中国水环境集团
forthegeneralsecretary’shope:ppp-欧洲杯在线开户
2016-05-24 introduction: on january 20, 2015, general secretary xi jinping arrived at gusheng village, wanqiao town, dali prefecture, yunnan province to investigate the ecological protection of the erhai lake. after having a photo taken with local officials by the lake, he said, “i’ll keep it, and i hope that the water is cleaner and clearer when i come the next time.”
zhang lujing of china economic weekly reporting from yunnan and beijing
(published in china economic weekly, issue 20 2016)
“so beautiful the cang mountain is that one can never paint, so haunting the song of the erhai lake is that one can never hum.” how can we protect the erhai lake, the precious gift of nature, for our later generations, and for the world?
on january 20, 2015, general secretary xi jinping arrived at gusheng village, wanqiao town, dali prefecture, yunnan province to investigate the ecological protection of the erhai lake. after having a photo taken with local officials by the lake, he said, “i’ll keep it, and i hope that the water is cleaner and clearer when i come the next time.”
xi said, “this is my first time here. i’ve heard of the cang mountain and erhai lake ever since i was a child, and i’ve been longing for it. living here is enviable. i really want to stay here.”
xi said that ecological civilization and green development should be the management focus of the erhai lake on the path of innovative, coordinated, green, open and shared development.
it""s easier said than done. the management the erhai lake is anything but easy.
“a clear erhai lake means a prosperous dali.” to renovate the erhai lake, the first thing is wastewater interception. following the principle of “terrain-based seamed interception system, area-based wastewater collection, and centralized treatment”, on october 11, 2015, the dali erhai lake water environment management ppp project (phase i) was launched as one of the second batch of ministry of finance demonstration ppp projects, with an approved investment of rmb 4.5 billion.
how is dali progressing with the ppp project? is the erhai lake better protected as hoped by the general secretary? how did yunnan, an economically underdeveloped province, achieve leapfrog and sustainable development relying on the ppp model and concepts?
rom april 16 to 18, 2016, following the ministry of finance’s china ppp center investigation team, china economic weekly reporter zhang lujing investigated the dali erhai lake water environment management ppp project, trying to probe into the innovative changes and results created by the ppp model in public management from the perspectives of local residents, local government, private investor, advisory agencies, and experts.
background of the dali erhai lake water environment management ppp project:
on the one hand, the erhai lake faces tremendous environmental pressure. on the other hand, the local government is bothered by its limited financial resources.
as the seventh largest freshwater lake in china, the erhai lake is the mother lake of the bai people, and also a main drinking water source in dali.
in recent years, due to population increase, accelerated urbanization, and the rapid growth of the tourism industry, controlling wastewater, garbage and agricultural pollutants has become an increasingly tough task. in 1996 and 2003, the erhai lake were attacked by two blue-green algae outbreaks, with transparency staying below one meter, which greatly affected people’s lives.
seen from above, the erhai lake is surrounded by 11 towns and 517 villages. it is home to 840,000 residents, and is the designation of over 20 million tourists every year. according to statistics, in 2015, an average of more than 657 tons of domestic garbage was produced every day by these towns and villages. the erhai lake is at the edge of being engulfed by garbage.
non-compliant hotels: a tough problem in the erhai lake’s environment management
the large number of non-compliant hotels by the erhai lake have become a tough problem in the lake’s environment management. gao zhihong, mayor of dali city, told china economic weekly that the growing number of non-compliant hotels which often secretly discharge wastewater into the erhai lake have become a tough problem in the erhai lake’s environment management. with the goal of “creating a cleaner and clearer erhai lake”, the local government has been actively discovering and solving problems, while promoting the importance of environmental protection among the residents, in a bid to protect the erhai lake with combined efforts.
since the start of environment management, shuanglang town has inspected the environmental compliance (environmental permits and measures) of 490 hotels and restaurants, of which, 42 have been suspended, 53 were asked to rectify within a prescribed time limit, and 417 have obtained the wastewater discharge permit, bringing the total to 488. in addition, 53 illegal wastewater outlets have been blocked and recorded. solid waste is collected and transported in line with the principles of “village self-management” and “one case one meeting”, and expenses arose have increased from over rmb 600,000 to over rmb 2,987,000.
gao zhihong told the reporter that in may 2015, two lakeside hotels in shuanglang town were found secretly discharging wastewater into the erhai lake. the local environmental protection department and public security organization immediately looked into the case. the hotels were suspended and fined rmb 100,000-150,000, and the operators were detained for 10 days, the severest punishment ever in this regard in dali.
so far, dali city has investigated 141 environmental violations, and blocked 648 wastewater outlets. a dynamic investigation and management mechanism has also been established. also, 856 land violations have been investigated, and 860 illegally built buildings across 127,000 m2 have been demolished. the trend of illegal construction and village expansion around the erhai lake has been curbed.
wang wenqi, a hotel operator in shuanglang told the reporter that at first, he rejected to pay the wastewater and solid waste treatment service fees, and even took the lead against the charge, but the shocking blue-green algae breakout in 2003 completely changed his mind. now he is a member of the local restaurant and hotel association, taking the lead in protecting the erhai lake.
the local government is financially unable to support wastewater interception around the erhai lake.
before the whole lake is protected by interception facilities, the government has to take measures like retaining violators and enhancing management; however, these measures are far from enough to effectively protect the erhai lake.
peng yongzhen, cae academician and professor at beijing university of technology, told the reporter that the environmental pressure on the erhai lake is several times that allowed by its ecological functions. agricultural non-point pollution caused by agricultural runoffs, and the wastes of illegally kept animals in the upstream area and areas around the lake is responsible for 60% of the pollution load borne by the erhai lake. on the other hand, in recent years, over 20 million tourists came to dali every year, increasing the environmental pressure. the erhai lake is already in a reversible sensitive period right before the early stage of eutrophication.
“therefore, the protection and management of the erhai lake will still be a complicated, systematic and tough task that the government and society must jointly face and fulfill for a long time to come,” said peng.
kong hainan, professor at shanghai jiaotong university and director of the sjtu river and lake environmental technology development center, has been studying the environmental protection of the erhai lake for over 20 years. he told the reporter that the overuse of resources provided by the erhai lake over the past years has upset the ecological balance of the lake. “environmental pollution faced by the erhai lake has turned into a complicated social and economic problem,” kong said.
