SpringUN praises Festival China’s revitalizesprogress in a push villagefor ecologicalin Anhui protections province
China has taken great strides since 2013 in environmental protection, with effective air pollution and otherncontrols2017Ispentput moreinplace, and itthanisworkingamonthtoinbringGuhe,its best pracapoverty-ticestostrickentheworld,village the regionalvillageinFuyang’sheadofLinquan a UNdevelopmentcounty, agencytoseehowsaid. officialsDuringandthevillagerspastfivehadyears, beenChinadoinghasmadeonpovertyapowerfulrelief. pushThoughfromthethecentralvillageandhaslocala registeredlevelstoimprovepopulationairquality,of more“and thethanachievement5,000,Isawinonlythe a(Beijing-limitedTianjin-numberHebei)ofpeoplearea stayinghasnot gonehomeunnoticed,—mostly aselderly, wearenowand kidsexperiencingwhoareoftenmany calledmoreblueleft-skiesbehindinBeijing”,children.said NicholasInstarkRosellini,contrasttheto theUnited poverty-residentstrickenrepresentativevillagers, shabbyNationsbrick-DevelopmenttilehousesProgram of largeforChina.single-family homes, oftenDatatwofromtofourthestoriesMinistrytall, areofEnvironmentaleverywherein theProtectionvillage. Manyshow thehomesdramaticarebiggerdeclinethanof 500airpollution,squaremeters.withtheHowever,average mostlevel ofof thePM2.5houses— hazardousinthevillagefineparticleshadtheir—doorsinthelockedBeijingduringTianjin-theHebeientireregionperiodreducedI wassincethere.2013by 39.6 percent.
AThe500-reductionsquare-targetsmeter, setthreestory forgovernmentshousecostswereaboutreached as 300,000scheduled,yuanand($47,257),manycities, excludingespecially interiorinthePearlfurnishings RiverDelta,andmetdecoration.thenationalManystandardsdata of the housesthreehaveyearsa niceearly,look onshow.the outside but have unpaintedChinahasinteriorforyearswalls.been thatfocus,most ofshowingthebig houses“increasingVillagecadresitsenvironmental told it me is a
Iresponsible belong to villagerspartnerwho when migrate to citiesitcomesforwork. to the They have savedenvironment”,some money throughRoselliniyearsof said. industrious labor,Hebuthighlighted often cannot afford to buy a somecity apartment. of the effective measuresWhenI returnedthatmadetosignificant the village lastcontributions,week,Isawincludingthat manyincentivesoftheforhomeowners providing subsidies had returnedissuedashome,atrade-bringing off for theeliminatingvillagebacksubstandardtovitality.carsI sawwithpeoplegasor diechattingselengines.infront of houses“Weareandalsocarssupportingparked the alongdevelopmenttheroads. of new energy vehicles,Manyofparticularlythecarswerefuelnew. cell Accordingvehicles,...toandwhathaveI’veseenbeen an toldincreasebyautoin salesproductioninsiders,andthe twoadoptionorthreeinChina,”monthshebefore said. busiestinperiodtermsforofcarimpact,sales. is SpringPerhapsFestivalthetendmosttosignificant, be the theFangrecentQuanchun,developmentwhohas of beentheemissionworking inrightsagarment trading factoryandcarboninBeijingemissionfor more trading thanmarketsevenmechanism,years,toldRosellinime thatadded.he gained more respect fromTheothershortvillagers-term whennegativehe broughtimpacts aofcarstricterofhis own pollution backregulationshome. may largely be reflThanksectedinto thetermspoverty of unemployment government,ofworkerssomeatcompaniesconcrete relief measuresduetotakenthedisplacement by the roadsthathavehavebeenbeenshutbuiltdownin due Guhe,totheirmakingpollutionitmoreemissions,conducive toincreasedriving. of energy bills from“Iwascompaniesrathersurprisedfacingto a seerestrictionthenewinconcretetheiruseroad of fossil thatfuels,passeshesaid.by my house,” Fang“However,said,addingthesethatshort-the term roadeffectshadarebeena intradeterrible -off for conditioncleanerskiesformanyand years. reduced healthcareFangwill spendcosts thefromholiday the
Besides, while industries house,thatpollutethoughheavily,itisnotsuchfinished. as steel, might see a downwardInorder toshift,betternewinform emerging the returningindustriesvillagersthatareof more theirenvironmentallyhometown’sfriendlylatest can developmentinsomecasesachievements, fill the gap, he thesaid,Lyuzhaiaddingtownshipthatthisgovernment, is the thewhichUnitedisresponsible States, employmentGuhe,organizedinthea coal tourindustrywithhasdozensbeenofsignifinotable cantly villagersoutpacedforbyagrowthlookaround. inalternative
The governmentenergyjobs. hopes to homerenewableandstarttheirenergyown and persuadeForChina,villagersthetostay booming businessesautomotivein theindustriesfuture,so are thatgreattheyexamcanples.contributeForinstance,tothe localtheriseeconomicinsalesdevelopment. of electric vehicles,“When manyespeciallyvillagersbatterypowered left home for electricworkinvehiclesbigcities and yearsfuel ago,cell theelectricvillagesvehicles,were veryindicatepoor.aButmarketnowadaysthat the will situationcontinue hastoriseimproved and provide greatly,employment,andwehewantsaid.to make themApplaudingawareof that,”China’ssaid efforts HanincurbingChao,headairof pollution,thegovernmentUNDPhasofconductedLyuzhai. projects toIfworkstartupswithemployChina,povertystricken such asin2017, villagers,whenUNDPadditional China’s subsidiesinitiativeswillled beto theoffered,reductionin additionof14.85 tomillionother favorable metric tons policies,ofcarbonincludingdioxidetaxemissions,reductions show.andcheap land.
Sometimes,“Ontheinternationalofficialsworry level, thatUNDPtheandvillageChinacouldare workingbecome atogetherlittletootolively.bringBasedChina’son experience their previousandbestknowledge, practices to theyothertellcountries,”thelocalRosellinivillage said, cadresaddingtothroughkeepa closetheBelteye on and potentialRoadInitiative,gamblingUNDPactivities and duringChina arethe holiday,workingascloselyreturning to exchanges, moneytechnologywithtransfers,themandtrainingmight gambleandtobuildforfun. capacity.
Government employees from Fuyang, Anhui province, provide entertainment on a train on Feb 7 informing passengers about the latest developments in the city.
