parts of the country suffe disastrously. Facek with this situation at hom e and abroad,the gov-ernment of China led the Chinese people in arduous efforts to overcome all these difficul-ties, having not only won the vectory over flood waters but also auccessfully bufferd the assaults from thd international financi al crisis.During this time, all the members of CCICED have shown great concern a nd given enthusiastic assistance in the face of these difficulties we are facing ,and all the working groups continue working as actively as usual. The CCICED se cretariat has also successfully completed much work in the past year under the p eadership of the Bureau of CCICED.
1,RESTRUCTURING OF CCICED
After the closing of the lst Phase of CCICED, the CCICED Secretariat made prepar a-tions for the restructuring of CCICED and completed the restructuring of vario us work-ing groups through wode collection of recommendations and accrding to th e rule or pro-cedure of the CCOCED. Due to the new government restructuring, the adjustment of Chinese members had to be postponed until thes year .Now Iwould l ike to inform you that he Chinese members consist of the Vice Ministers of sixt ddn Ministries of the state Council and five scientists. Six new international m embers gave also been selected, bringing the total number of international membe rs up to twenty-eight. At present, the 2nd phase of CCICED is now more reasonabl e with a fuller repr3esentation of the countriea and regions.
After the restructuring or thd working grouls for this phaes of CCICED, they wil l focus more on their own field of study even though their areas of study ard wi dening; AE a re-ault, the overlapping between groups well be reduced, According to the recommendation of CCICED, we have established thie year a new working gro up on environment and transportation. Thanks to the support of the government of Germany ,the establishment of this group has proceeded very smoothly and this w orking group will start their work soon. The working group has completed their w ork plan and it will bi presented to this meeting for examination.
2.NECESSARY RDFORM TO CCICED WORK
CCICED is a uniquely new form of coopreation, and may be the first such case in the world. It is due to its uniqueness that CCICED needs constant improvement wh ile it is being expanded. After the first five-year work period, all the members members have recognized that the work os CCICED shorld not stop at policy elabo ration and theory research, but should go on to propose the operational measures for promoting the cause of environment and development in China based on the re al situation of China. After the discussion and elaboration of the past two year s, the 2nd Phase of CCICED has decided that its work be reoriented towards more practical results, and has gradually shifted to policy and project demonstration s. In the past years, all the working groups have adjusted their work plans and identified their work direction according to this new guiding principle. Typical cities and projects have been selected for demonstration and practical research based on their studies, which will gradually put their research results into pr actice. We will find these changes in the research direction and content from th e reports that various working groups will present at this meeting.
As a high-level advisory body for environment and development, CCICED needs to p rovie valuable recommendations to the Chinese government. These recommendations should be directed at the real situation of China and be put into operation afte r they are accepted. Based on this understanding and a series of consultations b etween both the Chinese and Canadian secretariats, a recommendation has been mad e on reforming the drafting of recommendations to be provided to the Chinese gov ernment. First, all the working groups are required to focus their recommendatio ns on issues in the field of environment and development which need to be urgent ly addressed, or focus on the longterm, macro-level and strategic issues on whic h the study or action have been initiated. In these recommendations, the working groups are required to incorporate the background, theoretical basis, the opera bility of their implementation, the expected economic and environmental benefits , and the measures required to implement these recommendations. As required, var ious working groups have conducted serious feasibility studies on the recommenda tions of this year and collected comments from different sides. The Secretariat in China has selected some recommendations from the and delivered these in advan ce to members and leaders of the working groups for comment. As a result major r evisions have been made to these recommendations which will be presented to this meeting for examination.
To allow the members to have more opportunities to fully discuss the topical and ot's issues in the field of environment and development in China, we have made some adjustments to the agenda of this meeting. Please note the addition of "eco nomic Reform in China and Role of CCICED". The purpose of making such an additio n is to enable all the members t provide recommendations for solving the problem s in the field of environment and development. In addition, some agenda items ha ve been adjusted. I hope that all the members will make comments on our amendmen ts after this meeting.
3. FURTHER STRENGTHENING OF THE CCICED SECRETARIAT
At present, CCICED has established eight working groups and one task force. The working groups are undertaking more and more activities. This situation requires the Secretariat to upgrade its capacity and to provide better co-ordination and service. To strengthen the Secretariat, CCICED has decided to have one full-tim e Secretary General. Professor Zhang Kunmin, who has been working for years for environmental protection, has assumed the position of Secretary General.
