China's State Environment Protection Department has raised five requirements for non-governmental environmental organizations and says that it will join hands with these organizations on China's environment cause.
Zhou Jian, deputy director of SEPA, says that by bridging the public sector to the government, non-government environmental organizations play an increasingly important role in maintaining the public's environmental interest, raising their awareness of the environment and carrying out environmental supervision and legal aid. Zhou says they have become an important force for China's environmental protection.
The five requirements SEPA has made for non-government environmental organizations include: abiding by laws and regulations, conducting self-discipline and joining in various public welfare activities on legal basis; advocating China's environmental protection spirit of dedication and serving the people in a cooperative manner; representing the public's demand for environmental rights and working hard to win the public's support and recognition; setting a model for the industry on environmental protection; contributing suggestions to the government and communicating and cooperating well with the concerned parties.
Zhou says that SEPA will encourage the general public to participate in environmental protection, open environment information to the public, and control and limit pollution with their cooperation.
All-China Environment Federation's statistics show that there have already been 2768 non-government environmental organizations in China and many of them have provided great support in China's decision making processes regarding environmental issues.
