Xiaoxuan Tian
College of Economics, TianJin Polytechnic University, TianJin 300384, China E-mail: [email protected]
Ruiqi Qin
College of Economics, TianJin Polytechnic University, TianJin 300384, China Abstract
The construction of ecology city is the symbol of the progresses of human civilization, the direction of city development and the survival environment with good ecology, highly effective benefit and harmony. The construction of ecology city in big cities is advantageous not only for the health development of themselves but also to strengthen its radiation and the demonstration function. This article adopts the evaluating indicator system on the construction of ecology city and made comparison of Beijing with Shanghai. Then it proposed some suggestions on the construction of ecology city in Tianjin. It is for the purpose of providing the reference for the construction of ecology city in Tianjin.
Keywords: Ecology city, Evaluating indicator, Development suggestion
Ecology city is a concept initiated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in the plan and research process of “the person and the biosphere (MAB)”. It is the result of city ecology development; the form of humanity lives with harmonious society, highly effective economy and the positive cycle of ecology; the reciprocal symbiosis of the nature, the city and the people. In brief, the ecology city is a kind of city with healthy ecology.
Founding the clean, exquisite and peaceful city, realizing comprehensively sustainable development; constructing the highly effective ecology industry and ecology landscape which can make people's demand and the desire satisfied, building the harmonious ecologically-conscious culture and the function conformity, realizing the organic synthesis of the nature, the agriculture and the people, are the prospect goal on constructing the ecology city. 1. The selection of evaluating indicator on the construction of ecology city
The national environmental protection bureau entrusted Chinese environmental protection academy of science in 2000 to do the research of the evaluating indicator system on ecology province. They proposed four second-grade targets of the evaluating indicator system about the construction of ecology province including the ecology economy, social development, ecological environment, ecologically-conscious culture and so on and other thirteen third-grade of targets, have determined 55 concrete inspections targets, and then according to the economy, society and ecological environment in different areas, separately proposed three different kinds of targeted value about the construction of ecology province in the western area, the middle area and the coastal area. Hainan Province permitted by the national environmental protection bureau to be the first ecology province of experiment site in our country proposed 30 anticipated targets in “the summary of ecology province construction plan” from the point of the environmental protection, the ecological construction, the ecological industry development and the environment of human living and so on.
On the basis of the election of the evaluating indicator system to construct ecology city, we selected 17 targets as representatives from 5 aspects including the economical development, the environment condition, the environment of human living, the ecology resources and the social security. All the targets constitute the evaluating indicator system on the construction of ecology city, which both hold the key point, conform to the market conditions and relative integrity for the inspection.
1.1 Indicators of economic development
GDP per capita- Reflects the level of economical development on the ecology city construction. The proportion of the high-tech industry output value accounts for the industrial out put.
The environmental protection industry output value-- Present economical development condition of ecological benefit from certain degree.
1.2 Indicators of environment condition
The synthesis use ratio of industrial waste, the successful rate of industrial waste discharge, the total quantity of SO2discharge - reflect the government situation of industry "the three wastes".
city air pollution.
1.3 Indicators of human living
The housing area per capita in urban district, the density of population -reflect the housing conditions of the inhabitants in urban district and countryside.
The treatment rate of sewage in city, the rate of trash processing harmlessly in daily city life -reflect the living environment condition of city people.
1.4 Indicators of ecological resources
The bestrow ratio of the forest, the average public green area per person, the proportion of the nature protection area accounts for the area of jurisdiction area - manifest the situation of the ecological environment construction and the resources conservation.
1.5 Indicators of social security
The average life expectancy, the rate of population natural growth - reflect the positive role of ecology city construction to personal development.
2. Comparative analysis about the construction of ecology city among Tianjin, Beijing and Shanghai. 2.1 The conditions and results of the ecology city construction in Tianjin
Through the comparison of the main evaluating indicators from cross direction from the above table as well as the position in the nation, we can make a conclusion that Tianjin has met the foundation requirements on the construction of ecology city at present.
First, the economic basis is good. Since the reform and open policy, the economic development of Tianjin has obtained swift and booming development. By the year of 2005, GDP per capita has reached35, 000 Yuan of the whole city, which is upper 63.9% to the national average level. The industry of energy conservation and ecological style obtained development to some degree. The proportion of high-tech industry output value accounts for the industrial output in 2005 has reached 31.6%. The ton standard coal output value amounts to 11,100 Yuan, which is 4 times of national average level.
