The River Runs Black: The Environmental Challenge To China's Future

by Elizabeth C. Economy

China's spectacular economic growth over the past two decades has dramatically depleted the country’s natural resources and produced skyrocketing rates of pollution. Environmental degradation in China has also contributed to significant public health problems, mass migration, economic loss, and social unrest. In The River Runs Black, Elizabeth C. Economy examines China’s growing environmental crisis and its implications for the country’s future development. Drawing on historical research, case studies, and interviews with officials, scholars, and activists in China, Economy traces the economic and political roots of China’s environmental challenge and the evolution of the leadership's response. She argues that China’s current approach to environmental protection mirrors the one embraced for economic devolving authority to local officials, opening the door to private actors, and inviting participation from the international community, while retaining only weak central control. The result has been a patchwork of environmental protection in which a few wealthy regions with strong leaders and international ties improve their local environments, while most of the country continues to deteriorate, sometimes suffering irrevocable damage. Economy compares China’s response with the experience of other societies and sketches out several possible futures for the country.

Genres: China, Environment, Nonfiction, History, Sustainability, Politics, Science

368 pages, Paperback

First published April 28, 2004

Reviews

[Freddy Rojas · Rating 4 out of 5]

The river runs black by Elizabeth Economy.

Fantastic book about the impact of pollution and depredation of natural resources in China and how it may be feasible to defend environmental rights in a non-democratic country. The books starts with the narrative of what happened in the Huai river. The narrative is quite precise and it is shocking and mesmerizing. I haven’t seen a river runs black because of mineral discharges before; however, once I saw an old spill from the airplane minutes before landing in Concepcion (Chile) and I was quite impressionable for the intense black bouncing off. As I wrote down the review of this book, in my country Peru 6 000 barrels of crude were poured into the ocean affecting large areas of artisanal fishery. It is too early for a complete assessment of the environmental damage. The corollary of the book in those cases is simply: activism, activism and activism! However, as the author recognizes activism may not be enough, few countries have managed to hold an authoritarian government while permitting NGOs to flourish.

Early, the author mentions the combination of three factors for success in the environmental arena. The author refers to positive outcomes when i) the local authorities need to be perceived as the one who supports environmental goals; ii) strong support from foreign institutions committed to save the environment; and iii) domestic resource are sizable that could allow local authorities to increase the effort to safeguard environment. The author has an interesting section of dogmas and their relation with the environment (confucianism, taoism, Neo-confucianism, Legalism and Buddhism). For instance, the Taoist credo zealously recites “Let nature take its course, relax and enjoy the life; on the other hand, the confucianism attempts to show some environment spirit or awareness; but it is still blurry. Instead, legalism warns about scarcity of natural resources and demands some actions or rules. In the section of “A Legacy if Exploitation”, the author pinpointed that Han dynasty illustrates the case of how the intended welfare correlates with the environmental degradation; specifically, the author pointed out that settlers -under Tang, Song, and Yuan dynasties- were the culprits for deforestation and soil erosion. It was clear the need of claiming territories and land for agriculture, thus the permission of cutting off trees and damaging ecosystems were granted remorselessly.

The book is clear in identifying the main culprits of the damaging landscape in a context of rapid industrialization among cities; the rise of town and villages enterprises (TVE) in comparison to the SOEs increased local water pollution. The author state out that TVEs discharged more than half of all industrialized wastewater in China. It is completely understandable that China put first its idea of development and second the environment as you collect similar lines through the book.

In the middle of the book, being specific in the section of “new politics of the environment” my initial inquiry of how extent the activism can be possible in countries like China was answered. The Chinese have a harsh censoring policy fanning out extensively. The author said that the Chinese has generally welcome the efforts of organizations such NGOs; and that is not a weakness for China. NGOs fill a need for international praise that allow Chinese businesses to flourish in the international emerging markets. Actually, during the Clinton administration, the Chinese government sponsored a roundtables for US officials with environmental NGO leaders (page 133). However, Chinese leaders still see NGOs as an influx of discontent and a gathering of intellectual efforts to criticize the regime. An example of the foregoing is the Qijong movement Falun Dafa. However, the discussion in the book delivers the idea a fruitful fate or proliferation for NGOs. The operativeness of those organizations in controversial areas means an inexpensive mechanism for monitoring local pollution efforts as it represents educational spillovers on environmental protection. More important, the presence of NGOs are the perfect political cover for an authoritarian government; China does show off tolerance to independent societal organizations.

