Seminar on Acidification for Chinese Managers

Good morning. It is a pleasure for me, on behalf of the Ministry of Environment, to welcome you to this session, focusing on the role of authorities.

China is undergoing impressive economic reforms. The country has commited itself to confronting its huge environmental challenges as well as to international co-operation. This makes China an important partner in our global efforts to achieve sustainable development.

This is also why the environmental sector is defined as a priority area for Norwegian co-operation with China. The purpose is to give preference to the poorest provinces within the framework of the ongoing co-operation. A particular emphasis is put on areas where Norway holds special technological know-how. Technical assistance, training, research, institutional co-operation and capacity building may be offered to Chinese institutions.

As part of the Norwegian co-operation with China a Memorandum of Understanding on environmental co-operation was signed between the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) and the Ministry of Environment in 1995. On behalf of the Norwegian Government the assistance is channelled through The Norwegian Agency for Development Co-operation (NORAD). Bilateral agreements at project level in the environmental field have been signed between NORAD and Chinese counterparts.

As you may have experienced there is a counsellor on environmental affairs at the Norwegian Embassy in Beijing who co-ordinates Norwegian assistance. The Norwegian Embassy facilitates communication, being a focal point for Chinese institutions involved in the bilateral development co-operation with Norwegian authorities.

Some of the activities from the co-operation between The Ministry of Environment and SEPA are among other in the field statistics and analysis, plans to mitigate air pollution, energy strategies and training. In addition activities in the areas of bio-diversity, energy, co-operation between NGOs, and capacity building are planned.

In Guizhou province - where also IMPACT is carried out – ecomuseums are established among minorities in co-operation with Norwegian experts. Unfortunately, Mr John Aage Gjestrum who was involved in this project died prematurely early this month. He was an extremely talented and an important inspiration to many people and a great friend of the peolpe of Guizhou. I can promise that a satisfactory solution will be found to the continuation of this exciting project.

The ecomuseum project and IMPACT in Guizhou will be visited by representatives from NORAD and the Minstry of Environment in two weeks, like Guizhou was visited by the Norwegian Minister of Environment two years ago.

Along with the rapid economic growth, industrialisation and urbanisation, China also experiences the deterioration of water and air conditions in many places. As recognised by the SEPA´s report on The State of the Environment this affects the social and economic development.

It is realised that there is a relationship between human health and the water and air situation. This proves how important environment policy is - not only in ecological terms, but also to the well-being of the population. Investments in the environment therefore carry a double dividend and offer win-win situations.

SEPA´s report on the state of the environment along with their efforts in the IMPACT project convince me that the Chinese government is taking these questions seriously through a series of countermeasures and actions.

Acidification has been one of the most important environmental problems in Scandinavia, where acidification of lakes and rivers resulted in disappearance of fish and other biological species. It is now more than 30 years since the first reports were published, linking freshwater acidification in Scandinavia with emissions of sulphur dioxide and other pollutants in the industrialised parts of Europe.

During these past decades, significant national and international research efforts have been undertaken to study the long-range transport of air pollutants and their effects on the environment. Along with the scientific studies, the issue has also been high on the political agenda. This has led to an extensive co-operation between all European countries to reduce their emissions of acidifying pollutants.

The platform for this co-operation has since about 1980 been the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution. Under the Convention several Protocols specifying emission reduction commitments have been agreed. The Protocols have become more sophisticated over the years, always based on the state of scientific knowledge.

Norway is among the countries that experience substantial environmental benefits from the emission reductions that have taken place in Europe during the last 20 years. I see from today’s programme that Harald Dovland will elaborate further on the advantages of co-operation across administrative boundaries in this field.

We have not yet solved the acidification problem in Europe, but significant progress has been achieved. As acidification is becoming an issue also in other parts of the world, we hope the experience from Europe, both scientific and political, can be of use for others. Presently, climate change is of highest priority on the environmental agenda. It is important to realise the connections between local air pollution problems, regional problems like acidification and global problems like climate change. If we try to take all these challenges into account at the same time when developing emission reduction strategies, we will achieve more environmental benefits at lower costs.

I hope you have a useful seminar here in Norway. Knowing that acid rain deposition is a rapidly growing concern in China as in many neighbouring countries, I hope that our fruitful co-operation on these issues can continue. Norway has long been active in efforts to limit acid rain in Europe. This has provided us with a strong interdiciplinary force of researchers and policy-makers.

Ms. Siri Bjerke, the Minister of Environment, asked me to bring you her best regards. We wish you all the best in your efforts to solve environmental problems in your country and in your various provinces and look forward to further co-operation between Norway and China on the various environmental issues.