Chinese Women's Participation in Environmental Protection

The Beijing Declaration listed "women and the environment" as one of its critical areas of concern, and stressed that women need to be given the right to participate in environmental protection and decision-making. [Women of China]

The Beijing Declaration listed "women and the environment" as one of its critical areas of concern, and stressed that women need to be given the right to participate in environmental protection and decision-making. Over the past 20 years, while they helped protect the environment and promote ecological civilization, Chinese women have displayed their determination, enthusiasm and love to the rest of the world.

The Government Promotes Women's Development in Environment-related Areas

In 2012 the Chinese government promulgated the National Program for the Development of Chinese Women (2011-2020), which designated "women and the environment" as one of six priority areas for women's development. Among its general objectives it listed "ensuring women's participation in environmental decision-making and management on an equal footing and improving the environment for women's development." Additionally, the report, delivered at the 18th National People's Congress in 2012, put forward for the first time "beautiful China" as the grand objective of building an "eco-civilization," giving priority to green, cyclic, and low carbon growth, thereby creating opportunities for women's participation in environmental development.

Since then, the government has made continuous efforts to promote women's participation in environmental management. According to statistics, women account for 41.4 percent of the employees at the Ministry of Environmental Protection and its affiliations. As of 2013, the Ministry of Environmental Protection and its affiliations had 932 women leaders. Nineteen of them were executives at departmental level and above. A total of 108 of them were working directly with the Ministry of Environmental Protection, 12 (11.1 percent) holding a position at vice-departmental level or above and 50 (46.3 percent) at vice-divisional level or above. In addition, women account for 24.7 percent of the workforce responsible for environmental supervision and law enforcement. There are women members on the Environment and Resources Committee of the National People's Congress.

In the past five years, the government and women's organizations have jointly conducted publicity activities for environmental protection and implemented environmental protection projects. Such National Energy Conservation Activities include "low-carbon households, fashionable lifestyle," "Environmental-friendly Women Messengers" activity, and "Green Homeland for Women" campaign, which all encourage women and their families to participate in environmental protection.

Related international cooperation has also been conducted. In 2004, the Chinese and Italian governments launched the joint project "environmental management and sustainable development." Since 2011 the disaster relief department of the Civil Affairs Ministry and the National Disaster Relief Center have jointly conducted the UN Women-funded project "research on the role of women in disaster relief efforts" designed to explore the gender-based differences in disaster relief efforts; encourage full consideration of women's participation and the protection of women's rights in national policies on disaster relief; and, promote gender equality in disaster management.

Women's Participation is Indispensable

Women support and participate in social and economic development, and they form a major driving force behind sustainable development.

The International Forum on Women and Sustainable Development, held in Beijing in 2011, focused on how women participate in the development of the "green economy," which aims for sustainable development without degrading the environment.

Xie Ru, Vice-Governor of East China's Jiangxi Province, told the forum that many Chinese women participated in the development of Poyang Lake Ecological Economic Zone.

Poyang Lake, in Jiangxi, is the largest freshwater lake in China, and is Asia's largest winter habitat for migratory birds. In recent years, Jiangxi's provincial government developed and implemented a plan to build an ecological economic zone. Women's federations across the province participated in the zone's construction. Taking Nanchang (the capital of Jiangxi Province) Women's Federation as an example, the federation took several effective measures in this regard. It promoted "green ecology" concept among local women, encouraged women to participate in ecological, low-carbon and recycling industries and motivated women to build a "green homeland."

"During the process of making and implementing the plan, Jiangxi's provincial government listened to women … and gave full play to women's role as major participants. (The government) dealt with the issues of the harmonious development of society and the economy, and the issues of social fairness and gender equality," said Xie.

To attract women to participate in environmental protection and sustainable development, and to ensure they equally share the benefits of reform and development, the Chinese government adheres to the basic State policy of gender equality, implements and improves laws and regulations that protect women's rights and interests, and promotes women's development.

Women's development rights are guaranteed through administrative decisions and judicial rulings. Nowadays, an increasing number of Chinese women are voluntarily participating in environmental protection and sustainable development.

More Women NGOs Concerned about Environmental Protection

Twenty years ago, Wang Mingying, then-director of the Publicity Department of Shaanxi Women's Federation, participated in the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing. She had no idea that her attendance at the conference would eventually change her life.

During the conference, the forum on "Women and Environmental Protection," caught Wang's attention. At the end of the conference, the Beijing Platform for Action listed "women and the environment" as a key issue.

After the conference, Wang returned to Shaanxi Province, northwestern China. She asked herself, "What can we do to protect the environment?" Her answer: "We can begin by educating mothers!"

Wang believes household garbage is one of the major sources of pollution in China. For that reason, she wanted to raise mothers' awareness about environmental protection, and to motivate mothers to participate in environmental-protection campaigns. She also wanted the women to encourage their family members to join the effort.

On September 27, 1997, Wang established the Mother Environmental Protection Volunteers Association, to help cities deal with garbage and save water. In the past five years, the Association has promoted women's participation in environmental protection and thus harmonious ecological development by improving the capabilities of women village leaders for building low carbon villages, building bio-energy resources (including biogas) in rural areas, promoting green projects such as water-efficient agriculture and after-disaster reconstruction, and by conducting green public benefit activities. Wang and her team also gave lectures in communities and taught people what type of waste could be recycled, and what could not be reused.

Nowadays, more and more women NGOs have conducted environmental protection activities to promote women's participation in sustainable development on an equal footing. The Women and Environment Group of the Association set up children's drama clubs and art centers for environmental protection to improve children's environmental protection awareness and fully exercise the role of women in family education. Private environmental protection organizations, such as Nature's Friends and the Greening Center, continue to engage in publicity and advocacy on environmental protection, provide factual inputs for the government's decision-making on the environment, and actively participate in other related choices. 

Challenges Ahead

On February 13, 2015, the Policy Research Center for the Environment and Economy (under China's Ministry of Environmental Protection), released a report, "Gender Mainstreaming and Rural Environmental Protection," during a conference on gender mainstreaming and environmental management in Beijing.

The report indicated blind spots exist in policies, especially those that involve women's participation in environmental protection. For instance, a gender ratio is not included in the regulations about public participation. Also, differences between women and men's recognition of, attitudes toward and behavior about environmental issues are often ignored. According to the report, grassroots female officials lag behind in specialized knowledge on environmental protection, and they have fewer promotion opportunities and rights in decision-making compared with their male counterparts. Therefore, more must be done to promote the field of "women and the environment" in China.

Data Speaks

* Women account for 41.4 percent of the employees at the Ministry of Environmental Protection and its affiliations.

* Women account for 24.7 percent of the workforce responsible for environmental law enforcement and supervision.

 (Women of China)