Beijing's blind eye

July was a grim month for the mainland's already desperately damaged environment. First, pollution from a copper mine in Fujian province killed almost 2,000 tonnes of fish in a local river. Then came the Dalian oil slick. Now, 3,000 barrels of toxic chemicals have spilled into the Songhua River in Jilin province. And these incidents are only the ones that have received widespread coverage. According to a new report by the Ministry of Environmental Protection, there were at least 10 industrial accidents that caused serious pollution every month in the first half of this year, a 50 per cent increase on 2009.

The same report painted a stark picture of the mainland's most essential natural resources. For the first time since 2005, air quality has declined and almost half of the 440 cities the ministry monitors are suffering from acid rain. Meanwhile, the nation's waterways are so contaminated that over a quarter of the country's water is unfit to drink. That may be a low estimate. The Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, a Beijing-based NGO that monitors the mainland's rivers and lakes, believes that more than half the water in China is now undrinkable.

It wasn't meant to be this way. In the run-up to the 2008 Olympics, much was made of how polluting industries were being shut down, while the largely ineffective State Environmental Protection Agency (Sepa) was replaced by the supposedly more powerful environmental protection ministry. Most importantly, in 2007 it was announced that the promotion prospects of local officials would no longer depend just on their success in boosting economic growth in their regions, but also on their efforts to meet Beijing's targets on environmental protection.

What, then, has gone so wrong that pollution is increasing so quickly across the country? Part of the answer lies in last year's vast stimulus package designed to make sure the economy avoided the worst of the global recession. New construction and industrial projects are wreaking havoc with the environment. And urban air quality is getting worse as the number of new cars on the roads - 50,000-plus a month in Beijing alone so far this year - increases inexorably.

But by far the major role in the ongoing decline of the environment is being played by the central government. In fact, Beijing's failure to prevent the damage being done raises two questions that go to the very core of governance issues on the mainland. Namely, does Beijing have both the ability and the desire to rein in local governments and to take the steps needed to enforce the environmental protection laws it has introduced?

Judging by this month's events, the answer is 'no'. It's now quite clear that the Dalian oil spill and the pollution of the Songhua and Tianjiang rivers in Jilin and Fujian respectively were caused by a combination of incompetence and wilful disregard for the law. Subsequent media investigations have revealed a depressingly familiar story of collusion between local officials and the companies involved, as well as an instinctive desire on the part of the authorities to cover up the extent of the damage done.