VZCZCXRO3813
RR RUEHAST RUEHDH RUEHHM RUEHLN RUEHMA RUEHPB RUEHPOD RUEHSL RUEHTM
RUEHTRO
DE RUEHBJ #2092/01 2030651
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 220651Z JUL 09 ZDS
FM AMEMBASSY BEIJING
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5324
INFO RUEHRC/DEPT OF AGRICULTURE WASHDC
RUEHC/DEPT OF INTERIOR WASHDC 0757
RUEAEPA/HQ EPA WASHDC
RUEHZN/ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COLLECTIVE
RUEHCN/AMCONSUL CHENGDU 9921
RUEHGZ/AMCONSUL GUANGZHOU 0451
RUEHGH/AMCONSUL SHANGHAI 9936
RUEHSH/AMCONSUL SHENYANG 9581
RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG 1051
RUEHIN/AIT TAIPEI 7362

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIJING 002092 
 
C O R R E C T E D C O P Y//PARAGRAPH RENUMBERING// 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SENV TBIO PREL CH
SUBJECT:  MEP OFFICIAL TALKS ABOUT BALANCING ENVIRONMENTAL 
PROTECTION WITH ECONOMIC REVIVAL, BUT AUTHORITY IS WEAK 
 
REF: A) Beijing 1637 B) Beijing 1438 
 
BEIJING 00002092  001.4 OF 002 
 
 
 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 
¶1. (SBU) In  a press briefing on June 25 by Mr. WAN Bentai, Chief 
Engineer of the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP), Wan 
strongly asserted that MEP's highest priority is to maintain and 
enforce national environmental laws, and actions to support these 
laws and regulations would be not be compromised by China's efforts 
to revive the economy.  In support of these claims, Wan cited 
China's progress on energy conservation and pollution abatement, 
pointing out that MEP now has an array of eco-friendly environmental 
policy tools.  However, in the following Q&A part of the press 
briefing, Wan was peppered with questions about ongoing dam 
construction projects along the Nu and Jinsha Rivers in Southwest 
China that clearly indicated that MEP has only limited ability to 
implement its policies at the local level.  END SUMMARY. 
 
 
ECONOMIC RECOVERY WILL NOT HARM ENVIRONMENT 
------------------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (U) At a press conference on June 25, Dr. WAN Bentai announced 
that "China will not rejuvenate the affected economy at the expense 
of the environment."  The central government has allocated four 
trillion RMB (USD 590 billion) toward a stimulus package to maintain 
the economic growth of China.  He explained that economic recovery 
usually causes detrimental impacts to a country's environmental 
protection efforts, but he stressed that China, as a socialist 
country, sees environmental protection as its "highest" 
responsibility, and that "China will not follow in the footsteps of 
the West and will never seek economic recovery at the expense of the 
environment."  Dr. Wan cited numerous examples of what MEP views as 
environmental improvements in the last year, including a 6.61 
percent reduction in Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) levels, a 8.95 
percent reduction in sulfur dioxide levels, and a 1.1 percent 
reduction in total GDP Energy Intensity.  In addition, he 
highlighted the central government's commitment toward energy 
conservation through the setting of emissions reduction targets for 
sulfur dioxide and making climate change a priority even during an 
economic downturn. 
 
 
MEP'S ENVIRONMENTAL "ACCOMPLISHMENTS" HIGHLIGHTED 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
¶3.  (SBU) According to Dr. Wan, MEP has invested great efforts 
toward improving environmental protection in recent years.  He 
claimed that MEP disapproved 29 of 394 construction projects last 
year, because they were considered too energy intensive or 
highly-polluting.  MEP also increased pollution abatement 
activities.  In 2008, approximately 230 billion RMB (USD 33.7 
billion) was channeled toward augmenting environmental protection 
and climate change efforts (40 billion RMB of this was on energy 
reduction activities).  Dr. Wan emphasized MEP's implementation of 
eco-friendly economic policy tools, including "green" financing, 
"green" credit, and "green" insurance.  For example, if a company's 
environmental indicators are found to exceed mandated standards, the 
company will be restricted from obtaining financial support from 
public funds or loans from banks.  Lastly, Dr. Wan spoke of a 
newly-established national "whistleblower hotline," which 
individuals can call anonymously to report environmental violations. 
 
 
 
PRESS PROBES DAM CONSTRUCTION IN SOUTHWESTERN CHINA 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Although not the original intent of the Q&A session,  both 
domestic and international reporters sought to steer questions 
toward the construction of dams on Jingsha and Nu River in the 
western region of China, and in Xiao Nan Hai, a protected region 
upstream of the Three Gorges.  The reporters present submitted the 
following questions: 
 
--Given the numerous times the central government has failed to halt 
dam construction along Nu and Jingsha Rivers, does the central 
government have the ability to influence local governments, even if 
local GDP growth remains the most important goal for local 
 
BEIJING 00002092  002.4 OF 002 
 
 
officials? 
 
---How can MEP enforce its orders and policies?  What measures will 
central government, or MEP, take to ensure that local governments 
will comply with the official orders to cease? 
 
-How can the two hydropower companies, Hua Ren and Hua Dian, "so 
boldly challenge" MEP? 
 
--What can MEP do to intervene earlier in the hydropower plant 
development process, before actual construction has begun and 
ecological impact has occurred? 
 
--How can local governments build dams on a site (near Xiao Nan Hai) 
that has been identified as a national fisheries reserve, a habitat 
for endangered species? 
 
--Who will pay for the economic loss and restoration efforts of an 
aborted project? 
 
 
MEP UNCLEAR ON STATUS OF EIAs FOR DAMS 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU) In response to questions about some of the last remaining 
natural rivers in China, Wan stressed the importance of establishing 
regulations and the local governments' need to comply with central 
government law and policy by stating, "it is in accordance with the 
law for MEP to suspend construction of the dams--it was the two 
companies that did not complete the environmental impact assessments 
(EIA)."  Although Wan explained that "everybody is equal before the 
law, and powerful companies, no matter the size, must abide the 
law," he was however hard-pressed to explain MEP's delayed response 
and previous futile attempts to cease construction activity on the 
two rivers (NOTE: The construction of multiple hydropower plants 
began before completion of EIAs and MEP's official approvals (REF 
A). END NOTE) 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Wan further explained that MEP is certain that 
environmental impact will result from these dams, but the magnitude 
of the impact remains uncertain, so stakeholders should wait for the 
EIA, calling it "MEP's strongest weapon".  According to Dr. Wan, 
before the EIA can be completed, MEP is awaiting an overall 
assessment of water resource and electricity needs in the region, 
which is being conducted by an expert panel (NOTE: According to 
contacts from The Nature Conservancy, the scientists in the expert 
panel have been changed multiple times.  The timeframe for 
completing EIAs has remained unclear, and can take years; meanwhile 
construction will likely continue.  END NOTE) 
 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶7.  (SBU) The reaction of the press to MEP's announcement and the 
subsequent redirection of questions toward MEP's inability to order 
the cessation of environmentally-harmful construction occurring far 
from the capital indicate a strong disconnect between on-the-ground 
activities and the central government's actions and direction. 
Although the central government has stated that the economic 
downturn will not impact the need for maintaining environmental 
protection, the disputes between the central and local governments 
on hydropower plants suggest otherwise, and instead point to the 
continued strong desire (at least at the local level) to emphasize 
economic development over all else, and local officials view 
hydropower as a means to that end.  The continued construction of 
the two hydropower plants remains at odds with this announcement by 
MEP.  If left unchecked, the construction could destroy one of the 
last remaining natural waterways in China and Southeast Asia. 
 
 
GOLDBERG