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China Canada Cooperation Project in Cleaner Production

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Newsletter 11 - Winter 2004

A Changing World
CP Policy Development
Training and Awareness Raising
CP Implementation Begins in the Western Provinces
Who's Who
Trends in Website Use
Contacts 

A Changing World

Much has happened in China over the past year. SARS: new leadership of the central government; a major re-organisation of our partners in the government; and increased understanding of and profile for the Circular Economy (CE), China’s next step beyond Cleaner Production (CP). All have had a significant impact on the China Canada Cooperation Project in Cleaner Production (CCCPCP).

The policy context for CP continues to evolve. The concept of the Circular Economy has been maturing and eliciting interest. CE is focused on the macro-economy at the societal level, a broader focus than industry and micro-economies. Policy changes are needed for China to realise the “Shao Kong” or “well-off” society to which it aspires, with the national GDP increasing four-fold by 2020. It must adopt a policy of maximising resource utilisation and minimising or eliminating waste, to support such economic growth.

CP, implemented in industrial sectors, serves as a foundation for CE. The scope of CE must include the life-time cycle analysis of a product, ecological enterprise parks, public awareness, and environmental stewardship, if it is to achieve sustainable development. We anticipate that CE will assume an important role in the next five-year national plan (China’s 11th).

What has remained the same? China’s commitment to economic growth and sustainable development as a major strategy for national development continues unabated. This issue of the CCCPCP newsletter profiles several aspects of this duality.

Mary Ellen MacCallum

Chinese and Canadian CP team measures SO2 emissions in chimney at Jinchuan Nickel Plant, Gansu province. Photo: SNC-Lavalin files

CP Policy Development

In a year marked by the threat of SARS, and by re-organisation within Chinese partners, work on certain policy-related items was able to proceed, albeit at a slower pace. The Project Office completed and published “Questions and Answers for Implementing CP Promotion Law” as part of the Knowledge Book series. This document is a key element in the government’s CP awareness raising campaigns. The Project also supported an analysis of implementation obstacles, and recommendations for promotion and enhancement of effective governance of enterprises.

In addition, Canadian pollution prevention policy documents and operations manuals were provided to the Chinese and translated into Chinese. Canadian experience in performance indicators for metal finishing and non-ferrous smelting sectors was shared, and a dossier on Canadian experience on policy, strategy, and measures of success relating to voluntary reduction of packaging was provided. One of the characteristics of the Project, and perhaps a measure of its success, has been the successful transfer of Canadian experience. Two of the factors behind that success are the many years of Canadian experience, and the Project’s support for Chinese colleagues as they determine how best to apply that experience in China.

The Project also nurtured linkages between Canada’s Export Development Corporation and Chinese government with regards to pollution prevention and abatement, and environmental review.

Based on semi-annual report

Training and Awareness Raising

Two technical study tours to Canada were delayed from spring until fall 2003. One group focused on non-ferrous metal mining in Canada while the other learned about the oil and gas sector. Meanwhile, training continued in Canada. One member of the project staff studied at Carleton University, then completed a work-placement with Natural Resources Canada.

Chinese delegates gained first hand knowledge of Canadian practices during field visit to a Husky Oil drilling operation near Lloydminster, Alberta in November 2003. Photo: Project files

Two additional knowledge books were published in 2003: Questions and Answers for Implementing CP Promotion Law and CP Technology Guideline for Priority Sectors, making a total of 10 books to date in the series, with two more in preparation. Knowledge books continue to be distributed to enterprises throughout China, and project–sponsored materials were used for training and awareness raising activities by provincial and municipal governments in China. An electronic version of a training manual on the CP Promotion Law was completed and posted to the CP website, where it can be accessed by government officials and plant managers across the country.

Work on gender awareness and equality moved forward during 2003. Two gender awareness raising workshops were held during the year, women continue to attend technical workshops, and information about gender awareness was disseminated by the local Women and Environment Network. The gender content of the CP website was upgraded, as was the gender content of the independent (Chinese only) WEN website.

Based on semi-annual report

CP Implementation Begins in the Western Provinces

The technical focus of the Project has shifted from the southern province of Anhui to the western provinces of Gansu and Xinjiang. This is consistent with China’s policy of focusing development assistance on its poorest regions.

Although economically less developed, these regions are resource rich. Over the remainder of the project, technical demonstration work will focus on two resource extraction sectors: non-ferrous mining in Gansu and oil and gas in Xinjiang. The Chinese authorities selected two specific industrial complexes for the Project’s demonstration work: in the Lun Nan oil field in Xinjiang province, and Jinchaun Nickel Plant and Smelter in Jinchang City of Gansu province.