The author emphasizes in the activism as paramount by mentioning three pioneering environmental activists: Tang Xiyang, He Bochuan and Dai Qing. Tang was emphatic regarding the biggest environmental problem in China; she replied to an inquisitive question about the efforts in favor of the environment: “Democracy. If you do not have democracy, you cannot have real environmental protection”. Dai’s book “Yangtze! Yangtze!” was acclaimed in the Western Hemisphere for an articulate and scientific arguments opposing construction of the Three Gorges dam. The book criticism cost Dai ten months in the Qincheng prison; since then Dai is not permitted to publish.

The author finishes with a vision of what comes for China in the near future. There are three possibilities: i) China definitely goes green and it allows for a friendly economic transition with a sustainable management of resources; ii) the inertia sets in wherewith the environmental issue among provinces is definitely a drag; and iii) there is an environmental meltdown where the status quo intensifies; that is, the local officials continue to favor economic development at the expense of the environment. This is the year 2022 and we definitely see that China did not go green. Fantastic book, I liked too much the information of the dogmas in ancient China and how they faced the threat against the environmental degradation.

[Juha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a well researched, excellent book. Elizabeth Economy has followed environmental politics in China for a long time -- and is able to do so in Chinese -- so she knows her subject intimately (and many of the key actors in the country personally). For this reason, the book provides huge amounts of detailed information, which is valuable but also makes it a somewhat tedious read in places. The other drawback in the book is that, since it was published in 2004, many things have happened in the rapidly changing Chinese context. Still, the key messages contained in the book are as valid today as they were six years ago. Obviously, the facts about the historical background to exploitation of natural resources in China, the massive and destructive campaigns during Mao's rule, and the vast environmental costs of the explosive economic growth since then have not changed.

The book is quite policy-relevant and forward looking. Some of the interesting parts deal with lessons for China from the Soviet Union and its former satellites, as well as from other countries in southeast and east Asia (Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Indonesia, Thailand...) regarding how these have dealt with political and economic change, and how environmental politics have played out in those contexts. Throughout the book, Elizabeth Economy pays particular attention to the role of NGOs and political participation. She ends the book with three possible scenarios for China's future: (1) China goes green; (2) inertia sets in; and (3) environmental meltdown. The events of the past six years tend to support most the second scenario: extended status quo, in which priority is placed on economic growth and maintaining social stability, while environmental degradation continues. There are, however, cases that could support either the first or the second scenario as well. There are positive signs, especially at the central level where the government and CCP seem to have realized the importance of environment for continued prosperity. Similarly, great strides have been made in some cities, notably in Beijing in connection with the Beijing Olympics. On the other hand, in the interior especially environmental issues -- water quality and quantity, erosion and land degradation, deforestation and pollution -- are rampant resulting in increasing social, economic and political pressures. Time will tell which way China will turn. And this will have major implications for the world as a whole.

[FiveBooks]

Isabel Hilton, editor of the website China Dialogue has chosen to discuss The River Runs Black by Elizabeth Economy on FiveBooks as one of the top five on her subject -China’s Environmental Crisis, saying that:

“…This is one of the earliest and best books documenting the impact of China’s industrial development on the environment... It is dramatic. I remember many years ago having to walk across a wooden bridge at Lo Wu to leave China, and all around were paddy fields and farms. And now if you go anywhere in that part of the world, apart from the fact that there are now very large cities, it is all covered with smog. And the rivers do run black. They do smell. It’s an environmental disaster.

Hong Kong, which used to be pretty clear, is now affected by the smog from Guangzhou. People just get used to it. But if I think back to how it was when I first saw it, it’s really quite extraordinary…”

The full interview is available here: http://fivebooks.com/interviews/isabe...

