Download Study on Strategies for Developing the Pearl River Delta Region... Green Economy and Resource-Saving Region

Study on Strategies for Developing the Pearl River Delta Region into a
Green Economy and Resource-Saving Region
YE Ping
Guangzhou Vocational College of Technology & Business ,Guangzhou, China,511442
[email protected]
Abstract: With economic development and population explosion, the conflict between shortage of
existing resources and increasing demand is becoming more and more acute. Under such circumstances,
the traditional extensive economic growth mode at the expense of resources and environment can hardly
support the sustainable economic and social development in the Pearl River Delta Region. Vigorously
promoting the development of a green economy and a resource-saving region has become a strategic
choice for the development of the Pearl River Delta Region.
Key words: Pearl River Delta Region, green economy, resource-saving region, strategies
1
Introduction
Since the implementation of reform and opening-up policy, the industrial clusters have experienced
rapid development in the Pearl River Delta Region through construction of new plants and introduction
of foreign investments based on the unique geographic and human resource advantages, preferential
policies and land resources. But rapid development and exploding population have aggravated the
conflict between the shortage of existing resources and increasing demand. The traditional extensive
economic growth mode at the expense of resources and environment can hardly support the sustainable
economic and social development of this region. Now domestic study on the Pearl River Delta Region
focuses more on tourism planning, development mode, regional economic cooperation and urbanization
while gives little attention to the current status of resource environment and relevant strategies. Given
the enormous pressure in population, resources and environment, how to address the resource constraint
and environmental pressure to ensure sustainable, rapid, coordinated and healthy economic development
in the Pearl River Delta Region, optimize the ecological structure and realize harmonious co-existence
between human and the environment is an important subject that merits our consideration.
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Relationship Between Developing a Green Economy and Building a
Resource-Saving Society
Green economy is a new form of economy. It is market-oriented, based on traditional industrial
economy and aims to achieve harmony between economic development and environmental protection.
Green economy is a development stage of the industrial economy to meet environmental protection and
health needs. Green economy aims to achieve harmony between economic development and
environmental protection. It turns many good-for-environment technologies such as environmental
protection technology and clean manufacturing techniques into productivity and realizes sustainable
economic growth by adopting economic behaviors that benefit the environment or at least are not
harmful to the environment. Building a resource-saving society means increasing resource utilization
efficiency by adopting comprehensive measures including legal measures, economic measures and
administrative measures in various fields such as production, circulation, consumption, etc. so as to
achieve maximum economic and social benefits with minimum resource consumption to ensure
sustainable economic and social development. The purpose of building a resource-saving society is to
pursue less resource consumption, less environmental pollution and greater economic and social benefits
so as to realize sustainable development. Developing green economy is consistent with building a
resource-saving society.
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2.1 Developing Green Economy is a Strategic Choice for Building a Resource-saving City
Human society’s economic growth modes can be classified into three categories depending on the
resource process mode and environmental effect: The first one is the traditional “three high and one
low” economic development mode which features a single-direction linear substance process
"resource-product-pollutant discharge". Such a mode often results in shortage or even depletion of
natural resources and energy and has caused irreversible environmental pollution. The second one is the
“treatment after pollution” process-end treatment mode. Such a mode emphasizes on pollution treatment
at the end of the manufacturing process. It often results in high input, high consumption, high discharge,
lack of harmony, difficulty in recycling, low efficiency and sometimes even causes new source of
pollution and creates vicious cycle. The third one is the circular economy which is also known as green
economic development mode, this is an internationally acknowledged strategic mode that best
represents sustainable development. This mode features a closed substance feedback process, namely
“resource-product-waste-renewable resource” and a “low exploitation, high utilization efficiency, low
emission” recycling mode. The characteristics of this mode is the economic system is harmoniously
integrated into the substance recycling in the natural ecological system, thus economic activities can be
carried out in an ecological manner. From the above analysis, we can see that the traditional industrial
economy that contains the first and second mode is characterized by destruction of the ecological
balance, over-consumption of energy and resources and harm to human health, it is a
consumption-oriented economy. While green economy is a form of economy that aims to safeguard
human’s living environment, reasonably protect resources and energy and is good for human health, it is
a balanced economy. As an economic growth mode that fully represents the value of natural resources
and ecological value, green economy aims to foster a new economic mindset from the manufacturing
field to the consumption field in order to realize full use of resources and recycling of substances.
