In June, Pacific Environment was lucky to host visiting scholar Chen Yongsong, from the Chinese non-profit organization Yunnan Econetwork. Born in the tropical rainforests at the southern tip of China, Yongsong is a seasoned environmental advocate who has worked as a consultant to the Chinese government on a range of environmental issues. For example, he helped develop and ground truth the first government-led sustainable development plan for Yunnan Province, working with communities on a huge range of pilot projects in forestry, agriculture, and environmental management.

Our San Francisco staff and other colleagues gathered to hear Yongsong’s insights into Chinese environmental politics. From a foreign perspective, the space for environmental advocacy in China can be seen as quite narrow, and it was refreshing to learn from Yongsong that the space for doing effective grassroots environmental work in China is much larger than we may think.

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This year I had the opportunity to attend the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues which was held in New York City from May 16th – 27th. In addition, my name was put forward by Chickaloon Village Tribal Council members to the Tribal Link Foundation who sponsored their annual three day Project Access Permanent Forum training. I had the honor of attending both the training as well as the first few days of the Permanent Forum.

The Permanent Forum is one of three UN bodies that are mandated to deal specifically with indigenous peoples’ issues. The others are the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous Peoples.

The Permanent Forum is an advisory body to the Economic and Social Council with a mandate to discuss indigenous issues related to economic and social development, culture, the environment, education, health and human rights.  According to its mandate, the Permanent Forum will:

1)  Provide expert advice and recommendations on indigenous issues to the Council, as well as to programs, funds and agencies of the United Nations, through the Council.

2) Raise awareness and promote the integration and coordination of activities related to indigenous issues within the UN system.

3) Prepare and disseminate information on indigenous issues. (more…)

Nearly 300 years ago, one of the first researchers of the Kamchatka Peninsula, George Stelleronce wrote:

“Kamchatka lives almost solely on fish. If you hit the water with a spear you rarely miss a fish.  Fishing nets or seines are useless in Kamchatka for that reason.  It’s impossible to drag them ashore, they tear because ofthe abundance of fish.”

Many years ago, it seemed that the salmon would last forever.  However, today we know that all natural resources are limited, and Kamchatka’s salmon need protection.  So what is the current state of Kamchatka salmon?  The Kamchatka Branch of the Pacific Institute of Geography has published extensively on the topic. (more…)

Program Director at Wuhu Ecology Center

In China, the paper industry is considered highly polluting and energy intensive. Its COD emissions are ranked first among all industries. Anhui, in Eastern China, has a high concentration of paper companies, and the Wuhu Ecology Center focuses on the pollution problems associated with them. In the process of collecting information regarding papermaking companies in Anhui, Shandong Chenming Paper Group’s repeated violations of environmental regulations came to our attention. Within the paper industry, Chenming Paper Group is one of the biggest publicly traded companies. It has integrated pulp and paper-making production and is quickly becoming one of top 500 companies in China and one of the top 50 in the world. Chenming’s product is sold globally, including to the United States. (more…)

I first met Arina Shurygina at the Keepers of the Salmon festival. It was amazing to see how much love she put into teaching about the salmon life cycle, its constitution, and peculiarities. It seemed that there was nothing more important to her than to teach each student how many fins a salmon has and the locations and names of each fin. Later, I learned that containers set throughout the town to collect plastic caps were another of Arina’s initiatives, but not the only one.