[RYD · Rating 2 out of 5]

Out of more than 1.2 billion people in China, the author couldn't tell a compelling story about anyone and how he or she was affected by the country's environmental problems. This book was informative, but never goes beyond citing other scholars, environmental statistics and (one of her favorite words) NGOs. I was surprised at my lack of interest in this book, especially considering it was really touted when it first came out.

[Larry Bassett · Rating 2 out of 5]

I pulled this 2005 book off my bookshelf and decided I had better take a look at it before it was out of date. Books about China tend to be out of date within five years. Well, I was just a bit late. The second edition of this book was published in 2010, claiming to be up to date on China's environmental issues.

Be forewarned: this is a Council on Foreign Relations book so may be wonky and not get into the day to day environmental issues as experienced by your everyday Fu Ping. I am plunging in thinking that I may not get through this. The recent Olympics in Beijing put the Chinese environmental problems on the map for many Americans. And the recent failure to reach any significant international goals or plan of action shows that we have far to go. Hopefully, when this book comes out in its Third Edition in 2015, it will find China and the U.S. willingly working to heal some of the environmental damage that has already been done by both the developing and developed nations.
__________________________________________________________________________
http://www.foreignaffairs.com/article...
The River Runs Black reviewed by Lucian W. Pye in October 2004 Foreign Affairs

Anyone who has visited China recently knows how serious air pollution is in its major cities, but few people realize that children in these cities inhale the equivalent of two packs of cigarettes a day just by breathing. Economy has packed this book with an awesome number of such horrifying facts, covering every dimension of China's environmental crisis-the effects of which go well beyond China itself. With its surging economy, China has depleted its own natural resources and is now draining resources from other states as well. Its insatiable demand for wood, for example, has already deforested much of the country-leading to erosion and flooding-and is now threatening the tropical forests of Southeast Asia as well. By 2020, according to predictions, 25 percent of China's arable land will be gone, water needs will be up by 40 percent, waste water will increase by almost 300 percent, and sulfur dioxide emissions will be up 150 percent. As Economy documents, Chinese officials are aware of the problem but have responded inadequately-in large part because the demands of continuing economic growth supersede environmental considerations. The only hope, as Economy sees it, is that China's desire to be seen as a modern member of the international community will lead to better environmental protection. And she makes a solid case that the rest of the world, in particular the United States, has a strong interest in encouraging such progress.

NOTE: If you want to read The River Runs Black, I urge you to seek out the Second Edition from 2010. You should also get on your computer and get to know a little bit about the Council on Foreign Relations, a very powerful U.S. think tank since 1921.

The author’s belief that will face you from the beginning of this book to the end is: While economic development and the environment are not mortal enemies, they are not an ideal pairing. It will take some work by NGOs to bring them successfully together.

When I was growing up in the 1950s in Michigan, fall meant the smell of burning leaves. When I was living on Long Island in the 1980s, you could go outside in the fall and smell the smoke from wood stoves. The world has changed and today we know that we cannot continue to add more and more pollution to our environment.

The river that runs black from pollution is the Huai River in eastern China in 1974. With global warming, there is a focus on air pollution worldwide. With our knowledge of the deforestation in the Amazon, we focus on clear cutting timber. With oil spills from tankers and ocean bottom wells, we know that we cannot take our water for granted.
The book starts out by recognizing flooding, desertification, water scarcity and dwindling forest resources and how those issues relate to each other. We see that economic development always comes first, trailed at a far distance by environmental concerns.

In The River Runs Black, Elizabeth Economy states: “China’s history suggests a long, deeply entrenched tradition of exploiting the environment for man’s needs, with relatively little sense of the limits of nature’s or man’s capacity to replenish the earth’s resources.” China is singled out because the book is about the Chinese experience, but clearly you could substitute the name of any country in the world. We are making a mess of it.

Did I mention that development is far more important than the environment? OK, I get it! Factories produce jobs and pollution. In 2001 sixteen Chinese cities were among the 20 world cities with the most polluted air. 70% of the dust and smoke in the air in China is from coal burning factories and coal burning household stoves. Population growth is a factor of pollution just as significant as economic growth. The parts of the book that laid out specific environmental issues with examples were the most interesting parts of the book for me. Like, how did the river run black? This was mostly in the first third of the book.