Second, the ecology construction and environment renovation obtained great result. In the aspect of ecology construction, the bestrow ratio of the forest has reached 36.4%, which is the most important indicator to manifest the ecological environment condition. It outdid the national average level 12 percentage points and has built good natural ecological environment for the ecology city construction. On the aspect of the environmental protection, Tianjin has obtained more tangible result. Up to 2005, the raw sewage industry waste discharge ratio of "the three wastes" in the industry of the whole city has been only 0.21%. The processing rate of industry waste gas has reached 93%. The successful rate of industrial waste discharge has reached as high as 99.6%. The synthesis use ratio of industrial waste as well as the successful rate of industrial waste discharge is obviously higher than those of Beijing and Shanghai. In the main river system of whole city, the water quality achieved or surpassed the three kinds standard of surface water has reached 73.4%, which comparatively has the distinct improvement than the years before. In the aspect of environmental protection investment, the dynamic investment has also obviously enlarged in recent years in Tianjin. By the year of 2005, the technical personnel have achieved 45% among the environmental protection jobholders in the whole city.
Third, the human living condition has improved dramatically. In the urban district, the average floor space per person achieved 16 square meters in the national cities in 2005, which outdoes 4.17 square meters of average level of the nation. The rate of trash and excrement processing harmlessly in daily city life has reached 71%, which outdid 12 percentage points of the national average level. In the countryside, not only the environmental sanitation has been renovated, but also the farmer's housing conditions has been enhanced in some degree. The whole city farmer’s average net income per person had achieved to 7,202 yuan in 2005, which was increased 10.4 percentage points compared with the same time in 2004.
2.2 The main problem about the construction of ecology city in Tianjin
Although the foundation of ecology construction in Tianjin is good, in the aspect of environmental protection investment, social security, nature protection area construction and city sewage treatment, there has been a bigger disparity with the national advanced level. The proportion of environmental protection investment occupies GDP of the entire city is lower of 3.2 percentage points than that of Beijing in 2005. The indicators of the number of higher education population per ten thousand people provided the talented person, technology and the social security for the ecology city construction, the number of owning doctors per ten thousand people and the bestrow ratio of unemployment insurance of cities are dramatically lower than the national average level. The rate of city sewage treatment was only 30%, which is 8 percentage points lower than the national average level and nearly 20 percentage points lower than that of Shanghai.
In addition, the development of non- environmental damage food should be strengthened. The problem of soil erosion is quite serious. The processing work of harmlessness of the waste of scale cultivation poultry has just
started soon. The task of pollution prevention and controlling in countryside is still arduous. All these problems need to make great efforts to solve.
Table 1. The comparison among the three cities
Indicators of the year 2005 Tianjin Beijing Shanghai
GDP per capita (yuan) 35000 44969 55412
Gross value of industrial
output(hundred million yuan) 6774.1 6946.2 16876.78 The proportion of the high-tech
industry output value accounts for the industrial out put (%)
31.6 37.5 28.6 Indicators of
economic development
The environmental protection industry
output value(hundred million yuan) 104 115 400 The synthesis use ratio of industrial
waste (%) 98 94.5 96.31
The successful rate of industrial waste
discharge (%) 99.6 99.4 97.1
The total quantity of SO2 discharge
(ten thousand tons) 24 19.06 51.28
Indicators of environment condition
The numbers of days of the air quality at two grade and better than two grade(days)
298 234 310
The rate of trash processing
harmlessly in daily city life (%) 71 70.9 80
The housing area per capita in urban
district(square meter) 16 21 15.5
The treatment rate of sewage in city
(%) 30 35 57
Indicators of human living
The density of population (person per
square kilometer) 797 937 2145
The bestrow ratio of the forest (%) 36.4 35.5 The average public green area per
person(square meter) 8.8 11 11.01
Indicators of ecological resources
The proportion of the nature protection area accounts for the area of jurisdiction area (%)
8.3 37.0
The rate of population natural growth
(‰) 1.43 1.09 -1.46
Indicators of social security
The average life expectancy (years old)
77.33 80.09 80.29 Notes:
1. The resource of the data is according to the “data net of provinces and cities (2006)” and Statistical Yearbook of the three cities in 2006.
2. The blank of the data in the table is left vacant for the time being 2.3 Some suggestions on the construction of ecology city in Tianjin
The construction of ecology city involves not only the ecological construction of the material environment and the ecological restoration in the city, but also the construction of value idea, life style and policy laws and regulations. 2.3.1Transforming thought, enhancing the consciousness of environmental protection and ecology.