Start up work has been slow due to SARS. Technical Missions were delayed. Nonetheless, progress has been made. It was possible to complete a draft table of contents for a CP Guidelines for Crude Oil Extraction Sectors. Pre-audits have been completed in the oil and gas sector. Preaudit and audits had been completed in 2002 for the Jinchuan Nickel Plant; work on preliminary list of CP options was delayed until 2004. Portable field equipment for the analysis of wastewater and SO2 has been provided to Jinchuan Nickel Plant, enabling them to collect data needed to assess CP options and monitor implementation.

Based on semi-annual report

Who's Who

A major re-organisation of key Chinese government departments occurred in 2003. Of particular relevance to the Project were the transformations of the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Co-operation into Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), and State Economic and Trade Commission (SETC) into the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC). The NDRC is a department of the State Council, and a macro-economic regulatory department, with a mandate to develop national economic strategies, long term economic plans and annual plans, and to report on the national economy and social development to the National People’s Congress.

NDRC has many areas of responsibility, one of which is China’s sustainable development strategy, which includes cleaner production, circular economy and pollution prevention in industrial sectors. Important aspects of NDRC’s mandates and responsibilities (in the context of cleaner production/pollution prevention) are:

• advancement of China’s sustainable development strategy;

• research and preparation of draft plans on the comprehensive utilisation and conservation of resources;

• co-ordination of a plan for rebuilding China’s ecology;

• policy creation for the comprehensive utilisation and conservation of resources;

• co-ordination of vital issues related to the rebuilding of the ecology and the comprehensive utilisation and conservation of resources;

• co-ordination of the environmental protection industry.

With this re-organisation the Project has lost some key people, as they move on to other responsibilities. We thank Mr. Q. Zhai, Mr. B. He, and Mr. P. Zhao for their efforts over the years and congratulate them on their new appointments. CP in China is strengthened as these capable people continue to champion CP from their new positions of responsibility.

Members making up the Chinese Project Organisation are identified in the Chinese Project Organization chart. We are grateful for the continued involvement and support of members of the PRC Project Organisation, and welcome the newcomers.

Chinese Project Organisation Chart

Meanwhile, the recognition accorded to Canadian team members is gratifying.

The Resident Project Co-ordinator, Dr. Robert Lao, continues to serve as a member of China Council’s re-organised foreign expert group. Formerly known as the CP Task Force of CCICED, it is now the CP/CE (circular economy) Task Force, reflecting the growing importance of CE in China. His contribution to China and environmental protection was recognised in August when articles on Dr. Lao and his spouse were published in the China Daily and the China Week magazine. More recently, in December 2003, Dr. Lao participated in the Industry Canada-sponsored Sustainable Cities Initiative in Qingdao, where his expertise in incineration contributed to mutually-beneficial partnerships between Canadian firms and local institutions/enterprises in the fields of waste management and Cleaner Production.

The CIDA Project Officer responsible for CCCPCP, Mr. Charles Pellegrin was also honoured for his contribution to China this fall, with the presentation on September 30, 2003 of the Friendship Award. The award, given by the Vice Premier, Ms. Wu Yi, was one of only 54 given this year to foreign experts worldwide.

from semi-annual report and website www.chinacp.com

Trends in Website Use

The CP web site continues to be a popular means of accessing information about CP in China. The total cumulative number of pages requested reached more than 2,000,000 by the end of December 2003.

The table below shows vividly the growth of web site use. The table shows monthly average page requests per month by calendar year. By the end of 2003, monthly requests were well above the level needed to generate 1,000,000 page requests a year.

The gender pages on the English language web site have been upgraded. Use of the gender pages remains high, particularly on the Chinese language site. For example, in September 2003 there were more than 3,500 requests for gender pages on the Chinese language site, compared with 740 for gender pages in English. Pages on the CP Promotion Law got more than 400 requests on Chinese language pages in December and more than 350 on English language pages.

Another popular feature of the website is its “printable pages.” Several of the more popular pages on the web site have been formatted specially for easy printing. In December 2003 there were a total of 28 printable pages, that generated more than 1,000 requests to print.

The website continues to evolve, as Chinese capacity to manage it grows. The website is now running in parallel on two servers, one in China and one in Canada. New application development software is being tested which provides the capability of managing database and website applications in the same environment. An application for managing the website use logs has been developed and is being tested in parallel in China and Canada.

John Gordon

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CP on the Web

Hosted in China

• Main page of the project web site www.chinacp.org.cn 

• Chinese language site www.chinacp.org.cn/newcn 

• English language site www.chinacp.org.cn/eng 

Hosted in Canada

• Main page of the project web site www.chinacp.com 

• Chinese language site www.chinacp.com/newcn 

• English language site www.chinacp.com/eng 

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Contacts