Measuring Up

Measuring Up As the public has become increas- ingly concerned about China’s numerous and well-documented environmental problems， such as declining air and water quality due to decades of pollution， environmental issues have become one of the central leadership’s policy priorities.

In addition to the outcry over deteriorating air quality across the country， a recently released report shows that the country’s air， water and soil are plagued by environmental threats. The 2014 Report on the State of the Environment in China， released on June 4， 2015， says air quality in less than 10 percent of 161 cities included in the national air quality monitoring system met national standards， which are much more lenient than those of the World Health Organization （WHO）. At the same time， 29.8 percent of Chinese cities suffered from acid rain， and water quality readings from 61.5 percent of 4，896 underwater monitoring stations was deemed “polluted” or “seriously polluted.” In addition， 31.1 percent of China’s land is suffering from soil erosion. For many years it has been argued that a major factor underlying China’s severe environmental problems is the existing appraisal system for government officials， which overwhelmingly favors meeting economic growth targets when evaluating their performances. That’s why the government recently moved to reform the appraisal system and proposed including a new “green index” in their calculations. Audit On July 1， the Central Leading Group for Comprehensively Deepening Reforms， a newly established agency headed by Chinese President Xi Jinping， released a regulation on how to make Party cadres and government officials accountable if they “damage the ecological environment，”along with a tentative plan to conduct a“natural resources audit” on officials leaving their posts， regardless of whether they are retiring， being promoted or being removed. It is argued that including what many dub a “green index” or “environmental GDP” into the appraisal system would revamp local officials’ priorities and compel them to change their current policies and practices in order to become more environmentally friendly. The idea was first touched on during the Party’s Third Plenum held in the fall of 2013， when China’s leadership visualized a greener China and vowed to establish an“ecological civilization.” In the keynote reform plan launched at that time， the Party pledged that it would establish a nationwide “natural assets balance sheet.” Many envision this “balance sheet” to compare simple index numbers that measure different environmental factors， similar to how an index of economic growth is calculated using variables such as trade bal- ance and employment rate. Such an index would be used to evaluate the performance of local officials as a part of a grander plan to protect the environment. In past years similar programs have been launched in more than 10 provinces， but it appears that efforts to quantify the environmental quality of a region have encountered some serious technical problems. Difficulties A report released by the audit office of the eastern coastal province of Shandong revealed daunting challenges in pushing forward an environmental audit of the province’s marine resources. “Not only does it take at least three to five years to detect any major changes in coastal sea water quality resulting from industrial pollution， it is also very difficult to find out who is responsible given the mobility of the oceanic current，” reads the report. Shandong has witnessed a serious rise in pollution of its Yellow Sea coastal waters in recent years， mostly due to agricultural and industrial activity. Algal blooms， sudden increases in volumes of algae that obstruct sunlight and suffocate marine life， have become an annual occurrence over several summers. One of the largest algal blooms ever recorded in China struck the region in 2013， covering an area of 28，900 square kilometers. According to the 2014 environmental report， water samples taken by 18.6 per-cent of 301 seawater monitoring stations were found to be “seriously polluted.” Most of these sites are close to major river deltas. As sources of pollution can be hundreds of miles upstream from delta regions， it is almost impossible to hold specific officials accountable for the extensive pollution. Even in inland regions， experts and environmental scientists who are attempting to quantify environmental changes are up against complex challenges. “It is easy to calculate the area of a forest， but it is very