You may smile when you read that Economy identifies the 1972 U.N. international conference on the environment as one of the top three events that sparked Chinese environmental concern. Well, of course, she is an NGO fan. Twenty years later some participants at another U.N. conference saw China as “an inflexible obstructionist.” In 1972 the Chinese position was in opposition “to certain major powers practicing control and plunder under the name of the human environment, and the shifting by those powers of the cost of environment protection onto the shoulders of the developing countries…” At a recent international conference on global warming China continues to take the position that the developed nations (e.g. the U.S.) got us into this problem and it should not be the solved by hindering developing nations like China. (Of course, China has signed the Kyoto Protocol and the U.S. has not.) Economy tiptoes around many difficult and controversial events and issues that stand between the U.S. and China. One must be diplomatic!

Economy is a booster of non-governmental organizations (NGOs). And she even refers to GONGOs (Government Organized NGOs) without even the hint of a smile. Is the Council on Foreign Relations a NOGNO, an arm of the U.S. government? We are into serious alphabet soup here: CCICED, UNCED, MOFTEC. The “E” is usually for environment and the “D” for development.
The complications of moving from local issues (polluting factories) to national/regional issues (water conservation, dams) to international issues (ozone depletion, climate change) do run into politics at every level. One sees examples of the Chinese Communist Party [boo, hiss] tolerating activist NGOs when they do have allied interests; it is the balancing act that we see in politics everywhere. Is cooperation between the U.S. and China limited due to strained international relations? Of course.

While multinational businesses are working with Chinese companies and government on the controversial Three Gorges Dam project and the West-East gas pipeline, we are still sparing over the issues of Tibet and the westward expansion of China into resource rich but minority dominated regions. The opening of the west in China is not unlike what happened in the U.S. in the 19th century. The western provinces of China include 56% of the land and 23% of the population.

Having covered the recent history of environmentalism in China, Economy briefly summarizes the experiences of environmental activism in Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union and Asia Pacific. I found this compare and contrast section interesting and readable. So much of the middle part of the book is the alphabet soup and political nuances and tiptoeing; I found it hard to swallow. Part of the problem with the book is its balance of broad coverage with in depth analysis. I am not sure who the target audience was. I am not the environmental geek trying to follow the labyrinthine pathways. I am just the guy interested in learning how environmental issues play out in China. Not so good? Tell me more but spare me the hints of political complexities. Can we save the Earth?

The conclusion of the book suggests that there are three future scenarios, three paths that the Chinese could take into their environmental future: China goes green; inertia sets in – status quo; and an environmental meltdown. The last course sees a downturn of the economy in which development trumps the environment. What path would Economy choose for China? Well, duh. So how could the U.S. do that without being the vile capitalist pigs? Economy gives us two pages (yes, two whole pages) on the role of the U.S.! But maybe this is really a self help book for attendees of international conferences; the book ends with 50 pages of footnotes followed by 10 pages of index.

But the most suggestive section of The River Runs Black is the last 15 pages. They are all blank so you can write your own ending!

[Nina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book, foundational literature for understanding China's environmental crisis. Somewhat outdated.

[Jason Ang · Rating 1 out of 5]

Informative book but can be dry and dense at times. Explains and highlights issues in China’s environmental development and future well

[Calvin Cheung · Rating 4 out of 5]

The River Runs Black – The Environmental Challenge to China’s Future

By Elizabeth Economy

Synopsis:

‘The River Runs Black’ begins with the 2001 Huai River Valley disaster, an exemplary case of China’s water pollution crisis, involving the unbridled release of chemical waste directly into surface waters, poisoning the river system and killing thousands of fish.

Sadly, water pollution was only one of countless catastrophes. In a succinct overview, the book covers a variety of interesting topics, including:

·         An examination of various environmental issues that plague the country, including flooding, desertification, water scarcity, forest degradation, and population growth

·         China’s first environmental activists and their influence in pioneering NIMBYism throughout the rural population

·         A history of the development of China’s environmental governance framework

·         The increasing role of NGOs as environmental champions, generating media coverage and public awareness of environmental issues

·         The involvement of international institutions that facilitated environmental protection

·         A projection of China’s future under three scenarios and a discussion on the ramifications of each

What I liked:

I Ioved the chapter on the Huai River disaster and the governmental drama that ensued.