“ecologically and socially friendly measures should be incorporated into the entire process of the lake""s water environment management, from water sources to rivers flowing into the lake, and from lakeside to the lake. all environment management technologies should be ecologically sustainable.
to fundamentally solve the problem, we must go to the source. ‘a clear erhai lake means a prosperous dali.’ and to do this, the first step is wastewater interception.” through a comprehensive assessment, the dali prefecture government estimated that the ppp-based wastewater interception project will cost a total of rmb 3.468 billion, including six wwtps and over 300 km of wastewater trunk sewers (channels). after the project is completed, the whole lake will be prevented from domestic and industrial wastewater.
in recent years, the prefecture, municipal and county governments have been earmarking the protection of the erhai lake every year. however, for such a mega project, these funds are just a drop in the ocean. dali city’s general public budgets in 2013 and 2014 were rmb 2.56 billion and rmb 2.75 billion respectively. given the limited financial resources and credit line of the local government, wastewater interception around the erhai lake was a dream too expensive to be realized.
in such a context, the ppp model undoubtedly brought some hope of financing to the project.
dali erhai lake water environment management ppp project:
thanks to private participation, investment in lake management has exceeded that during the entire “12th five-year” period.
following the principle of “terrain-based seamed interception system, area-based wastewater collection, and centralized treatment”, on october 11, 2015, the dali erhai lake water environment management ppp project (phase i) was launched as one of the second batch of ministry of finance demonstration ppp projects, with an approved investment of rmb 4.5 billion.
“the investment in the dali erhai lake water environment management ppp project (phase i) has exceeded the total management costs during the entire the 12th five-year’ period.” yang ning, party secretary of the dali prefecture told the reporter, “through the ppp model, financial funds have effectively leveraged private funds in the protection and management of the erhai lake, accelerating this process as fast as possible.”
in terms of the project company’s ownership structure design, dali erhai lake protection investment construction co., ltd. invests rmb 104.7 million on behalf of the government, accounting for 10% of the total shares; and the private investor contributes the remaining 90% of rmb 943.2 million. these funds jointly take up 30% of the total project investment.
china economic weekly: last year, the general secretary took a photo by the erhai lake, and said he would revisit the erhai lake. in your view, when will the erhai lake be completely renovated?
yang ning: the general secretary’s words always remind us of our responsibilities. he was actually asking us to be responsible for our history and also for the people. if we do not want to feel ashamed in front of our ancestors and our descendants, we must protect the erhai lake. i believe that with the joint efforts of the whole prefecture, people here will live a happy life, tourists will see greener cang mountain and cleaner erhai lake, and the scenery of “so beautiful the cang mountain is that one can never paint, so haunting the song of the erhai lake is that one can never hum.” will always be here. people of all ethnic groups in dali are expecting the revisit of the general secretary!
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yunnan provincial governor chen hao: creating a win-win solution to the dilemma between economic development and environmental protection
what specific work did yunnan province do this year to implement general secretary xu’s instructions and preserve clean water and green mountains? on may 18, 2016, yunnan provincial governor chen hao gave an interview to china economic weekly.
privileged natural environment is the unique advantage and core competitiveness of yunnan province.
china economic weekly: this year’s government work report clearly states that efforts should be made to “step up environmental management efforts and work to see breakthroughs in green development”, and that“pollution control and environmental protection are important to both the health of our people and sustainable development, so we must work hard moving forward and resolve to take a path that leads to both economic development and environmental improvement.”as an underdeveloped province, how will the yunnan provincial government deal with the relationship between economic development and environmental protection?
chen hao: privileged natural environment is the logo and precious wealth of yunnan, and also our unique advantage and core competitiveness that we rely on to achieve leapfrog development. people of dai, a particular ethnic group in yunnan, have a saying that “trees create mountains, mountains create water, water creates fields, and fields create people”. we can see that environmental protection is an inherent awareness and a tradition of people in yunnan. therefore, creating a win-win solution to the dilemma between economic development and environmental protection is the expectation of the people of all ethnic groups in yunnan, the requirement of the party central committee, and also the duty and mission of governments at all levels.
to this end, in terms of development concepts, we enhanced public education regarding national and provincial resources and environmental protection, and the development of people’s ecological value; actively carried forward the local tradition of eco-friendly development; promoted the development principle of “lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets”; and constantly helped the public develop environmental awareness, ecological awareness, and sense of responsibility. in terms of production mode, adhering to the principle of “eco-friendly green development”, we increased governmental departments’ accountability; incorporated national conditions, and resource and environment carrying capacity into the design and construction of key projects; constantly promoted industrial upgrading and transformation through energy saving, emission reduction, and excess capacity dissolution; and actively accelerated the development of eco-friendly industries such as environmental protection, ecotourism, and health care, for the purpose of keeping a balance between economic development and ecological construction. in terms of environmental protection, we focused on the protection and restoration of mountains, rivers, forests, farmlands and lakes; accelerated the construction of ecological corridors and biodiversity conservation networks; and comprehensively improved the stability and ecological service functions of natural ecosystems such as forests, rivers, lakes, wetlands, and grasslands, in a bid to build an ecological security barrier in southwestern china. last year, in the context that china’s economy was under increasing downward pressure, and local finance faced a broader funding gap, yunnan still invested rmb 13.3 billion in projects related to energy conservation and environmental protection. this year, yunnan will further enhance provincial fiscal transfers, and increase subsidies to areas with vulnerable ecosystems and heavy environmental protection tasks.
china economic weekly: from january 19 to 21, 2015, general secretary xi jinping said during this visit to yunnan that yunnan should “make comprehensive moves to finish building a moderately prosperous society, deepen reforms, advance the law-based governance of china, and strengthen party self-discipline; should actively serve and integrate into the national development strategy, to explore a path of leapfrog development; and should strive to become china’s national unity and progress demonstration zone, a pioneer of ecological civilization development, and a radiation center in south asia and southeast asia, in a bid to write a new chapter of yunnan for realizing the chinese dream.”one year has passed since the general secretary’s visit to yunnan, what efforts have yunnan made to implement the spirits of the general secretary""s speech, and write a new chapter of yunnan for realizing the chinese dream?