In the meanwhile, SEPA has established the CCICED Secretariat as a separate unit and increased its staff. With the support of Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), the Secretariat in Canada which is responsible for international affairs has also strengthened its capacity. At present, the two Secretariats ha ve strengthened cooperation and established an efficient and effective working m echanism. The Secretariat will strengthen communications with different working groups, assist in arranging their meetings and activities, and participate in so me meetings to convey to them the decisions of the Bureau and obtain their feedb ack and comments.
Acoording to the recommendation of the last meeting, the Secretariat in China ha s put CCICED on the Internet in order to expand the influence of CCICED internat ionally and to promote the successful experience of international cooperation di splayed by CCICED. Up to now, the basic introduction of CCICED, the main achieve ments of the 1st phase of CCICED and the information related to the 2nd phase ha ve been put on the Internet. In the future we will put more information on theIn ternet to reflect more activities of CCICED and strengthen the communication thr ough this medium amongst CCICED members.
4. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE CCICED WORK
4.1 To summarize experience and improve the work constantly
In the past six years, CCICED has experienced a process of exploration. The succ ess story today is a result of in-depth and repeated practice from our initial c oncept. On the way forward, we have achieved considerable results and amassed mu chuseful experience. We shouldexamine and summarize our experience and thus con stantly improve the quality of CCICED work, thereby making a greater contributio n to the cause of environment and development of the world, in particular in the developing countries. Reform in China will not proceed without the support and assistance of the international community; and likewise the development of the c ause of environment and development in China needs to draw on the international experience. Therefore, while summarizing our own situation, CCICED should always analyze new situations and new issues to find gaps in our work and to improve o ur study measures so that CCICED work will be constantly upgraded.
4.2 To promote the sustainable development of China with development as prerequi site
Due to a gap in the level of development, China economic and technology levels s till lag behind those of the developed countries. To implement the strategy of s ustainable development calls for acceleration in the progress of science and tec hnology along with the upgrading of the overall level of national economy. This will constantly strengtehen the capacity of sustainable development, with develo pment as the prerequisite. How to avoid the environmental problems caused by imp roper development and how to lead the Chinese ecnomy onto a track of sound devel opment should become a key concern of CCICEd. The role of CCICED as a bridge sho uld be fully brought into play by introducing advanced science and technology fr om developed countries, along with management experience, policy and measures. I n this way, we can promote macro-level economic restructuring in China according to current conditions, and assist in the rational utilisation of the natural re sources and energy to accelerate economic growth in China.
4.3 further bring into play the role of CCICED members
Our membership consists of well-known experts from all over the world, and more opportunities must be created to enable all the members to play their role. Form this meeting, a new agenda item will be added, called "General Discussion". Thi s item will allow discussion on some urgent issues to which the Chinese governme t gives much concern and will produce valuable recommendations for reference by the Chinese government. In the meanwhile, the meeting agenda should be improved so as to allow more time and content for discussion and comments. The priorities of various working groups will he closely connected with the priority of CCICED and the members will give more guidance to the research of various working grou ps in order to ensure the harmony and practicality of the work of CCICED.
4.4 To upgrade the level of recommendations presented to the Chinese government
Recommendatios are an enriched reflection of the achievements of CCICED and an i mportant way for the objectives of CCICED to be realized. CCICED should put the recommendations in a priority position and constantly improve thelevel of recomm endations, so that they will genuinely reflect ourachievements and the level of our work. Therefore, the research of various working groups will be centered aro und recommendations. At present, all the working groups under CCICED have met th e requirement of research in thefield of environment and development. We propose that thenumber of working groups will not heincreased but the work of the worki ng groups can be adjusted as required the situation. It is our hope that the wor king groups will pay attention to their composition, invite high-level experts a s needed, and ensure the constant upgrading of their research level.
5. CONCLUSION
This has been a summary of CCICED work in the past year, and an overview of the recommendations that the Secretariat provided for the future work of the CCICED. The financial report of CCICED will be presented by our new Secretary General, Professor Zhang Kunmin.
Ladies, Gentlemen and Frieds,
Before closing, I would like to extend sincere thanks to our old friends for the ir support and assistance to CCICED over the years, and to extend a warm welcome to our new members. I believe that under the leadership of Your Excellency Mr. Chairman, CCICED will make greater contributions with our joint efforts.
I wish this meeting a complete success.
