The main aim of the environmental project in Zunyi was to improve the local authorities' ability to enforce the demands that are set to the industry, and thus contribute to limiting emissions and discharges.

"Our cooperation with the environmental authorities in Zunyi has led to great environmental improvements," says Ellen Hambro, Director General of the Norwegian Pollution Control Authority. "We are pleased to be able to share our experience and expertise with environmental authorities in other countries, and are satisfied when our work together leads to improvements in the environment."
 

Polluted Chinese city: Zunyi in the Guizhou province in south-western China is severely affected by industrial pollution. Photo: Erik Forberg, SFT.

Thorough supervision

Aided by SFT, the Chinese environmental authorities in Zunyi have reorganized their supervision system. The new system ensures that a larger part of the resources are targeted at the worst polluters.

The Chinese inspectors have increased their competence in more thorough inspections, and can now more easily identify the causal effect of certain production processes on emissions to air and discharges to water.

Improved routines

The environmental authorities in the Chinese city have, through their cooperation with SFT, improved their routines for quality assurance of the emission and discharge statistics from the industry. A system for quicker collection of data from air supervision stations around the city has also been developed.

Another part of the project has involved the use of cleaner technology in the industry. Several measures that can be carried out without extensive costs have been identified at selected businesses in the city.

The Chinese wished to increase their competence on environmental issues, and an extensive training programme was carried out as part of this project.

Dissemination of experiences

Both the environmental authorities in Zunyi and the provincial authorities in Guizhou are very pleased with the results of the cooperation project. They feel the project has contributed to important environmental improvements, and have started working on disseminating their experiences further throughout the area.

The cooperation project speeded up the installation of a treatment plant at a PVC factory. According to the Chinese authorities, this treatment plant removes around 10,000 tonnes of sulphur dioxide (SO2) emissions per year. This is about the same as the total annual SO2 emissions from the Norwegian industry.

Measures carried out at titanium factory are expected to reduce emissions of hydrochloric acid by up to 190 tonnes annually, in addition to reducing discharge to water.

New national environmental project

The environmental authorities of Zunyi and SFT both wish to continue the cooperation. The Zunyi project is one of five Chinese-Norwegian projects which will form the base for a new national environmental project in China.

The aim of the national project is to disseminate experiences and competence from the various environmental projects to other areas in China. A platform for the exchange of environmental information and ideas between Norway and China will also be established. The project is expected to start in the course of this spring.