You Nuo

Journey to west: Green edition

By You Nuo (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-08-19 09:04

China's farming tradition goes back more than 5,000 years. The country used to boast a high level of biodiversity - which is still evident in many western regions, Ma says. The Ministry of Agriculture has a list of 15,000 outstanding strains of domestic crops, with only dates accounting for more than 100.

Now that organic food products are becoming part of the middle class's lifestyle in large cities even though they cost more than "normal" products, people in West China have a better chance of selling their agricultural products there. This way they can put local resources to optimal use and make money, without compromising on local biodiversity.

"Isn't it a better way than paying a high cost after a few years of industrialization, as many eastern cities are doing today to repair the damage caused to the environment?

That does not necessarily mean the country has to eschew its market-oriented reform, as some Chinese critics have suggested. "People have learned how to match market mechanisms with government guidance. The only difference is that they have to do it in a new game."

Besides, local communities should be encouraged to compete, not just for speed but for being economical and energy efficient.

"We must see where we stand now. We've already reached a period of rising environmental risks. The old industrial and urban model is posing scary threats, battering us is one environmental disaster after another. It is about time we started looking seriously for a way out - that is, seeking low-carbon development," Ma says. "This is the best possible help we can give to West China."

(China Daily 08/19/2010 page9)