Developing green economy fully meets the requirements of building a resource-saving society and is
certain to become the strategic choice for building a resource-saving society.
2.2 The Process of Building a Resource-saving Society is a Process of Developing Economy with
“Green Economy” Mindset
The core of a resource-saving society is use-economy, which requires reduced demand for resources
and energy during economic operation, which means during the process of resources utilization (before,
during and after utilization), create equal or even greater amount of wealth with the least possible
amount of resources and energy (or renewable resources) and utilize various kinds of wastes to the
largest extent. This is consistent with the three basic principles of green economy (3R principle), namely
Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. “Reduce” applies to the input end and aims to reduce the flow of substance
and energy into the manufacturing and consumption process. “Reuse” applies to the process and aims to
extend the time intensity of products and services. “Recycle” applies to the output end and requires the
conversion of substance into renewable resources which then return to the start of the process for re-use
after completing their use functions, thus achieving sustained, repeated and recyclable utilization of
resources. The above analysis shows that the process of building a resource-saving society is a process
of developing the economy with the “green economy” mindset.
3
Importance and Urgency of Developing the Pearl River Delta Region into a
Green Economy and a Resource-saving Society
With economic development and the progress of urbanization, destruction and wasting of resources
has become an appalling phenomenon in the Pearl River Delta Region, which, combined with the
traditional extensive economic growth mode, is increasingly constraining further economic development
in the Pearl River Delta Region.
3.1 Lack of Sufficient Land Resources Vital for Survival and Development
The Pearl River Delta Region takes its land resources as capital and seized the opportunity of Hong
Kong’s industrial transfer by raising funds to build for-rent plants and completed the transformation
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from a traditional agricultural economy to a modern industrial economy. The Pearl River Delta Region
only has a land area of 41,700 km2. At present there is only limited land available for development,
which makes land as expensive as gold. In 2005, GDP/km2 in the Pearl River Delta Region reached
RMB 43,310,000 Yuan, which was 3.5 times that of Guangdong Province (RMB 12,480,000 Yuan). In
some cities like Shenzhen, Dongguan, Foshan, etc, almost no land is available for large-scale
development. By 2007, the majority of land in cities and towns were industrial land. Limited availability
of remaining land resources and yet-to-be-improved land administration resulted in very low utilization
efficiency and consequently great waste. This to some extent constrains the further development of the
Pearl River Delta Region whose main source of income is renting of plants.
3.2 Aggravating Environmental Pollution
The Pearl River Delta Region enjoys sufficient rainfall and has densely-distributed river networks,
which ensures rich water resources. The Pearl River Delta Region is one of the districts in China with
rich water resources. Its per capita fresh water resource is 16042m3, 6.9 times that of per capita figure
nationwide and 1.5 times of per capita figure worldwide[1]. But due to lack of far-sighted and
coordinated economic, resources and environmental planning and absence of effective and concentrated
administration of river basins, water bodies in this region are facing severe pollution which threatens the
safety of the water source of the city. The region is highly developed in terms of industrialization, which
results in discharge of large amounts of industrial waste water and domestic sewage. 64% of the
industrial pollutants and 74% of domestic sewage generated in Guangdong Province flow to the Pearl
River Delta Region. At present, over 2 billion tons of sewage is discharged every year, along with 1.8
million tons of solid industrial wastes and 3 million tons of domestic wastes. Township enterprises are
developing rapidly in this region. Of over 7000 town and village-level enterprises rated as “Grade-II
Polluters”, over 6000 are distributed in the Pearl River Delta Region. These enterprises are small and
scattered and generally lack effective sewage treatment facilities, thus a large amount of sewage flows
into rivers. Pollution sources in urban and rural areas have formed an extensive and intertwined
pollution network. More and more cities and towns are facing the shortage of water supply, as a result
water plants in many cities and towns are forced to relocate over and over again, causing great damage
to the region’s environment.
