China’s eco-entrepreneurs step up

China’s social entrepreneurs have taken up the environment as a principal concern, aided by international expertise and funding for a range of activities. The Shanghai Industrial Investment Corp has partnered with design and engineering firm Arup to build the Dongtan eco-village on a marshy island off the coast of Shanghai. Dongtan, slated to sustain 500,000 people with renewable energy and emission-free transportation, could serve as a model for green development in other cities around the world.
To promote sustainable projects in China’s already inhabited areas, New Ventures, a project of the US-based think-tank World Resources Institute, funds Chinese businesses that focus on organic agriculture, clean technology and renewable energy. And a group called Green Choice has used a State Environmental Protection Agency document to create a blacklist of polluting companies so that consumers can avoid selected products.

Eco-entrepreneurs can also be found in China’s rural areas. Cao Hai Nature Reserve receives support from the Trickle Up Program and the International Crane Foundation to implement microfinance programs designed to encourage conservation through small business. The goal is community development that provides local farmers with alternative sources of income so as to decrease their dependence on behaviors that harm the reserve, such as fishing, hunting and land-clearing.

Rather than merely setting regulations, the reserve now cooperates with farmers and allows them to develop their own solutions to the area’s environmental problems, giving them business skills to create and run their own enterprises. This model has been used to develop more than 800 small businesses across China, and local governments have begun earmarking funds to emulate the process.

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have been similarly effective at developing innovative methods to promote environmental awareness and participation across various sectors of society. Friends of Nature (FON), the oldest environmental NGO in China, stands out in this regard.

Asia Times