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2001 Survey on Student Environmental Groups in China

Region: China
Author: Lu Hongyan, Environmental Volunteer Association, Sichuan University
Consortium Member: Green Earth Volunteers (China)
Status: Completed - Final Report Budget: $990 Collected: $990 Needs: $0
Result: To document the concerns and activities of university groups concerned about environmental issues, and to encourage environmental education in Chinese universities
Donors: Ford Foundation, April 2001
Comment: See the Progress Report, July 2001.

Aims of 2001 Survey
More and more college students in China are interested in a deeper understanding of environmental issues and possible solutions through more practical participation. Especially, 78 student environmental groups have been voluntarily set up since 1993 in Chinese universities. This is indeed a kind of bottom-up environmental movement of college students. It is important to find out what the students in different universities are doing, and for them to learn from each other. Administering a survey, analyzing the answers, and communicating the results to all the student groups will be a valuable tool for effective environmental work in the future.

In 1999, our first survey covered 27 student environmental groups. For the new 2001 survey, the Questionnaire will be improved, based on the responses from the previous one. The 2001 survey is going to cover more than 50 student environmental groups from at least 15 cities of China in order to answer the questions.
The questions are:

• What did they do in the past years?

• How about their present situation?

• What are the internal and external factors for the effectiveness and ineffectiveness of these groups to their action?

• What role is the Internet playing in their activities?

• What was the attitude and assessment of government, public and common college students to them?

• How about the governmental and social acceptance of these groups?

• What kind of support needed by them?

• What is the difference between students’ environmental action in China and developed countries? and Why?

Findings of the 2001 Survey are going to be:

• Forwarded to all student groups and environmental NGOs who are concerned about the development of student environmental movement in China.
• Applied as a base to reach a long-term strategy for promoting student environmental movement in China and initiating cross-border linkages of student environmental groups
• Reorganized into an online handbook for the development of green student organizations (www.greensos.org)

Background of the Proposal Author
Lu Hongyan, the founder of the Environmental Volunteer Association of Sichuan University, initiated and conducted the 1999 survey on student environmental groups in China. Lu Hongyan is working at Environmental School of Sichuan University now as environmental educator. She was selected to participate in the International Visiting Program sponsored by USIA in 1999, and chosen to join the Chinese Women Environmental Leadership Training Program sponsored by the Luce Moore Foundation in 2000.

Introduction to the 2001 survey team group
Lu Hongyan project director
Team members:
Zhoupeng, former chairman of the student environmental group of Chengdu University
Caoxia, teacher in the environmental department of Sichuan University
Zhongping and Wangli, two undergraduate students in the Environmental Department of Sichuan University
Yan Jiong, Graduate major in Sociology at Sichuan University, and one of the participants in the 1999 survey on student environmental groups in China

Comments on the Budget

• Communications costs are needed for getting more contacts and more feedback of student environmental groups in other provinces
• The interactive Internet database created from the 2001 Survey will make it much easier to carry out this kind of survey annually
• The printed report, including and suggestions, will be mailed to all student environmental groups and related organizations and NGOs
• Donors who finance this survey will be credited in the final report