According to incomplete statistics, over 200 bridges have been built over river channels in the Pearl
River Delta Region since 1980s. Along the 368-kilometer coastline in Guangdong Province, 52 ports
with a handling capacity of 145,000,000 tons and 936 berths (including 84 10000-ton-class berths) have
already been built; many ports are being expanded by filling the sea. Many expressways and gas
transmission pipelines have been built. A high-and-new-tech industrial belt that ranks No. 1 in China in
terms of output value has been built. The electronic information products manufacturing industry has
become the No. 1 economic growth point[2]. Large-scale capital construction and industrial development
have substantially altered the land utilization mode in the Pearl River Delta Region and reduced the area
of river channels and river mouths.
In the Pearl River Delta Region, cities are densely distributed with short distances between them. This
results in a concentration of sources of pollution and grave air pollution. According to the report on
environmental condition issued by the People’s Government of Guangdong Province, the concentration
of sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and dust in the Pearl River Delta Region is apparently higher than
that of east, west and north of Guangdong Province. This region accounts for 70% of the total installed
capacity of thermal power and generated power in Guangdong Province, and the emission of
acid-rain-inducing substances such as sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides is huge, as a result, the Pearl
River Delta Region with Guangzhou and Foshan as the core has become a district frequented by acid
rains. The frequency of acid rain in this region reaches an average of 53%, making it one of the world’s
three biggest acid rain areas[3]. In many places, “three kinds of wastes” generated by a large number of
small-sized electroplating factories, paper mills and leather plants are discharged without standardized
treatment, causing pollution to the local soil. A survey conducted by the Ministry of Environmental
Protection of the People’s Republic of China in 2005 showed that of some cities sampled in the Pearl
River Delta Region, almost 40% of the soil in farm lands and vegetable fields exceeded the stipulated
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limit in terms of concentration of heavy metal pollutants, among which 10% were rated as “in serious
excess of stipulated limit”. In addition, there were also other pollutants such as residual pesticides,
nitrate, nitrite and organic matter, etc.
The Pearl River Delta Region is burdened with lack of energy resources, conspicuous conflict
between supply and demand, and inability to ensure long-term supply. Since 2006, this region suffered
repeatedly from lack of sufficient power load and generated electricity. far-below-the-safety-line
inventory of coal and oil products necessary for ensuring normal manufacturing.
3.3 Exploding Migrating Population Aggravates Social Problems
The rapid development of the Pearl River Delta Region and income growth combine to fuel the rapid
increase in migrating population. According to the fifth census data, China now has a floating
population of 120 million including 40 million that migrate between different provinces, among these 40
million people, 11.6 million flow into Guangdong Province, and 90% of these 11.6 million people flow
into villages and towns in the Pearl River Delta Region. On the one hand, they help create material
wealth for the local villages and towns, but on the other hand, they bring greater burden to the
already-vulnerable environment and the already-scarce resources. In terms of the total amount of land
and water resources, many towns have already reached or exceeded their growth limits. Take the
industrially developed Shajing Town in Shenzhen for example, the appropriate environmental capacity
is 220,000 people, but now it has a population of nearly 600,000 among which about 570,000 are
migrating population. The substantial growth of migrating population not only brings greater burden to
the resources and environment of the local villages and towns, but also aggravates public security
condition because these migrating workers come from the countryside, have relatively low quality and
lack a sense of identity. This constitutes a hidden hazard for the urbanized management and sustainable
development.
Reality tells us that the Pearl River Delta Region is now faced with excessive population,
concentration of industry and commerce, lack of resources and huge consumption of resources, which
substantially constrains the sustainable economic and social development and modernization of this
region. Therefore, how to alleviate the conflict between insufficient resources and increasing demand
and how to achieve constant environmental improvement to ensure sustainable development has become
a very urgent task for the development of this region. Only by vigorously developing green economy
and building a resource-saving region can we realize the goal of transforming the Pearl River Delta
Region from an economy that purely pursues economic growth to one that aims at coordinated
development of population, resources, environment and economy. By then, we will stop taking from the
nature irresponsibly but instead protect the nature and constantly improve human’s living environment
and optimize the ecological structure to realize harmonious co-existence between human and the
environment. Only by doing so can we truly embark on a civilized development path that features
coordinated improvement of production, living standards and environment.