It was interesting to learn how it all began. Arina explains that, “One spring, at the outskirts of town, I realized that I was walking on a carpet of garbage. Snow cover was gone and garbage brought from nearby dumps had begun to surface. It was a very unpleasant feeling, but I wanted to fix it. I began to learn about different approaches to the problem that existed worldwide, and the possibilities available in the region. I discovered that in Kamchatka, and Russia in general, there is no general practice of sorting and recycling of household trash. I started to learn more about the issue and wrote articles to newspapers and journals. They were published but the situation still did not change.” (more…)

Grandpa Hu (not his real name) said “my loyalty always lies with Chairman Mao.” His red pin emblazoned with the golden head of Mao proudly hung on his left chest. It sparkled in the sun, its statement pronounced by the backdrop of his dark blue vest. Grandpa Hu wore a pair of wide-rimmed Polaroid sunglasses, which were unusually fancy for a retired peasant. He seemed healthy and strong. His description of how his family was unaffected by the flood sounded proud and almost cheery. Grandpa Hu said he used to work for the Forestry Department, until they decided they needed someone who was literate to do the job. He was told to retire early. His accent was very thick and I had to wait for my host to transcribe his words to match my speculation of what he may have said. (more…)

Posted by Min Zheng

I am in love with my new job.  On my very first day, as I dived into my role as the new China Program Associate, I worked with our guest from a partner organization in China, Green Camel Bell.  Not only did I learn about the work of Green Camel Bell in China, I also got to learn about the progress on environmental projects in San Francisco.  In addition, on only my third day of work, I was already walking barefoot around the office.  Initially, I was hesitant to move my life from NYC to SF for this job.  Now, I worry about losing the job.  It seems too good to be true.  I get to read news articles that interest me, work on solving environmental problems in China big or small, and travel to China on the 19^th of this month for 28 days.

Today marked my third week working at Pacific Environment as the China Program Associate.  I have been reading up on news, learning about the sub-grant wire process and translating partners’ mid-project reports.  At first, I definitely felt overwhelmed in adjusting to the workload, but I’ve had great help from my supervisor and co-workers in adjusting to the work as well as to San Francisco.  Now, my goal is to understand the work of the grassroots environmental non-profits in China and help them enhance China’s environment.  It would be great if our partners can get the industries to pay for their pollution discharge.  It is hard enough for China to fix its water pollution problems with Chinese industries, now China has to deal with pollution problems caused by international enterprises.

This past weekend we were fortunate to attend the Golden Springs Festival, which celebrates the creative arts of the indigenous peoples of the North, Siberia, and Far East. The festival took place in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.

The festival’s gala concert was held in the recently refurbished drama theater. The performers met their guests at the theater’s entrance, and the sound of traditional drums (known as bubins) and songs set a festive atmosphere. The concert opened with a performance by Mengo, a renowned Koryak national ensemble, which has represented the creative arts of the indigenous peoples of the north on some of the most prestigious stages in Russia and throughout the world. It was lucky to see them perform on their native Kamchatka. Mengo delighted viewers with its performers’ sharp movements, perfect figures, and dramatic dances, as well as the beauty of their faces and costumes. (more…)

My recent trip to Altai was my third since last year and every time I traveled through the Republic, it was a time for reflection and discovery. My former colleagues and friends who have worked or still work in Altai warn me that it is a special and sacred place, and that once visited, it stays in your heart and changes your life. This time I helplessly fell in love with Altai – the serenity and piercing beauty of Lake Teletskoe, fields of flowers in the Karakol valley, lofty mountains of the sacred Uch Enmek, and wide plains and horsemen of Kosh-Agach. Most importantly, I felt at home with the people – their warmth, kindness and spiritual strength. (more…)

Back in July, Igor and I went to visit a partner who conducts anti-poaching patrols in the Nalichego Nature Park, not far from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. We had to take a boat to his home within the park and, after a day-long tour, rode back to the truck to head home. As we turned a corner we saw the following image:

Right there, in the middle of a federal park on waters where any fishing equipment beyond a spinning rod is banned, we caught two men stringing a net across the mouth of a key spawning river.

I realized just how complacent poachers can be on Kamchatka, but it also revealed how a little support in the right places can significantly ameliorate the problem. Our partner in this park will likely catch several similarly complacent poachers this season. And if we can find more committed partners like him to conduct similar work, we can show poachers that their illegal work will not be tolerated by the locals who care the most about healthy salmon populations.