With unprecedented support from high-level government officials, entrepreneurs and experts, the All China Environment Federation was officially inaugurated last Friday, this year's Earth Day.

The federation is vowing to enhance environmental protection in all social sectors to implement sustainable development strategies, achieve the nation's environmental and development goals and to safeguard environmental rights and public interest.

Vice-Premier Zeng Peiyan attended Friday's launch ceremony in Beijing, and was invited to give a speech. Zeng said he hoped the federation could become an adviser and offer assistance to the government and act as a link between the government and the general public.

Although it is a non-governmental organization (NGO), the federation has a noticeable number of concurrent or former senior government officials as vice-chairpersons or council members.

Minister of the State Environmental Protection Administration Xie Zhenhua said at the ceremony that since the first Earth Day was held in the United States on April 22, 1970, NGOs and the general public have been playing a major role in environmental protection.

Xie is one of the vice-chairpersons of the federation.

One of the first actions of the federation is to publicize a questionnaire on the media, soliciting public opinion on the 11th national Five-Year Plan (2006-10) for environmental protection.

The plan is being drafted by the State Environmental Protection Administration.

The results of the survey, due by May 20, will be submitted to the administration and other relevant government bodies for their reference.

The Ministry of Finance has allocated 1.29 million yuan (US$155,000) to the federation for its future efforts in protecting environmental rights and interests, sources with the federation said.

It is the first time that the central government has given financial support to a project by an non-governmental organization (NGO).

Statistics from the State Environmental Protection Administration show the number of complaints about environmental problems have risen by 30 per cent annually over the past three years.

A report by the Chinese Academy of Sciences indicates that 75 per cent of the chronic diseases in China are linked to pollution resulting from production and daily human activities.

The federation will set up a centre for protecting environmental rights, which will focus on helping victims of environmental damage sue those responsible and attain compensation.

Denis Hayes, a US environmentalist and co-initiator of Earth Day, told China Daily that the number of NGOs in China has been increasing, while agencies have become more professional in the past few years.

Hayes is now president of the Seattle-based Bullitt Foundation. Invited by NGO Global Village of Beijing, he held a discussion on climate change with Chinese experts in Beijing last Tuesday.

The first Earth Day was on April 22, 1970 in the United States with 20 million people participating. It was turned into an internationally celebrated event on April 22, 1990 when more than 200 million people in more than 140 countries participated in celebrations.

Hayes said Chinese NGOs, which used to be fuelled by enthusiasm but without much professional strength, are now turning to researchers and professionals, who have helped them become more persuasive advocates.

"NGOs are making a profoundly important contribution to Chinese society," he said.

According to Deng Guosheng, vice-director of the NGO research centre of Tsinghua University's School of Public Policy and Management, there are around 2,000 environmental NGOs in China now. Most of them came into being in the last decade.

While domestic NGOs are flowering, international organizations also have their presence in China and try to give a hand.

The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) released last Wednesday the results of a survey on Chinese companies' environmental awareness. It indicates that a number of Chinese companies are more environmentally aware than they are often portrayed.

"There is a need to let the world know that leading roles exist among Chinese companies in a time where so much attention is given to the laggards," said Peng Lei with the WWF Trade and Investment Programme.

The organization chose 182 Chinese large companies to answer questionnaires during August and December of last year. Among them are such industry giants as China National Petroleum Corporation, Haier, Lenovo, China Telecom and China Mobile.

According to the survey, 54 per cent of questioned companies consider environmental protection one of their core values, while all of them believe environmental protection is of great importance.

And 22 per cent are implementing tougher environmental standards than those that are legally required, with 13 per cent calling for even stricter mandatory rules.

"If we support these leaders, China could emerge as a strong country that can provide solutions not only for China's, but also the world's environmental problems," Peng added.

On the way to the world's largest economy, China has massive potential to become a leading world exporter and investor in sustainable goods, said Peng's colleague Dennis Pamlin.

WWF suggests that the Chinese Government support those leading environmentally-friendly companies and has called on foreign governments and companies to lend a hand to the development of sustainable businesses in China.

The attitude of the Chinese companies toward an organization such as WWF has also surprised Peng and Pamlin.

Of the surveyed companies, 61, or 33 per cent, sent answers back. This percentage is even higher than the average in Europe and the United States, which generally is between 20 and 30 per cent, when similar surveys are done, he said.

At the First China Forum on the Environment and Development, held by the All China Environment Federation last Friday immediately after the inauguration ceremony, Vice-General Manager of China Mobile Lu Xiangdong said the company takes part in environmental protection through its short message business. It calls its 200 million customers to mutually shoulder such social responsibility.

(China Daily April 26, 2005)