You Nuo

Journey to west: Green edition

By You Nuo (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-08-19 09:04

Moreover, "considering the Tibetan-Qinghai highlands are the source of many of the major rivers of Asia, protecting China's western regions is one of our international responsibilities, too". China will have to be more innovative in developing the proper leadership and coordination for western regions rather than just spreading manufacturing operations there indiscriminately.

All large investment projects in China are now subject to environmental review. The government's western development strategy has made it clear that high-polluting industries moving to West China would not get any incentives, and energy producing regions should improve their energy efficiency standards.

It is important, too, for local officials to understand that manufacturing industries do not necessarily hold the key to affluence in the sparsely populated regions, Ma says. "It is not the only model of development That's only an illusion, which in the end will only create more trouble."

In contrast, the relatively high degree of biodiversity that still exists in West China can be put to more efficient use. With certain centrally coordinated incentives, plants-related businesses, based on special local crops, could help small farms and processing mills transform themselves more in harmony with nature. Such farms and mills can be easily run on renewable energy - solar, wind, and bio-energy - which happens to be in abundant supply in the region. "There is more than ample room to work on these things and make them competitive and economical both." Ma himself is building an experimental bio-farm in Anhui province.

The key to successful economic development of West China is the awareness that the "Shanghai model" may not work there. This should be clear to investors, as well as government officials. There is a marked difference between West China and the rest of the country in terms of ecology, demography and economic geography. The country's coast may be home to some of the world's largest megacities but the dearth of water and farmland across vast stretches of West China makes it impossible to build even small cities there.

The fact is that the coastal industrialization process is a ready-made model copied from Western Europe and North America, as well as Japan, and manufacturing industries do usually bring about fast growth in employment and government revenue.

So the toughest challenge, he says, is to remain far-sighted. At times, industrial growth should make way for projects that make better environmental sense such as green farms, plants making healthy and organic products and their ancillary sector.