chen hao: studying and implementing the spirits of the important speech made by general secretary xi jinping during his visit to yunnan was the top priority and primary task of us in the past year. we held three provincial party committee plenary sessions to reach decisions and issue policies regarding the study and implementation of xi’s speech spirit. our efforts have created gratifying economic and social progress.
in terms of steady economic growth, we effectively promoted the implementation of major policies, reforms, and projects. in 2015, yunnan registered a gdp growth of 8.7%, achieving the goal specified in its 12th five-year plan.
in terms of industrial optimization, on the one hand, we continued to enhance traditional competitive industries such as energy, nonferrous metals, steel, and chemicals; and on the other hand, we concentrated on developing eight pillar industries of biomedicine & health care, tourism culture, information, modern logistics, modern agriculture with plateau characteristics, new materials, advanced equipment manufacturing, and food & consumer goods manufacturing, for the purpose of creating an open, innovative, high-end, it-driven and green industrial structure. infrastructure construction was a focus of yunnan. the three-year comprehensive transportation infrastructure construction came to a successful end; the five-year five-network (road network, aviation network, water network, energy network, and internet) construction campaign was launched; and a number of main projects creating long-term benefits were completed.
regarding the improvement of people’s livelihood, we took a series of intensified poverty alleviation measures; actively created employment opportunities; continued to promote reforms in the fields of education, culture, medical & health, housing, and social insurance; comprehensively promoted the implementation of urban affordable housing projects; and launched rural dilapidated housing renovation and earthquake relief projects. the post-disaster recovery and reconstruction in earthquake-stricken areas of ludian and jinggu was carried out in a solid and effective manner.
in tough areas of reforms, taking bearings from the economic system reform, we launched a series of major reform measures regarding administrative approval, fiscal & taxation, state-owned enterprises, rural areas, education, science & technology, opening up, public security, supply and marketing cooperatives, medical &health care, and pension insurance, and have successfully further unleashed the potential of these markets.
in terms of further opening up, seizing the opportunity of “central yunnan urban economic circle integrated development”, we launched a number of projects in “one core area, one circle, two corridors, three belts, and six urban agglomerations” to promote regional development, in a bid to “build a stronger central yunnan, prosper border areas, promote economic corridors and belts, create multiple economic engines, and promote two-way opening up”. yunnan successfully held the 3rd china-south asia expo and the 23rd kunming fair, 2015 china (kunming) international travel mart.
in terms of environmental protection, we further advanced the colorful yunnan conservation campaign, biodiversity conservation action plan, and forest yunnan plan. yunnan’s forest coverage rate reached 55.7%, the water quality of the nine plateau lakes improved steadily, and the quality of urban and rural living environment continued to improve.
in terms of national unity and progress, we continued to implement the “ten thousand households, one thousand villages, one hundred towns, ten counties demonstration sites project”. the main economic indicators and income growth rates of urban and rural residents in ethnic areas were higher than the provincial average, and people""s production, living, spiritual and cultural conditions continued to improve.
in terms of self-construction, we strictly enforced political disciplines and rules; carried out education activities as required by “three stricts and three honests”, “loyal, clean and responsible” and “two studies, one action”; and took intensified measures to build a “service-oriented, responsible, law-based, and clean government”. the entrepreneurial environment of yunnan improved significantly.
china economic weekly: erhai lake is the seventh largest freshwater lake in china, the “mother lake” of the bai people, and the main drinking water source of dali. in recent years, due to rapid population growth, three blue-green algae outbreaks have occurred in the erhai lake basin, seriously affecting people’s lives. what specific work has the yunnan provincial government done to implement the general secretary""s instructions, protecting the water environment of the erhai lake?
chen hao: erhai lake is one of the near-town lakes in china. its protection has always been a focus of yunnan, and we have achieved encouraging results in this respect. during an inspection tour of dali, yunnan in the beginning of 2015, general secretary xi jinping had a photo by the lake and said he hoped that the water quality could be improved when he made his next trip. this is the general secretary’s requirement on the water environmental protection and management of the erhai lake, and also his expectation on yunnan in terms of green development and ecological civilization development. to further enhance the water environmental protection and management of the erhai lake basin, we took intensified precision lake management measures in five aspects.
first, we strengthened the guiding role of planning. following the concepts of “problem-oriented systematic management, and seeking both temporary and permanent solutions”, we developed a detailed erhai lake protection and management plan and put it into practice, so as to scientifically draw and strictly observe the ecological red line, strengthening our responsibility for ecological protection. second, we optimized the management structure. we comprehensively promoted the industrial structure adjustment, main functional area division, pollution control, lake basin management, and ecological civilization development in the erhai lake basin, in a bid to reduce agricultural non-point source pollution, and strictly control industrial pollution. third, we enhanced systematic ecological restoration. we intensified efforts to convert farmland to forests, grasslands and wetlands; carry out ecological protection around the lake; and promote the protection and restoration of wetlands, so as to constantly strengthen water conservation. fourth, we took strict supervision and management measures. we established a lake basin management coordination mechanism to improve our environmental control capabilities, and cracked down on illegal activities such as lake encroachment, garbage dumping, and sewage discharge with an iron hand. fifth, we adopted an innovative financing model. the erhai lake sewage interception project is the first ppp project launched in yunnan. the ppp model provides an innovative way to involve private investment in the protection and management of the erhai lake. at present, nearly rmb 3 billion of private investment has been attracted through the ppp model, exceeding the total investment of governments at all levels in the protection and management of the erhai lake during the “12th five-year plan” period. according to the latest monitoring report, the water quality of the erhai lake remained at class iii, and even at class ii from january to march this year. the lake has been included in the national list of protected lakes.
experimental incorporation of the ppp model into targeted poverty alleviation
china economic weekly: the ppp model has been proved to be successful in the water environment management of the erhai lake. as an economically underdeveloped province, yunnan has a large ethnic and poverty-stricken population, and its infrastructure is poor. it faces tremendous pressure to get rid of or reduce poverty. has the government considered using the ppp model to leverage private capital in poverty alleviation?
