Women Must Participate in Environmental Protection, Decision-Making

Over the past 20 years since the Fourth World Conference on Women, Chinese women have displayed their determination in environmental protection, and enthusiasm and love to the rest of the world. [Women of China English Monthly]

The Beijing Declaration, passed during the Fourth World Conference on Women in September 1995, listed "women and the environment" as one of its critical areas of concern, and the declaration stressed that women need to be given the right to participate in environmental protection and decision-making. Over the past 20 years, while they have helped protect the environment and promote ecological civilization, Chinese women have displayed their determination, enthusiasm and love to the rest of the world.

More 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. Even though, at that time, environmental protection was a serious global issue, and certainly an issue that had the attention of developed countries, the issue was unfamiliar to most Chinese. Wang had no idea that her attendance at the conference would eventually change her life.

During the conference, a dozen forums were held to discuss women's issues and women's development. One forum, with the theme "Women and Environmental Protection," caught Wang's attention.

At the end of the conference, a document, the Beijing Platform for Action, was issued, and it listed "women and environment" as a key issue. The precondition for sustainable development is environmental protection; without the latter, human civilization will be destroyed by worsening pollution.

After the Fourth World Conference on Women, Wang returned to Shaanxi (in 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. On weekends, in the early morning when most people stayed cozy in bed, Wang and her team would spring into action. They put garbage cans, for sorting waste, in public places, and they distributed brochures and degradable plastic waste bags. They also taught people what type of waste could be recycled, and what could not be reused. In many communities in Xi'an, Shaanxi's capital, Wang and her team conducted environmental-protection lectures.

In May 2014, the Center for Public Opinion Research (under Shanghai Jiaotong University) and Social Sciences Academic Press issued the Report on China's Livelihood Issues (2014). Based on the responses of 1,050 people, women were more concerned about environmental protection than were men.

Women's Participation Is Indispensible

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 it is Asia's largest winter habitat of migratory birds. In recent years, Jiangxi's provincial government has promoted sustainable development. Also, the government developed and implemented the plan to build the ecological economic zone. Women's federations across the province participated in the zone's construction. Take Nanchang (the capital of Jiangxi Province) Women's Federation as an example. The federation took the following measures:

First, the federation promoted the idea of "green ecology" among women through notices on bulletin boards, the handing out of flyers, and reports in newspapers, on radio and via the Internet;

Second, the federation changed the economic-development mode and encouraged women to participate in ecological, low-carbon and recycling industries; and

Third, the federation motivated women to build a "green homeland." The federation implemented several campaigns to select "green families" and "resource-conservation families," and to promote the concept of energy conservation and emission reduction. In rural areas, the federation launched a campaign to encourage women to take the lead in cleaning their villages.

"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.

She added that economic growth, social equity and environmental protection are the three basic pillars of sustainable development. The pillars are connected, and none is dispensable. "Social equity and gender equality should be preconditions of economic growth and environmental protection," said Xie.  Sustainable development, she continued, can't be realized without the promotion of gender equality.

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, 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.

As the link that has connected the Party (Communist Party of China [CPC]) and all levels of government with women, especially since the 18th CPC National Congress in late 2012, the All-China Women's Federation (ACWF) launched several campaigns, such as "Family Energy Saving Action," "Building Beautiful Homeland Action" and "Women for Green Action" to encourage women and their families to participate in environmental protection.

Current Situation

Currently, three women sit on the Environment Protection and Resources Committee of the National People's Congress, China's top legislature. In addition, numerous female leaders are in charge of environmental issues in provincial, municipal and county governments, women scientists and researchers account for one-third of the total number of scientists and researchers in environment-research facilities across China. The women have made outstanding achievements in dealing with pollution and environmental protection. Some female professors and researchers have studied methods of controlling water pollution, protecting the global atmosphere, reducing oceanic pollution, decreasing carbon emissions, controlling noise pollution, and developing biological resources. Moreover, nongovernmental environmental-protection organizations founded or managed by women are springing up like mushrooms.

Of course, some problems remain. On February 13, 2015, the Policy Research Center for 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.

The report, sponsored by China Gender Fund of the United Nations Theme Group on Gender, is intended to raise awareness of gender equality among officials in environmental-protection departments, and to promote women and men's equal participation in environmental protection in rural areas. According to the report, grass-roots 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.

Some women who were polled said work experience in grass-roots environmental protection plays a key role in an individual's capacity building and promotions in the workplace. By rejecting women, restricting women's rights, overprotecting women and presuming that women are a disadvantaged group, one hinders women's career development, including within field of environmental protection. Therefore, more must be done to promote the field of "women and the environment" in China.

(Source: Women of China English Monthly April 2015  Issue)