This is the thought foundation for the construction of ecology city, and simultaneously is especially important to the policy-makers and the entrepreneurs. Because policy-makers’ thought affect the whole and the entrepreneurs’ affect an enterprise. The enterprises often are bigger ones that often pollute environment. The cadre system of Tianjin at
present is the tenure in office system. The inspected achievement is mainly the economical achievements in the tenure in office. This is very easy to cause the cadre to have the thought of quick success and immediate gain. In order to complete the transform of this kind of thought, the merit or fault in the environment and the ecology protection must be taken as one of the contents to inspect cadre tenure in office.
Enhancing the ecological consciousness of the public is to make all the people realize the situation of themselves in the nature and the environmental responsibility they should take. We should respect history culture, change tradition expense way, strengthen the self-adjustment ability and maintain the high grade movement of the city ecosystem. 2.3.2 Speeding up the fundamental research, formulating indicator system of ecology city.
In order to speed up the construction of ecology city, a set of scientific theory and indicator system to be able to instruct should be established, which could indicate the practice of sustainable development and measure the city ecology speed and the change, ability and harmonious situation and the cooperation dispatch with it in every construction stage. The designed indicators should have high sensitivity and strongly comprehensive nature. They should include the long-enduring indicators, the coordinative indicators and the early warning indicators.
2.3.3 Establishing environment protection mechanism of ecology city.
The environment quality is the foundation and condition for the construction of ecology city. The environmental protection is the important and the direct method for city ecological construction, the ecological restoration and the ecological equilibrium maintenance. The premise for the effective law enforcement and surveillance is a set of integrity, strict and operative legal synthesis system, which is suitable for the development of city ecology, making the development of city ecology legal and systemic. And we should also build a law enforcement troop with high quality, the strong sense of responsibility and the honest fair.
2.3.4 Making good plan for the construction of ecology city.
The whole plan of ecology city should conduct the synthetic study considering from the city economy, society, the ecological environment and so on. Making the blueprint and planning of strategic on the basis of humanist can instruct and control the construction and development of ecology city. The ecology city overall plan should takes the ecological construction, the ecological restoration and the ecological equilibrium as the compulsory content. 2.3.5 Showing individual characteristic and setting up the prevailing custom of the ecology city.
In order for the construction of ecology city and protection of the achievement, the good public environment behavior should be advocated to form the prevailing custom of the ecology city. For example(1) limiting even refusing the motorcycle to enter the urban district;(2) limiting the quantity of automobiles to grow and advocating the use of public transportation vehicles and the environmental protection vehicles; (3) advocating to use bicycles or on foot for work or go home instead of the cars; (4) advocating to use cloth bags, baskets, food boxes and the rejecting “the white pollution”; (5)advocating “the green hotel”, “the green restaurant”, forbidding the hotel industry to provide the disposable things; (6) advocating the union of stores and factories to implement green service to the commodity on entire journey.
2.3.6 Laying stress on the cooperation among the cities and regions.
The city and the region are inseparable. The city is the core of region and the region is the foundation of the city. They mutually depend on and promote each other. There is carrying on material, the energy and the information exchange among cites and regions unceasingly. The more development of the city, the more frequent of this kind of exchange and the mutual affects is stronger.
2.3.7 The construction of ecology city needs to walk the path of industrial ecology.
The adjustment of industrial structure should resolve the problem that was brought by the traditionally economical growth pattern in debt to the environment and resources in Tianjin because the development is high pollution and high investment but low efficiency. The pressure to the environment and resources is dual.
In brief, the 21st century will be the city century and more and more people will gather at the city to live or to work on the earth. The 21st century will be the ecological century. The human society will gradually step from the
industrial society to the ecological society. The ecology city makes the humanity to see the hope of the future and the ideal dawn. But the construction of ecology city has heavy responsibilities. Facing the challenges, at least a prosperity harmonious ecology city called Tianjin will be able to appear so long as the people in Tianjin peg away. References
Data net of provinces and cities. (2006). [Online] Available: http://provincedata.mofcom.gov.cn/index.asp?province (2006).
The Environment Condition Bulletin of Beijing. (2005). The Statistical Yearbook of Beijing. (2006).
The Statistical Yearbook of Shangha. (2006). The Statistical Yearbook of Tianjin. (2006).