chen hao: yunnan has a large poverty-stricken population across a vast area, and is one of the main poverty alleviation battlegrounds in china. by the end of 2015, there were still 4.71 million poverty-stricken people and 88 poverty-stricken counties in yunnan, ranking second and first in china respectively. in the next five years, yunnan needs to reduce poverty-stricken population by an average of about 1 million every year, which is a very tough task. we will resolutely implement the strategy of pro-poor development proposed by general secretary xi jinping, and make it a top priority in promoting people""s livelihood. yunnan will go all out to win the tough fight against poverty. in the course of making comprehensive moves to finish building a moderately prosperous society, we will not leave any poverty-stricken area, any ethic group, or any one behind. at present, poor infrastructure and underdeveloped local industries are the main factors restricting the development of poverty-stricken areas in yunnan.
to solve the problem, we experimentally incorporated the ppp model into targeted poverty alleviation, and have achieved some results. first, we set up yunnan poverty alleviation investment development co., ltd. as the financing platform for the poverty alleviation relocation project. in this way, fiscal funds, policy loans, and private funds (including farmers’ funds) are gathered to relocate the poor. according to statistics, at present, rmb 79.357 billion of poverty alleviation relocation loans have been approved, of which rmb 26.165 billion have been granted. second, we prepared good infrastructure resources and projects for investors nationwide, in a bid to raise more private funds based on the ppp model, accelerating infrastructure construction in poverty-stricken areas. third, we took a set of active measures to help the farmers increase incomes, such as cultivating local industrial leaders, developing new types of businesses such as family farms, big professional businesses, and farmers’ cooperatives, broadening the channel of private financing, accelerating agricultural industrialization, extending the agricultural industrial chain, and improving the quality and efficiency of modern agricultural projects with plateau characteristics. in the future, we will explore the potential of the ppp model in pro-poor development, attracting more private funds to the cause of poverty alleviation.
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incorporation of the ppp model into poverty alleviation
minister of finance lou jiwei: china will spend two years providing clean drinking water to farmers.
vice minister of finance shi yaobin: ppp is highly targeted to the economic transformation of underdeveloped areas.
as an economically underdeveloped province, yunnan successfully used the ppp model to incite private capital into environmental management, which not only reduced financial pressure, realized an “impossible task”, but also created wealth for the people in the course of ecological improvement.
chen hao, governor of yunnan province, told china economic weekly that yunnan has a large poverty-stricken population across a vast area, and is one of the main battlegrounds for poverty alleviation in china. to solve the problem, yunnan experimentally incorporated the ppp model into targeted poverty alleviation, and has achieved some results.
specifically in dali, according to data provided by the dali prefecture government, all the 12 counties and city in the prefecture are located in the mountainous areas along the western border of yunnan. nine counties are key targets of the national pro-poor development program, and two counties are key pro-poor development targets at the provincial level. across the prefecture, there are five old revolutionary base counties and eight old revolutionary base towns; 33 registered poverty-stricken towns, 300 poverty-stricken administrative villages, and 254,100 poverty-stricken farmers. in the prefecture, poverty-stricken population is scattered across a vast area, mainly in ethnic areas, old revolutionary base areas, remote mountainous areas, and rock mountainous areas. the causes of poverty are complex, among which people’s quality is a main reason. given the growing costs and difficulty of poverty alleviation, it will be arduous to finish poverty alleviation tasks as scheduled.
in recent years, although the central, provincial and prefecture governments have significantly increased investment in poverty alleviation (national and provincial earmarks totaled rmb 414 million, and prefecture and county earmarks totaled rmb 111 million in 2015), to fulfill the arduous poverty alleviation tasks, large amounts of funds are still needed. in particular, the prefecture and county targets are very tight, leading to a sharp conflict between poverty alleviation and economic development. although the prefecture and county governments have made every effort to increase investment in poverty alleviation, there is still a big gap between the supply and demand for poverty alleviation funds.
on the morning of april 16, the international infrastructure conference was held by the world bank in washington, dc. chinese minister of finance lou jiwei delivered an opening speech. lou jiwei introduced china’s experience in infrastructure construction, and stressed that ppp projects are the financing focus of the g20 countries.
as the delegate from the host country of the 2016 g20 summit, lou jiwei said that the g20 countries would fully support multilateral development banks in terms of funding infrastructure projects. “we hope that these development banks can fully mobilize private resources, and attract various kinds of funds through multiple financing channels,” lou said. lou jiwei also introduced china’s infrastructure construction goals at the conference. he stated that china plans to spend two years to provide rural residents with clean drinking water, and is hopefully to provide internet access to rural areas in another three years.“we hope that there is more private participation in infrastructure construction, which has a great effect on reducing poverty. ”
at the 49th annual meeting of the asian development bank (adb) in frankfurt, germany held less than a month later from may 2 to 5, minister lou jiwei again stated, “we will build partnerships with new institutions such as multilateral development aid agencies, aiib and brics, and intensify cooperation with the private sector based on the ppp model.”
shi yaobin, vice minister of finance and head of the ministry of finance ppp leadership team, told china economic weekly that the ppp reform is a structural reform regarding comprehensively promoting law-based governance, giving play to the decisive role of the market in resource allocation, and enabling the government to play a better role, as specified in the decision of the cccpc on some major issues concerning comprehensively deepening the reform released at the third plenary session of the 18th cpc central committee in the public service field. also, the ppp reform is an important part of the government governance system, and the modernization of governance capabilities. it is of important practical significance for optimizing structure, improving supply, stimulating vitality, and overcoming shortcomings.
in particular, it is highly targeted to promote the transformation and accelerated development of economically underdeveloped areas.
shi yaobin said that according to the integrated plan of the ministry of finance, after nearly three years of exploration and practice, the ppp reform has been widely recognized, becoming an important solution to steady growth, structural adjustment, reform promotion, improvement of people’s livelihood, and risk prevention. next, the ministry of finance will continue to improve reform measures; strengthen coordination with various departments; give full play to the traction role of the ppp reform in administrative system reform, fiscal system reform, and investment & financing system reform; and help governments at all levels implement the five development concepts. what’s more, through development concept innovation, streamlined administration and institute decentralization, and optimization of services, the ministry of finance will attract more private investors to participate in the ppp reform.
