An international paper company has promised to protect the
environment if it is allowed to build a paper mill in the
Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in south China.
To make sure the Finnish-Swedish firm Stora Enso abides by its
commitments, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) will
monitor the company if it gets the go-ahead, said a China
Daily report on Saturday.
The UNDP and Stora Enso signed a memorandum of understanding
about the sustainable development plan this week, securing
cooperation until 2010.
The deal focuses on the conservation of biodiversity in Guangxi
and community projects involving health, water, hygiene, education
and skills development.
This social program will involve up to 100,000 households in the
area where the paper mill is expected to be built. "We would like
to use this opportunity to demonstrate the potential of
environmental and social impact assessments to promote sustainable
development," said Renaud Meyer, UNDP's deputy resident
representative in China.
In China, compulsory assessments about the environmental impact
of a project are needed before they can be implemented.
However, there are still no laws or regulations in China to
force firms to conduct social impact assessments before launching
major projects, said Wang Weili, deputy director-general of the
China International Center for Economic and Technical Exchanges
under the Ministry of Commerce.
Stora Enso, a leading global integrated manufacturer of paper
products, set up a 120,000-hectare plantation in Guangxi, mainly of
eucalyptus trees, in 2002.
(Xinhua News Agency April 1, 2006)