Mar. 19, 2024


Summary of Projects

Environmental Journalist Salons
Green Earth Volunteers has been holding monthly Journalist Salons for over a decade, in an effort to promote environmental journalism within China. Each month key environmental journalists and specialists are brought together for a lecture and discussion on timely environmental issues.” The transcripts of lectures are made available on the Green Earth Volunteer website (in Chinese).

River Decade Project
The social and environmental implications of pollution, scarcity, and river manipulation are demanding increased attention. This is especially true given China's recent 'great leap forward' in dam building. 


The mission of the River Decade Project is to study and oversee hydropower development on these six rivers over a ten-year period. Each year since 2006 a group of journalists has travelled to this area and conducted investigations with local people, migrants, and experts. We hope that through these trips we can inform the public about policy decisions, promote the right to participate in policy-making and encourage information disclosure.
In 2006 Green Earth Volunteers launched the “River Decade Project,” a ten-year-long investigation of six great rivers in China: the Min, Dadu, Yalong, Jinsha, Lancang (upper Mekong) and Nu rivers. These rivers are all located in Southwest China.

For a summary of the River Decade project trip 2009 see here

Yellow River Decade Project
Using the same model as our successful River Decade Project, in 2010 we began the “Yellow River Decade Project”.
The Yellow River is known in Chinese as the ‘mother river’ and is the second largest river in the country. It can be said to reflect nearly all the current environmental problems in China including: an inability for ecosystems to adapt to environmental change, poor planning of water resources development and an inability to provide for the local residents as it once did.

We hope that through these trips we can inform the public about policy decisions, promote the right to participate in policy-making and encourage information disclosure.

For a summary of the Yellow River Decade project 2010 see here

Beijing River Watch
China’s water crisis - exemplified by scarcity and pollution - has been the subject of national and international concern for years, and Beijing can be seen as a microcosm of the larger national problem. As Zhang Junfeng (a member of Green Earth Volunteers) stated in a recent interview, “Beijing’s story is the story of China. Beijing’s ecology can only support several million people, but the city is almost 20 million. China has the same problem.” 

Despite the severity of the situation, many of Beijing’s residents feel disconnected from these problems. So in order to provide Beijing residents with a chance to get outside of the city and see Beijing’s river system, Green Earth Volunteers has organized a weekly River Watch tour (乐水行) every Saturday for the past five years. Every week we go to a different spot, often with an expert to lead the way.
Everyone is welcome, please see our homepage or look under events for more details.
 

Beiyun River program
In 2008, Green Earth Volunteers was recognized as a member of Waterkeeper Alliance. Waterkeeper Alliance is a global movement of on-the-water advocates who patrol and protect over 100,000 miles of rivers, streams and coastlines in North and South America, Europe, Australia, Asia and Africa (http://www.waterkeeper.org/). Green Earth Volunteers is named as the Beiyun Waterkeeper.
 
We are currently cooperating with volunteer Wang Jingjing who is leading a report on the water quality of the Beiyun water system at the Beijing University of Science and Technology. We hope to publish this report later in 2012.


China Green News
Begun in 2009, China Green News is a collection of translated articles from the Chinese media. A dedicated team of over 50 volunteers worked to provide these translations, which can now be found in the China Green News archives on our website. In 2010 a volunteer started up the China Environment Brief, which is still sent out once a week. Please click the link on our homepage to subscribe. 




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