source link: http://www.ceweekly.cn/2016/0523/151738.shtml
zhang lujing of china economic weekly reporting from yunnan and beijing
(published in china economic weekly, issue 20 2016)
“so beautiful the cang mountain is that one can never paint, so haunting the song of the erhai lake is that one can never hum.” how can we protect the erhai lake, the precious gift of nature, for our later generations, and for the world?
on january 20, 2015, general secretary xi jinping arrived at gusheng village, wanqiao town, dali prefecture, yunnan province to investigate the ecological protection of the erhai lake. after having a photo taken with local officials by the lake, he said, “i’ll keep it, and i hope that the water is cleaner and clearer when i come the next time.”
xi said, “this is my first time here. i’ve heard of the cang mountain and erhai lake ever since i was a child, and i’ve been longing for it. living here is enviable. i really want to stay here.”
xi said that ecological civilization and green development should be the management focus of the erhai lake on the path of innovative, coordinated, green, open and shared development.
it""s easier said than done. the management the erhai lake is anything but easy.
“a clear erhai lake means a prosperous dali.” to renovate the erhai lake, the first thing is wastewater interception. following the principle of “terrain-based seamed interception system, area-based wastewater collection, and centralized treatment”, on october 11, 2015, the dali erhai lake water environment management ppp project (phase i) was launched as one of the second batch of ministry of finance demonstration ppp projects, with an approved investment of rmb 4.5 billion.
how is dali progressing with the ppp project? is the erhai lake better protected as hoped by the general secretary? how did yunnan, an economically underdeveloped province, achieve leapfrog and sustainable development relying on the ppp model and concepts?
rom april 16 to 18, 2016, following the ministry of finance’s china ppp center investigation team, china economic weekly reporter zhang lujing investigated the dali erhai lake water environment management ppp project, trying to probe into the innovative changes and results created by the ppp model in public management from the perspectives of local residents, local government, private investor, advisory agencies, and experts.
background of the dali erhai lake water environment management ppp project:
on the one hand, the erhai lake faces tremendous environmental pressure. on the other hand, the local government is bothered by its limited financial resources.
as the seventh largest freshwater lake in china, the erhai lake is the mother lake of the bai people, and also a main drinking water source in dali.
in recent years, due to population increase, accelerated urbanization, and the rapid growth of the tourism industry, controlling wastewater, garbage and agricultural pollutants has become an increasingly tough task. in 1996 and 2003, the erhai lake were attacked by two blue-green algae outbreaks, with transparency staying below one meter, which greatly affected people’s lives.
seen from above, the erhai lake is surrounded by 11 towns and 517 villages. it is home to 840,000 residents, and is the designation of over 20 million tourists every year. according to statistics, in 2015, an average of more than 657 tons of domestic garbage was produced every day by these towns and villages. the erhai lake is at the edge of being engulfed by garbage.
non-compliant hotels: a tough problem in the erhai lake’s environment management
the large number of non-compliant hotels by the erhai lake have become a tough problem in the lake’s environment management. gao zhihong, mayor of dali city, told china economic weekly that the growing number of non-compliant hotels which often secretly discharge wastewater into the erhai lake have become a tough problem in the erhai lake’s environment management. with the goal of “creating a cleaner and clearer erhai lake”, the local government has been actively discovering and solving problems, while promoting the importance of environmental protection among the residents, in a bid to protect the erhai lake with combined efforts.
since the start of environment management, shuanglang town has inspected the environmental compliance (environmental permits and measures) of 490 hotels and restaurants, of which, 42 have been suspended, 53 were asked to rectify within a prescribed time limit, and 417 have obtained the wastewater discharge permit, bringing the total to 488. in addition, 53 illegal wastewater outlets have been blocked and recorded. solid waste is collected and transported in line with the principles of “village self-management” and “one case one meeting”, and expenses arose have increased from over rmb 600,000 to over rmb 2,987,000.
gao zhihong told the reporter that in may 2015, two lakeside hotels in shuanglang town were found secretly discharging wastewater into the erhai lake. the local environmental protection department and public security organization immediately looked into the case. the hotels were suspended and fined rmb 100,000-150,000, and the operators were detained for 10 days, the severest punishment ever in this regard in dali.
so far, dali city has investigated 141 environmental violations, and blocked 648 wastewater outlets. a dynamic investigation and management mechanism has also been established. also, 856 land violations have been investigated, and 860 illegally built buildings across 127,000 m2 have been demolished. the trend of illegal construction and village expansion around the erhai lake has been curbed.
wang wenqi, a hotel operator in shuanglang told the reporter that at first, he rejected to pay the wastewater and solid waste treatment service fees, and even took the lead against the charge, but the shocking blue-green algae breakout in 2003 completely changed his mind. now he is a member of the local restaurant and hotel association, taking the lead in protecting the erhai lake.
the local government is financially unable to support wastewater interception around the erhai lake.
before the whole lake is protected by interception facilities, the government has to take measures like retaining violators and enhancing management; however, these measures are far from enough to effectively protect the erhai lake.
peng yongzhen, cae academician and professor at beijing university of technology, told the reporter that the environmental pressure on the erhai lake is several times that allowed by its ecological functions. agricultural non-point pollution caused by agricultural runoffs, and the wastes of illegally kept animals in the upstream area and areas around the lake is responsible for 60% of the pollution load borne by the erhai lake. on the other hand, in recent years, over 20 million tourists came to dali every year, increasing the environmental pressure. the erhai lake is already in a reversible sensitive period right before the early stage of eutrophication.
“therefore, the protection and management of the erhai lake will still be a complicated, systematic and tough task that the government and society must jointly face and fulfill for a long time to come,” said peng.
kong hainan, professor at shanghai jiaotong university and director of the sjtu river and lake environmental technology development center, has been studying the environmental protection of the erhai lake for over 20 years. he told the reporter that the overuse of resources provided by the erhai lake over the past years has upset the ecological balance of the lake. “environmental pollution faced by the erhai lake has turned into a complicated social and economic problem,” kong said.