4
Study on Strategies for Developing the Pearl River Delta Region into a Green
Economy and Resource-Saving Region
“Vigorously developing the Pearl River Delta Region into a green economy and resource-saving
region” means improving the utilization efficiency of resources and alleviating the conflict between the
increasingly scarce resources and the sustainable high-speed economic growth in the Pearl River Delta
Region by developing green economy. This reflects that the scientific development idea focuses on the
relationship between human and sustainable development of nature and is consistent with the economic
development strategic goal of building a resource-saving national economic system and a
resource-saving society announced in the 16th National Congress of the Communist Party. Developing
green economy and building a resource-saving society is a systematic, long-term project. The Pearl
River Delta Region should proceed from the actual local situation, stick to the scientific development
idea and perform the following tasks:
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4.1 Change Thoughts, Create a Social Atmosphere of Advocating Thrifty and Condemning
Waste
Only by changing our thoughts can we change our behaviors. To build a resource-saving society, we
must integrate the idea of “thrifty” into various fields of manufacturing, circulation, consumption and
social life and create a social atmosphere of advocating thrifty and condemning waste.
4.1.1 Change Social Values, Establish Green Accounting System
To build the Pearl River Delta Region into a resource-saving region, it is imperative that people
change their social values, in other words, people must look at the nature with a “green economy” eye
and appreciate the fact that nature is a usable, valuable yet rare resource and evaluate its value.
Therefore it is necessary to establish an evaluation indices accounting system which is also known as
“green accounting system” to measure how fast and to what extent resources are recycled in the entire
process of economic and social activities. This system should be based on the theory of sustainable
development and resource-saving society and gives a comprehensive reflection of various aspects
including economic development level, development potential, use-economy of resources and
environmental pollution treatment. It should contain “green GDP” or “EDP” (Adjusted Environmentally
Domestic Product) as a core index. “Green GDP” or “EDP” means that when calculating GDP, the
consumption of capital and natural resources must be deducted. Only by doing so can we truly
understand the speed and quality of regional economic development and systematically build a
resource-saving region with “green economy” mindset.
4.1.2 Change Conventional Resource Concept, Develop Green Resource Concept
Given the “dual constraints” of resources shortage and environmental pollution, local governments in
the Pearl River Delta Region should borrow proven experience from abroad and establish its own
policies that suit the local situation, also local governments should vigorously advocate and develop a
resource system with green energy (renewable energy) such as wind energy and solar energy as the core.
For example, local governments can establish “Special Guarantee Fund for Green Energy” and provide
free financial support to key projects and projects with technical difficulty, support the development of
green energy by implementing preferential policies such as preferential loans and VAT, promote the
popularization and application of green energy through market mechanism, and encourage enterprises to
actively replace conventional energy with green energy.
4.1.3
Change Conventional Consumption Concept, Foster Green Consumption Concept
Fostering green consumption concept is a systematic project that relates to various aspects of the
society. As far as governments are concerned, leaders, cadres and all public servants at various levels
should set a good example by practicing thrift and serve as the driving force for building a
resource-saving society. As far as enterprises are concerned, they must implement strict whole-process
quality control on products and services to form a green industrial chain with green consumption as the
goal, green market as the carrier and green passage as logistics network. As far as consumers are
concerned, local governments should promote green food consumption concept and scientific and safe
consumption mode, vigorously advocate reasonable and moderate consumption so as to gradually
establish a resource-saving consumption mode that suits China’s actual situation.
4.2 Governments Should Play a Leading Role in Providing Support for Developing Green
Economy and Building a Resource-Saving Region
Developing green economy requires a good social environment, policy environment and service
environment. During practice, local governments should play the leading role, carry out uniform
planning and implement step by step.
4.2.1 Create a Good Social Atmosphere
Local governments should use all means and the press media to promote the idea of developing green
economy and building a resource-saving society so as to enhance enterprises and the public’s awareness
of the scarcity of resources and importance of practicing thrift and environmental protection, so that
everyone in the society cares about resources and appreciates the importance of developing economy in
an economic, clean, safe and sustainable manner.
