Expert’s opinion on Alxa SEE Ecological Association

http://www.sina.com.cn 2005/06/29 18:51

　　Gong Jiadong: The researcher from research institute of cold and drought area environment, China Academy of Sciences

　　●Alxa is not only the Alxa of its people, but also the Alxa of China, or even the world.

　　●We often meet with such a saying in official reports that only part of our ecological environment is reversed, but the whole goes bad. Why? Total input by the government is not small, but why improvement is still unsustainable and only restricted within some places subject to ecological projects where environment may deteriorate even more rapidly once the projects end. And the degradation of some regional ecological environments is visible, including Alxa. I saw obvious environmental degradation during my visits to Alxa over the past three years. It is a problem not only for Alxa, but also for the whole China as well.. It may not be quite likely that ecological environment behaves differently in different places. Through Alxa, with an area of 270,000 km2, we want to discover where the question of our ecological environment in China lies.

　　●The ecological administration of Alxa should be with a limited goal. Sandstorms have already existed for more than 2 million years, and our aim is to prevent human activities from accelerating ecological degradation. We can only control 60000-70000 km2 effectively. The desert itself is a kind of balanced one.

　　●We should shift the development strategy. There was a saying in the past that human being is the master of nature, but in fact human can not defeat the nature. We have to abandon the idea, and we should retreat the desert by withdrawing people first, and improve herdsmen’s traditional production and life styles.

　　●Treat deserts kind, without destroying them, without exploiting them in the way we used to do.

　　●The association should have a high-level Expert Panel made up of experts from various specialties other than a certain specialty, even containing coordination with the government. High-level Expert Panel will hold a regular meeting once a year. As for some concrete projects, experts of this level needn't be involved, for example the input of that project and implement of this one. For the concrete matters, we can invite some special experts.

　　Cao Jinqing: Professor of Sociology Department of East China University of Science and Technology

　　●The public demand is urgent now, but has not been solved. So, if this cause succeeds with all problems solved, the Chinese Nation will be hopeful. That is to say Chinese will be able to solve different public supplies through dialogues and modern organization.

　　Shi Peijun: Vice-president of Beijing Normal University, expert of desert control

　　●It is of strategic significance to organize this association for not only ecological improvement in the more than 200000 km2 Alxa area, but also calling on all entrepreneurs in China to make contributions to Chinese socialization. This is of extremely importance, so, better done than said.

　　●It creates some new modes for national coordinated development and Alxa local improvement . If this association can promote a new development model, it will have great global significance. Putting the other way round, if achievements can be made in such a local place, then more will be obtained throughout the whole country.

　　●This very rare fund must be spent on the crucial point, but I don’t think the goal is very clear now.

　　●Let this association urge the government to play a leading role in ecological issues, and help it attach high importance to the present problems on ecological environment. A main force for ecological restore and reconstruction remains with the government, which should not only act as an economic government, but a social one. In this, the association should boldly call upon our governments at all levels to bear responsibility toward ecological environment, and urge our enterprises, especially those with remarkable strength, to bear their social responsibility.

　　Zhang Zhiyun: deputy director of the key laboratory of plant research institute of China Academy of Sciences

　　●How local inhabitants shake off poverty and set out on the road to prosperity? Alxa should on one hand enhance local people’s consciousness on ecological resource protection through education and training provided local government as well as our association, and one the other hand strengthen the popularization of scientific and technological knowledge, which should be an obligatory duty of Expert Panel.

　　Zhou Guansheng: Researcher of Institute of plant, China Academy of Sciences

　　●We must have a sober head, and it can not be overheated, or else, we will lose our confidence, because most propaganda in the society now is overabundance which will result in failure finally.

　　Wang Yuhui: Post-doctor of innovative seminar of "global change and land ecosystem" of research institute of plant of China Academy of Sciences

　　●SEE serves as another association dealing with ecological environment problems, but is quite different from the government and scientists who purely research ecology. Established by entrepreneurs, SEE should be dedicated to a better coordination between ecological environment and economic development with all its strengths and endowments.

　　Yang Peng: Researcher of policy research center of State General Bureau of Environmental Protection

　　● A lot of entrepreneurs begin to do charitable deeds individually, but not in a group. If 100 entrepreneurs make a declaration, emphasizing their historical tasks to solve employment and tax revenue and bring technological progress and economic prosperity, as well as their essential responsibility toward the society and ecology, people will have a brand-new understanding on the entrepreneurs. Distrust on the entrepreneurs is a deep-rooted cause of discrimination in Chinese society, and all entrepreneurs must be mobilized to change this concept.

　　● Carnegie of U.S.A built more than 6,000 libraries, because when he was a poor child he benefited from the public library. American Rockefeller set up a foundation for environmental protection and culture. Bill Gates is the greatest philanthropist in the world now. The reason why in the west there is a cultural atmosphere where entrepreneurs are most admirable has something to do with entrepreneurs’ own words and deeds.

　　● So long as the entrepreneurs take actions, everybody will guess the motive behind to make profits, and this image has never been changed. The public distrusts entrepreneurs, so do entrepreneurs themselves. For the case of Alxa, other entrepreneur groups are trying hard to figure out what on earth we are doing and what our true purpose is. It really needs such a matter to change the situation of distrusting.

　　● Our responsibility is not only the 100,000 Yuan each entrepreneur should contribute, what’s really burdensome is the trust. Sacred thing can't afford any abuse.

　　● In Chinese traditional culture, businessmen suffer from poor social image. It is said that all businessmen are fraudulent, or even that capitalists discharge dirty blood and pus from top to toe. Such a situation makes entrepreneurs face great mental depression during their growing up. For example, media’s response to the BMW's collision was not to ponder over what in hell is going on from legal perspective, but to lash out at entrepreneurs’ evil image. Recently entrepreneurs meet with mishaps frequently, but get no sympathy from the public, for it seems that they rightly deserve punishment. As to such phenomena, an immediate problem reflects the unhappy feeling toward entrepreneurs brought by their bad personal habits and customs, such as eating, drinking, visiting prostitutes and gambling, as well as showing wealth. A deeper problem, however, shows that although Chinese entrepreneurs behave very well individually, they are quite incompetent, as a group without culture, belief, spirit and the ability to lead the society, to protect themselves or win any sincere public respect and trust.