“ecologically and socially friendly measures should be incorporated into the entire process of the lake""s water environment management, from water sources to rivers flowing into the lake, and from lakeside to the lake. all environment management technologies should be ecologically sustainable.
to fundamentally solve the problem, we must go to the source. ‘a clear erhai lake means a prosperous dali.’ and to do this, the first step is wastewater interception.” through a comprehensive assessment, the dali prefecture government estimated that the ppp-based wastewater interception project will cost a total of rmb 3.468 billion, including six wwtps and over 300 km of wastewater trunk sewers (channels). after the project is completed, the whole lake will be prevented from domestic and industrial wastewater.
in recent years, the prefecture, municipal and county governments have been earmarking the protection of the erhai lake every year. however, for such a mega project, these funds are just a drop in the ocean. dali city’s general public budgets in 2013 and 2014 were rmb 2.56 billion and rmb 2.75 billion respectively. given the limited financial resources and credit line of the local government, wastewater interception around the erhai lake was a dream too expensive to be realized.
in such a context, the ppp model undoubtedly brought some hope of financing to the project.
dali erhai lake water environment management ppp project:
thanks to private participation, investment in lake management has exceeded that during the entire “12th five-year” period.
following the principle of “terrain-based seamed interception system, area-based wastewater collection, and centralized treatment”, on october 11, 2015, the dali erhai lake water environment management ppp project (phase i) was launched as one of the second batch of ministry of finance demonstration ppp projects, with an approved investment of rmb 4.5 billion.
“the investment in the dali erhai lake water environment management ppp project (phase i) has exceeded the total management costs during the entire the 12th five-year’ period.” yang ning, party secretary of the dali prefecture told the reporter, “through the ppp model, financial funds have effectively leveraged private funds in the protection and management of the erhai lake, accelerating this process as fast as possible.”
in terms of the project company’s ownership structure design, dali erhai lake protection investment construction co., ltd. invests rmb 104.7 million on behalf of the government, accounting for 10% of the total shares; and the private investor contributes the remaining 90% of rmb 943.2 million. these funds jointly take up 30% of the total project investment.
china economic weekly: last year, the general secretary took a photo by the erhai lake, and said he would revisit the erhai lake. in your view, when will the erhai lake be completely renovated?
yang ning: the general secretary’s words always remind us of our responsibilities. he was actually asking us to be responsible for our history and also for the people. if we do not want to feel ashamed in front of our ancestors and our descendants, we must protect the erhai lake. i believe that with the joint efforts of the whole prefecture, people here will live a happy life, tourists will see greener cang mountain and cleaner erhai lake, and the scenery of “so beautiful the cang mountain is that one can never paint, so haunting the song of the erhai lake is that one can never hum.” will always be here. people of all ethnic groups in dali are expecting the revisit of the general secretary!
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yunnan provincial governor chen hao: creating a win-win solution to the dilemma between economic development and environmental protection
what specific work did yunnan province do this year to implement general secretary xu’s instructions and preserve clean water and green mountains? on may 18, 2016, yunnan provincial governor chen hao gave an interview to china economic weekly.
privileged natural environment is the unique advantage and core competitiveness of yunnan province.
china economic weekly: this year’s government work report clearly states that efforts should be made to “step up environmental management efforts and work to see breakthroughs in green development”, and that“pollution control and environmental protection are important to both the health of our people and sustainable development, so we must work hard moving forward and resolve to take a path that leads to both economic development and environmental improvement.”as an underdeveloped province, how will the yunnan provincial government deal with the relationship between economic development and environmental protection?
chen hao: privileged natural environment is the logo and precious wealth of yunnan, and also our unique advantage and core competitiveness that we rely on to achieve leapfrog development. people of dai, a particular ethnic group in yunnan, have a saying that “trees create mountains, mountains create water, water creates fields, and fields create people”. we can see that environmental protection is an inherent awareness and a tradition of people in yunnan. therefore, creating a win-win solution to the dilemma between economic development and environmental protection is the expectation of the people of all ethnic groups in yunnan, the requirement of the party central committee, and also the duty and mission of governments at all levels.
to this end, in terms of development concepts, we enhanced public education regarding national and provincial resources and environmental protection, and the development of people’s ecological value; actively carried forward the local tradition of eco-friendly development; promoted the development principle of “lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets”; and constantly helped the public develop environmental awareness, ecological awareness, and sense of responsibility. in terms of production mode, adhering to the principle of “eco-friendly green development”, we increased governmental departments’ accountability; incorporated national conditions, and resource and environment carrying capacity into the design and construction of key projects; constantly promoted industrial upgrading and transformation through energy saving, emission reduction, and excess capacity dissolution; and actively accelerated the development of eco-friendly industries such as environmental protection, ecotourism, and health care, for the purpose of keeping a balance between economic development and ecological construction. in terms of environmental protection, we focused on the protection and restoration of mountains, rivers, forests, farmlands and lakes; accelerated the construction of ecological corridors and biodiversity conservation networks; and comprehensively improved the stability and ecological service functions of natural ecosystems such as forests, rivers, lakes, wetlands, and grasslands, in a bid to build an ecological security barrier in southwestern china. last year, in the context that china’s economy was under increasing downward pressure, and local finance faced a broader funding gap, yunnan still invested rmb 13.3 billion in projects related to energy conservation and environmental protection. this year, yunnan will further enhance provincial fiscal transfers, and increase subsidies to areas with vulnerable ecosystems and heavy environmental protection tasks.
china economic weekly: from january 19 to 21, 2015, general secretary xi jinping said during this visit to yunnan that yunnan should “make comprehensive moves to finish building a moderately prosperous society, deepen reforms, advance the law-based governance of china, and strengthen party self-discipline; should actively serve and integrate into the national development strategy, to explore a path of leapfrog development; and should strive to become china’s national unity and progress demonstration zone, a pioneer of ecological civilization development, and a radiation center in south asia and southeast asia, in a bid to write a new chapter of yunnan for realizing the chinese dream.”one year has passed since the general secretary’s visit to yunnan, what efforts have yunnan made to implement the spirits of the general secretary""s speech, and write a new chapter of yunnan for realizing the chinese dream?