4.2.2 Establish and Implement Relevant Policies and Measures
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Local governments should establish and implement relevant policies and measures, constantly
improve policies, establish scientific and reasonable performance appraisal measures for economic and
political achievements, provide enough incentive for governments at the village or town level to
supervise the implementation of resource-saving policies, establish and improve various managerial
systems, set clear goals and effective measures, establish resource saving technical service system, step
up efforts in collecting and releasing information on resource saving condition, and provide good
services to villages, towns, enterprises and other parties to facilitate resource saving.
4.3.3 Transform Functions of Local Governments
Local governments' functions should be transformed from dominating and interfering to guiding,
supervising and participating, governments should actively provide all-round services to promote the
development of green economy and a resource-saving society.
4.3 Change Economic Growth Mode, Establish a Resource-saving Regional Economic System
The key to building the Pearl River Delta Region into a resource-saving region is to change the
economic growth mod. In other words, policies should be based on the consideration of whether they
will help promote sustainable development and enhance the region’s competitive advantages. Focus
should be put on core links such as adjustment and optimization of industrial structure and development
of green economy so as to establish a resource-saving regional economic system. The key to changing
the economic growth mode is to realize two transformations.
4.3.1 Change of Industrial Structure
The industrial structure must change from one that is mainly driven by industry to one jointly driven
by industry and service sector. Efforts should be stepped up in providing guidance on planning and
promoting the industrial restructuring. “Encouraged”, “restricted” and “obsolete” industrial projects
must be clearly identified. The development of resource-saving industrial projects should be promoted;
industries with low technology content, high resources consumption, and grave environmental pollution
must be eliminated. Meanwhile, the development of high-and-new-tech industries must be accelerated,
the service industry should be vigorously developed. advanced and applicable technologies should be
actively adopted to transform the traditional industries.
4.3.2 Transformation of Resources Utilization Mode
Resources utilization mode should transform from the single-direction straight-line process of
“resource-product-waste” to a feedback loop process of “resource-product-waste-renewable resource”
so as to base the economic growth on optimization of economic structure, increase in technology content
and improvement in quality efficiency to gradually realize the economic mode characterized by “low
input, low consumption, low emission, high efficiency”.
4.4 Establish Green Economy Technological Support System That Suits the Local
Characteristics of the Pearl River Delta Region by Relying on Technological Innovation
Technological progress is a key driving force for economic growth, it is also an effective way to
promote resource-saving. From technological point of view, the main problems that need to be tackled
in developing green economy include high energy consumption, high discharge and low use efficiency.
To solve these problems, the resource-saving technologies must be improved in an all-round manner.
Promote the transformation from extensive, low-efficiency technologies to intensive, resource-saving
and high-efficiency technologies through technological innovation. Improve managerial skills and make
full use of the efficiency potential of good management to promote the formation of a resource-saving
economic growth mode. Local governments should proceed from the actual situation of the Pearl River
Delta Region and actively promote the development of resource-saving technologies, establish an
industrial technological innovation system that promotes sustainable utilization of resources and
environmental protection, tackle the resource-saving technological bottleneck and accelerate the
conversion of technological achievements into productivity Organize the implementation of major
resource-saving technology demonstration projects, promote the application of advanced and efficient
energy-saving and water-saving equipment and devices, utilize high and new technologies and advanced
applicable technologies to transform traditional industries, promote the development and upgrading of
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high and new technologies and the tertiary industry.
5
Conclusion
The sustainable and harmonious social and economic development of the Pearl River Delta Region
matters a great deal to the sustainable and harmonious social and economic development of the entire
Guangdong Province. Given such a significant mission and a series of development obstacles to be
surmounted, local governments in the Pearl River Delta Region should step up efforts in environmental
protection while vigorously developing economy. Local governments should vigorously develop the
region into a green economy and a resource-saving society so as to realize a harmonious relationship
between economic development, population growth, environmental protection and resource utilization
and to push ahead the construction of a well-off society.
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