VA
Insights

This year, Venture Avenue was invited to consult for World Wildlife Fund (WWF) China’s new five-year strategic plan and the three-year Belt and Road project strategic plan for Conservation International (CI) China. This article will share some of our findings and recommendations from the external environment analysis of environmental protection ONGOs in China, and we hope these insights would be enlightening to other environmental protection ONGOs operating in China.

Since their entries in mainland China in the 1980s, environmental protection ONGOs have gradually expanded their scope of work to meet the needs and changes of the external environment: from the initial projects of giant panda protection to various fields including species diversity, sustainability of fresh water and marine ecosystem, forest protection and sustainable use, climate change, and energy. Working hand in hand with Chinese government organs, local environmental organizations, enterprises, and the public, these ONGOs have made great contributions to China’s environmental protection over the past decades, such as biodiversity and ecosystems protection, sustainable use of renewable resources, pollution and wasteful consumption reduction. 

Today, China’s economy and society are facing tremendous changes, and the country is also playing a more and more important role internationally. These developments bring unprecedented challenges as well as opportunities to environmental protection ONGOs in China. In the face of rapid external changes, ONGOs should expand way of thinking, adjust their strategic position and develop/improve their strategies in time, so as to seize opportunities and meet challenges.

In summary, the major challenges faced by environmental protection ONGOs in China come from two directions: on one hand, China is not exempted from the global ecological environment deterioration, and the integrity of ecosystem calls for joint efforts worldwide to cope with this environmental change; one the other hand, unsustainable production and consumption put enormous pressure on the environment. In order to overcome these challenges, environmental protection ONGOs must seize new opportunities and achieve further development through innovation. 

Taking the opportunity of “Ecological Civilization Construction” and working with the government on institutional improvement

First of all, the 19^th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) has highlighted “building ecological civilization”. A series of measures have since come into effect, such as the National Park System Pilot and the promotion of waste classification. To promote ecological environmental protection, Chinese government is working to build an environmental governance system. The new system will be led by the government, with enterprise as the main force, and social organizations and the public as participants. In order to promote the construction of ecological civilization, Chinese government would need to bring in and learn from international ideas, policies, technologies and best practices, especially when coming to large-scale integrated solutions for environmental problems. With their rich experiences, technologies and expert teams, environmental protection ONGOs can provide Chinese government at all levels with advice and suggestions, as well as pilots and project models that can be replicated and scaled up.

Secondly, China’s reform of the State Council in last year has optimized and adjusted the functional departments responsible for environmental protection. The newly structured Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) and the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) are of great significance not only for enhancing the country’s modern governance system, but also for strengthening government’s responsibility over pollution prevention, environmental protection and the integrated management of different eco-systems as never before. Central government’s determination and reform measures make it possible to reduce the cost of communication and collaboration among different departments, and also create a more welcoming environment for cooperation between ONGOs and governmental organs. The participation of environmental protection ONGOs could help governments move further and faster in scientific policymaking. 

Talking to and cooperating with local partners to coordinate resources and energize all parties

Recent years see the flourishment of Chinese 3^rd sector environmental protection organizations in both scale and number. Statistics show that the number of registered foundations working in environmental protection reached to 397 in 2017, and the number was only 173 back to 2015. Local organizations such as Green Hunan continue to work in their specialized areas and strengthen their capabilities. Meantime, a pattern of cooperation among domestic organizations has emerged. For example, the SEE Foundation is dedicated to support grassroots environmental protection organizations and has since become an important platform of industry cooperation.

The complex, long-term and arduous nature of environmental problems require environmental protection organizations to work together and complement each other’s advantages. ONGOs, with their own advantages, could play a unique role in cooperation, for example, they may coordinate project resources, share technologies and experiences, carry out capacity building activities, provide solutions to compound problem, etc. In short, ONGOs could join the effort in solving ecological and environmental issues in China by promoting the synergy of the environmental protection NGOs.

Helping China play a more significant role in global environmental governance

Chinese government is becoming more active in global environmental protection, and its participation in important international environmental issues has been constantly strengthened. For example, China not only is one of the major driving forces for reaching the Paris Agreement, but also adheres to actively implement the Agreement and tackle climate change after signing the treaty. As the host country of the 15th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP15) in 2020, China will promote the adoption of the new global biodiversity strategic plan, which will serve as the goals and roadmap for global biodiversity protection from 2021 to 2030. Chinese government’s participation in global environmental governance would benefit from professional support and voices from objective third parties. Environmental protection ONGOs may also share Chinese experience and stories via their international networks, so that more countries and areas could benefit from China’s green development and its experience.

On top of that, China puts forward the concept of “Green Belt and Road” to strengthen the construction of ecological civilization and promote sustainable development. In addition to existing multilateral mechanisms of the Belt and Road, BRI International Green Development Coalition (BRIGC) creates another international alliance of green development on which environmental protection ONGOs can share their knowledge, information, experience, best practices and technologies with government, investment institutions, enterprises and think tanks; carry out capacity building projects; conduct research and advise on policy-making. In addition, ONGOs can also make use of their global resources and work in the Belt and Road countries and areas that are covered by their network. There, ONGOs could support local green development and at the same time promote the sustainable development of China and the host countries. 

Environmental protection will be the decisive challenge and the most common responsibility worldwide in the coming decades. Being in a changing environment, environmental protection ONGOs would need to adjust their strategic position, develop or improve their strategies, cooperate with the government, enterprises, and the public, so as to better contribute to ecological environment protection in China and all over the world.