chen hao: studying and implementing the spirits of the important speech made by general secretary xi jinping during his visit to yunnan was the top priority and primary task of us in the past year. we held three provincial party committee plenary sessions to reach decisions and issue policies regarding the study and implementation of xi’s speech spirit. our efforts have created gratifying economic and social progress.
in terms of steady economic growth, we effectively promoted the implementation of major policies, reforms, and projects. in 2015, yunnan registered a gdp growth of 8.7%, achieving the goal specified in its 12th five-year plan.
in terms of industrial optimization, on the one hand, we continued to enhance traditional competitive industries such as energy, nonferrous metals, steel, and chemicals; and on the other hand, we concentrated on developing eight pillar industries of biomedicine & health care, tourism culture, information, modern logistics, modern agriculture with plateau characteristics, new materials, advanced equipment manufacturing, and food & consumer goods manufacturing, for the purpose of creating an open, innovative, high-end, it-driven and green industrial structure. infrastructure construction was a focus of yunnan. the three-year comprehensive transportation infrastructure construction came to a successful end; the five-year five-network (road network, aviation network, water network, energy network, and internet) construction campaign was launched; and a number of main projects creating long-term benefits were completed.
regarding the improvement of people’s livelihood, we took a series of intensified poverty alleviation measures; actively created employment opportunities; continued to promote reforms in the fields of education, culture, medical & health, housing, and social insurance; comprehensively promoted the implementation of urban affordable housing projects; and launched rural dilapidated housing renovation and earthquake relief projects. the post-disaster recovery and reconstruction in earthquake-stricken areas of ludian and jinggu was carried out in a solid and effective manner.
in tough areas of reforms, taking bearings from the economic system reform, we launched a series of major reform measures regarding administrative approval, fiscal & taxation, state-owned enterprises, rural areas, education, science & technology, opening up, public security, supply and marketing cooperatives, medical &health care, and pension insurance, and have successfully further unleashed the potential of these markets.
in terms of further opening up, seizing the opportunity of “central yunnan urban economic circle integrated development”, we launched a number of projects in “one core area, one circle, two corridors, three belts, and six urban agglomerations” to promote regional development, in a bid to “build a stronger central yunnan, prosper border areas, promote economic corridors and belts, create multiple economic engines, and promote two-way opening up”. yunnan successfully held the 3rd china-south asia expo and the 23rd kunming fair, 2015 china (kunming) international travel mart.
in terms of environmental protection, we further advanced the colorful yunnan conservation campaign, biodiversity conservation action plan, and forest yunnan plan. yunnan’s forest coverage rate reached 55.7%, the water quality of the nine plateau lakes improved steadily, and the quality of urban and rural living environment continued to improve.
in terms of national unity and progress, we continued to implement the “ten thousand households, one thousand villages, one hundred towns, ten counties demonstration sites project”. the main economic indicators and income growth rates of urban and rural residents in ethnic areas were higher than the provincial average, and people""s production, living, spiritual and cultural conditions continued to improve.
in terms of self-construction, we strictly enforced political disciplines and rules; carried out education activities as required by “three stricts and three honests”, “loyal, clean and responsible” and “two studies, one action”; and took intensified measures to build a “service-oriented, responsible, law-based, and clean government”. the entrepreneurial environment of yunnan improved significantly.
china economic weekly: erhai lake is the seventh largest freshwater lake in china, the “mother lake” of the bai people, and the main drinking water source of dali. in recent years, due to rapid population growth, three blue-green algae outbreaks have occurred in the erhai lake basin, seriously affecting people’s lives. what specific work has the yunnan provincial government done to implement the general secretary""s instructions, protecting the water environment of the erhai lake?
chen hao: erhai lake is one of the near-town lakes in china. its protection has always been a focus of yunnan, and we have achieved encouraging results in this respect. during an inspection tour of dali, yunnan in the beginning of 2015, general secretary xi jinping had a photo by the lake and said he hoped that the water quality could be improved when he made his next trip. this is the general secretary’s requirement on the water environmental protection and management of the erhai lake, and also his expectation on yunnan in terms of green development and ecological civilization development. to further enhance the water environmental protection and management of the erhai lake basin, we took intensified precision lake management measures in five aspects.
first, we strengthened the guiding role of planning. following the concepts of “problem-oriented systematic management, and seeking both temporary and permanent solutions”, we developed a detailed erhai lake protection and management plan and put it into practice, so as to scientifically draw and strictly observe the ecological red line, strengthening our responsibility for ecological protection. second, we optimized the management structure. we comprehensively promoted the industrial structure adjustment, main functional area division, pollution control, lake basin management, and ecological civilization development in the erhai lake basin, in a bid to reduce agricultural non-point source pollution, and strictly control industrial pollution. third, we enhanced systematic ecological restoration. we intensified efforts to convert farmland to forests, grasslands and wetlands; carry out ecological protection around the lake; and promote the protection and restoration of wetlands, so as to constantly strengthen water conservation. fourth, we took strict supervision and management measures. we established a lake basin management coordination mechanism to improve our environmental control capabilities, and cracked down on illegal activities such as lake encroachment, garbage dumping, and sewage discharge with an iron hand. fifth, we adopted an innovative financing model. the erhai lake sewage interception project is the first ppp project launched in yunnan. the ppp model provides an innovative way to involve private investment in the protection and management of the erhai lake. at present, nearly rmb 3 billion of private investment has been attracted through the ppp model, exceeding the total investment of governments at all levels in the protection and management of the erhai lake during the “12th five-year plan” period. according to the latest monitoring report, the water quality of the erhai lake remained at class iii, and even at class ii from january to march this year. the lake has been included in the national list of protected lakes.
experimental incorporation of the ppp model into targeted poverty alleviation
china economic weekly: the ppp model has been proved to be successful in the water environment management of the erhai lake. as an economically underdeveloped province, yunnan has a large ethnic and poverty-stricken population, and its infrastructure is poor. it faces tremendous pressure to get rid of or reduce poverty. has the government considered using the ppp model to leverage private capital in poverty alleviation?
