Ny times (US): a plan to Cut Carbon Emissions From Deforestation Daily Nation (Kenya): No compensation for Mau, says Ntimama
AP: China suspends 2 environment bosses for pollution
Download 261 Kb.
|
- Navigate this page:
- AP: China accepts 1st environment lawsuit against govt
- AFP: 1,000 protest over China chemical plant pollution: residents
AP: China suspends 2 environment bosses for pollutionSun Aug 2, 2:13 am ET Authorities in central China suspended two environment officials and detained a chemical plant boss after hundreds of residents protested, claiming the factory polluted a river and caused at least two deaths in the area, an official said Sunday. Nearly a thousand villagers gathered at government and police offices in Zhentou township in Hunan province on Thursday to highlight what they say is deadly pollution being discharged from the Xianghe Chemical Factory in nearby Liuyang city, the official Xinhua News Agency said Saturday. The protesters said chemical waste from the factory pollutes the water that irrigates their rice and vegetable fields, according to a resident of the township surnamed Geng, whom The Associated Press contacted by phone. Geng said the villagers demanded free health checks and medical treatment after two people who died in the area were found to have excessive levels of cadmium, a toxic metal, in their bodies. She said authorities had ordered the plant to cease operations in March. On Saturday, police detained the head of the Xianghe Chemical Factory and the government suspended the chief and deputy chief of the city's environment protection bureau, a Communist Party official said Sunday. The official refused to give his name and said he had no further details. Calls to the factory were answered by an automated response that said the phone number was no longer in use. Xinhua said the plant began operations in 2004 and that government departments were surveying the plant's impact on the environment and public health. China's waterways, especially its major rivers, are dangerously polluted after decades of rapid economic growth and lax enforcement of pollution controls. Back to Menu _________________________________________________________________ AP: China accepts 1st environment lawsuit against govtFri Jul 31, 3:57 am ET A court in southwest China has accepted the country's first lawsuit filed by an environmental group against a local government, a member of the group said Friday. The All-China Environmental Federation, a group backed by the government, filed the suit on behalf of residents against the local land resources bureau in Qingzhen city in Guizhou province, which sold land to a drink and ice cream processing plant they allege is a threat to a scenic lake area. The land resources bureau sold 8,600 square feet (800 square meters) of land to the owner of the plant in 1994, but construction was never finished. The group wants the government to take the land back and remove the construction materials. The acceptance of the suit is a sign of greater public involvement and use of laws to hold the government accountable for environmental problems, experts said. "If this leads to more NGOs (non-governmental organizations) bringing public interest litigation I think this is a very important breakthrough. It means China is going to open the door to more public involvement in environmental enforcement," said Alex Wang, a senior attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council, a U.S. environmental group. Ma Yong, director of the legal service center at the federation, said the group received an acceptance note from the court on Tuesday. The case will open in early September. Although the project had not been finished, Ma said it had to be stopped because its waste water would be a threat to the environment. "The case will serve as a warning for government departments and companies that damage the environment, as we're stepping up efforts to play a supervisory role," he said. Ma said he hopes the case will pave the way for more organizations to file public-interest lawsuits. The group also filed a public lawsuit earlier this month against a company that operates a container port in eastern Jiangsu province's Wuxi city for failing to control pollution. That case was accepted but has yet to go to trial. Back to Menu _________________________________________________________________ AFP: 1,000 protest over China chemical plant pollution: residentsThu Jul 30, 12:04 pm ET More than 1,000 people protested for a second day in central China on Thursday over pollution from a chemical plant that they say has sickened locals and poisoned surrounding farmlands, residents said. Residents of the town of Zhentou in Hunan province demonstrated outside local government headquarters and a police station, demanding greater compensation for pollution from the Xianhe Chemical Plant, protesters said. The protesters also said they came out to reject recent government health checks conducted on locals that officials said showed the situation was not serious, said a resident who gave only his surname, Chen. "More than 1,000 people came out over the past two days. We do not believe the government health check reports. Also, the compensation they are offering is too low and the soil is already polluted," he told AFP by phone. Rapid economic growth in recent decades and routine flouting of rules have taken their toll on China's environment, say activists. China sees tens of thousands of public protests each year, many tied to anger over polluting industries. State-run Xinhua news agency quoted Hunan officials saying the plant had been plagued by environmental problems since opening in 2004. These included releasing large amounts of highly toxic heavy metals such as cadmium into the local environment. The plant was ordered to close in March of this year, it said. Thursday's protesters also demanded the release of six people detained during protests on Wednesday, Chen said. A female official reached by phone at Zhentou government headquarters defended the steps taken by authorities. "We have already done a lot of work on the pollution issue and announced compensation, but some people do not accept it," said the woman, who gave only her surname, Luo. "Instead, they spread rumours and inflate the problem. We do not know what they are up to." A local villager who also gave his surname as Luo told AFP his family of five had received 5,000 yuan (735 dollars) in compensation. "That is too low. We demand that the government move us to a safer location," he said. Back to Menu _________________________________________________________________ Directory: cpi -> briefs briefs -> The environment in the news briefs -> The environment in the news briefs -> The environment in the news briefs -> The environment in the news briefs -> The environment in the news briefs -> The environment in the news briefs -> The environment in the news briefs -> The environment in the news briefs -> The environment in the news Download 261 Kb. Share with your friends:
|