What I Disliked:

The amount of information was very ambitious and the brevity of discussion in certain areas made it feel rushed and/or squeezed into the book. Also, the writing can be somewhat dry and doesn’t read like narrative nonfiction.

Recommendation:

I would recommend this book to anyone looking to gain an appreciation of the breadth of environmental issues in China, and the difficulties experienced by those who strived to  change the status quo. This book would be most enjoyable for readers interested in environmental policy. My only caution would be to keep in mind it is over 10 years old and would be better treated as a study in environmental history.

[Mei · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good insight on how environmental agencies work in China.

Interesting bits of info that surprised me include:

The Good:
Before initiating work on a pipeline in China, Shell "went beyond the demands of the Chinese government" and "insisted once the pipeline was operational , part of the revenues would be devoted to community developments needs such as poverty alleviation and education. (216-217)

Shanghai is "a center for the most advanced environmental thinking and cleaner production, prompting a booming industry in environmental technologies." (264)

The Bad: Morgan Stanley was one of the major financial backers of the Three Gorges Dam.

The Ugly:
"Wealthier Chinese follow in the footsteps of Americans, desiring gas-guzzling luxury cars and sport utility vehicles." (267).
Sigh. I wish the US could set a better example in the green area. How much proactive change in environmental protection can we expect of developing countries when the most developed country falls far behind its potential to change.

[Cambridge Programme for Sustainability Leadership · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of Cambridge Sustainability's Top 50 Books for Sustainability, as voted for by our alumni network of over 3,000 senior leaders from around the world. To find out more, click here.

The River Runs Black, as the title suggests, paints a fairly bleak picture of China's state of the environment. The book quotes 2002 figures, in which China had six of the world's ten most polluted cities, more than 300,000 people dying annually from air-pollution-related ailments, more than 75% of China's rivers being so polluted that the water is undrinkable and cannot support fish, and desert covering 25% of the country as a result of continued deforestation and grassland degradation.

[Ross Perlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fine overview of China’s current environment challenge, Economy’s book devotes attention to China’s own NGO sector and regulatory bodies, international involvement, possible analogues (e.g. former Soviet bloc, other Asian countries), and, finally, possible scenarios for China’s environmental future. She makes a strong case for the fairly uncontroversial position that China’s environmental awareness began with UNCHE in 1972 and that the CCP has relied too much on NGOs, international assistance, and well-crafted rules and not done enough in terms of enforcement, market-based solutions, and political liberalization.

[George · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writing tends to have an investigative tone and is not as statistical and technical as I would like it to be. It is still extremely fascinating and well-researched. Whether or not it is completely up-to-date, the book provides useful information that is still relevant to China's manufacturing industries and economy, and the role that these play in the the world today. So far, the turning of every page becomes more and more heartbreaking.

[Ariel Kay · Rating 2 out of 5]

THis is a good book about enviromentalism and environmental history in china, but extremely dry. Like that text book that you have to be assigned to read from in order to finish... aka... i wasn't assigned anything, so i think i stopped with 50 pages left. Its good, but i just couldn't get the urge to finish it...

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Works for the audience it is aimed at (policy community; general non-specialist audience) but it doesn't tell the whole story and leaves you with questions about data collection

(I probably would have had a more glowing review if I had read this before academia brought me over into the dark side)

[Moming]

a good book about China. focused not only on environment but also on economic and social issues. it could be better if the author can trim those unrelated information from the book. Trying to put everything in one book is annoying to me, at least.

[Jen]

I listened to this author on NPR and was captivated by the stories and terrible environmental state of affairs in China. The author seemed very balanced-concerned with human rights and finding real-life solutions to the problem...I'll let you know more once I read it :-)

[Britt · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent way to begin thinking about and understanding China's environmental crisis.