chen hao: yunnan has a large poverty-stricken population across a vast area, and is one of the main poverty alleviation battlegrounds in china. by the end of 2015, there were still 4.71 million poverty-stricken people and 88 poverty-stricken counties in yunnan, ranking second and first in china respectively. in the next five years, yunnan needs to reduce poverty-stricken population by an average of about 1 million every year, which is a very tough task. we will resolutely implement the strategy of pro-poor development proposed by general secretary xi jinping, and make it a top priority in promoting people""s livelihood. yunnan will go all out to win the tough fight against poverty. in the course of making comprehensive moves to finish building a moderately prosperous society, we will not leave any poverty-stricken area, any ethic group, or any one behind. at present, poor infrastructure and underdeveloped local industries are the main factors restricting the development of poverty-stricken areas in yunnan.
to solve the problem, we experimentally incorporated the ppp model into targeted poverty alleviation, and have achieved some results. first, we set up yunnan poverty alleviation investment development co., ltd. as the financing platform for the poverty alleviation relocation project. in this way, fiscal funds, policy loans, and private funds (including farmers’ funds) are gathered to relocate the poor. according to statistics, at present, rmb 79.357 billion of poverty alleviation relocation loans have been approved, of which rmb 26.165 billion have been granted. second, we prepared good infrastructure resources and projects for investors nationwide, in a bid to raise more private funds based on the ppp model, accelerating infrastructure construction in poverty-stricken areas. third, we took a set of active measures to help the farmers increase incomes, such as cultivating local industrial leaders, developing new types of businesses such as family farms, big professional businesses, and farmers’ cooperatives, broadening the channel of private financing, accelerating agricultural industrialization, extending the agricultural industrial chain, and improving the quality and efficiency of modern agricultural projects with plateau characteristics. in the future, we will explore the potential of the ppp model in pro-poor development, attracting more private funds to the cause of poverty alleviation.
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incorporation of the ppp model into poverty alleviation
minister of finance lou jiwei: china will spend two years providing clean drinking water to farmers.
vice minister of finance shi yaobin: ppp is highly targeted to the economic transformation of underdeveloped areas.
as an economically underdeveloped province, yunnan successfully used the ppp model to incite private capital into environmental management, which not only reduced financial pressure, realized an “impossible task”, but also created wealth for the people in the course of ecological improvement.
chen hao, governor of yunnan province, told china economic weekly that yunnan has a large poverty-stricken population across a vast area, and is one of the main battlegrounds for poverty alleviation in china. to solve the problem, yunnan experimentally incorporated the ppp model into targeted poverty alleviation, and has achieved some results.
specifically in dali, according to data provided by the dali prefecture government, all the 12 counties and city in the prefecture are located in the mountainous areas along the western border of yunnan. nine counties are key targets of the national pro-poor development program, and two counties are key pro-poor development targets at the provincial level. across the prefecture, there are five old revolutionary base counties and eight old revolutionary base towns; 33 registered poverty-stricken towns, 300 poverty-stricken administrative villages, and 254,100 poverty-stricken farmers. in the prefecture, poverty-stricken population is scattered across a vast area, mainly in ethnic areas, old revolutionary base areas, remote mountainous areas, and rock mountainous areas. the causes of poverty are complex, among which people’s quality is a main reason. given the growing costs and difficulty of poverty alleviation, it will be arduous to finish poverty alleviation tasks as scheduled.
in recent years, although the central, provincial and prefecture governments have significantly increased investment in poverty alleviation (national and provincial earmarks totaled rmb 414 million, and prefecture and county earmarks totaled rmb 111 million in 2015), to fulfill the arduous poverty alleviation tasks, large amounts of funds are still needed. in particular, the prefecture and county targets are very tight, leading to a sharp conflict between poverty alleviation and economic development. although the prefecture and county governments have made every effort to increase investment in poverty alleviation, there is still a big gap between the supply and demand for poverty alleviation funds.
on the morning of april 16, the international infrastructure conference was held by the world bank in washington, dc. chinese minister of finance lou jiwei delivered an opening speech. lou jiwei introduced china’s experience in infrastructure construction, and stressed that ppp projects are the financing focus of the g20 countries.
as the delegate from the host country of the 2016 g20 summit, lou jiwei said that the g20 countries would fully support multilateral development banks in terms of funding infrastructure projects. “we hope that these development banks can fully mobilize private resources, and attract various kinds of funds through multiple financing channels,” lou said. lou jiwei also introduced china’s infrastructure construction goals at the conference. he stated that china plans to spend two years to provide rural residents with clean drinking water, and is hopefully to provide internet access to rural areas in another three years.“we hope that there is more private participation in infrastructure construction, which has a great effect on reducing poverty. ”
at the 49th annual meeting of the asian development bank (adb) in frankfurt, germany held less than a month later from may 2 to 5, minister lou jiwei again stated, “we will build partnerships with new institutions such as multilateral development aid agencies, aiib and brics, and intensify cooperation with the private sector based on the ppp model.”
shi yaobin, vice minister of finance and head of the ministry of finance ppp leadership team, told china economic weekly that the ppp reform is a structural reform regarding comprehensively promoting law-based governance, giving play to the decisive role of the market in resource allocation, and enabling the government to play a better role, as specified in the decision of the cccpc on some major issues concerning comprehensively deepening the reform released at the third plenary session of the 18th cpc central committee in the public service field. also, the ppp reform is an important part of the government governance system, and the modernization of governance capabilities. it is of important practical significance for optimizing structure, improving supply, stimulating vitality, and overcoming shortcomings.
in particular, it is highly targeted to promote the transformation and accelerated development of economically underdeveloped areas.
shi yaobin said that according to the integrated plan of the ministry of finance, after nearly three years of exploration and practice, the ppp reform has been widely recognized, becoming an important solution to steady growth, structural adjustment, reform promotion, improvement of people’s livelihood, and risk prevention. next, the ministry of finance will continue to improve reform measures; strengthen coordination with various departments; give full play to the traction role of the ppp reform in administrative system reform, fiscal system reform, and investment & financing system reform; and help governments at all levels implement the five development concepts. what’s more, through development concept innovation, streamlined administration and institute decentralization, and optimization of services, the ministry of finance will attract more private investors to participate in the ppp reform.
source link: http://www.ceweekly.cn/2016/0523/151738.shtml
