On May 22nd, International Biodiversity Day, a seminar on how companies can promote biodiversity mainstreaming was held at Xiamen Tower Yihao Hotel in Beijing, organized by social innovation consultancy Pumbaa Eco. The seminar invited domestic experts and scholars in the field of biodiversity and NGO leaders from Southeast Asia. 30+ industry, academic and corporate representatives participated in the seminar, and over 1000 people watched the live broadcast on Baidu.
The seminar promoted greater awareness of the efforts and positive impacts of China's biodiversity conservation efforts among the leaders of two hub NGOs in the Mekong River Basin. They included the NGO Forum on Cambodia, the largest local hub NGO in Cambodia with over 70 local members, and Nature Advocacy in Myanmar, which has a network of hundreds of local corporate alliances.
Chinese companies have been investing and building in the Mekong region for a long time, and Chinese technology has brought them cleaner energy solutions such as photovoltaics and wind power. New Chinese investments in the region are mainly in the resource sector, and energy projects have begun to shift from coal power plants to renewable energy projects.
In 2018, Shenzhen photovoltaic companies and domestic foundations have joined hands with Mekong governments and public welfare organizations to launch the "Mekong Sun Village" project, which provides solar photovoltaic technology and equipment to rural areas in Cambodia to brighten the lives of villagers. The project has lit up the happy life of the villagers.
In addition, Chinese companies have launched many initiatives to fulfill their corporate social responsibility. Many Chinese companies are also carrying out CSR projects in environmental protection, education and support for small and micro enterprises to improve the livelihood of people in the Mekong River Basin.
One of the participants, an executive from an energy company, recognized the importance of biodiversity and the positive initiatives made by Chinese companies. He mentioned that in the last five years, China has provided many special loans to support more than 40 major infrastructure projects in the Mekong countries, such as the new international airport in Siem Reap, Cambodia, the renovation of the power grid in Vientiane, Laos, and the coal-fired power plant in Vinh Tan, Vietnam. Among them, the Sanghe II hydropower plant located in Cambodia has taken the initiative to invest about 10 million RMB, adopting a natural-type fish passage arrangement to provide migratory channels for fish to claim bait and spawn; They have also maximized compensation standards, improving the production and living conditions of 849 local households and 3,845 migrants and shaping a good corporate brand image. At the same time, he suggested that the results of Mekong cooperation must be predicated on the livelihood of the people.
How Chinese companies can contribute to biodiversity conservation in the international arena - with a focus on the Mekong region
How can Chinese companies actively promote international practices in biodiversity conservation? Two NGO guests from Myanmar and Cambodia share their positive suggestions for Chinese companies to get involved.
Nyein Zaw Ko, founder of Nature Advocacy in Myanmar and executive director of the online campaign "Save the Irrawaddy Dolphin", participated in the workshop via an online link. Nyein, who participated in the workshop via an online link, said that business enterprises are constantly looking for emerging consumer trends to create value for consumers by providing solutions to their problems and needs. He mentioned that China, with its large conglomerates and manufacturing industries, is the biggest force for global environmental protection, and that more than half of the organizations that have signed a pledge to stop the wildlife trade are Chinese social media platforms and companies. Therefore, social media engagement can have a positive impact on biodiversity conservation in Southeast Asia, especially for ecological conservation in the Mekong River Basin. In addition, he pointed out that the Chinese government's proposal to reach the carbon neutrality target by 2060 is a positive and strong signal that the natural resources of the Mekong River will also be developed and used in a rational way.
Another online participant, Vannara Ouk, is an environmental veteran with over 20 years of experience in policy advocacy, natural resource governance, environment and agriculture, and sustainable development. Vannara Ouk shared his organization's attempts to protect biodiversity in the Mekong River Basin and made policy recommendations for sustainable development, including adding renewable energy options, involving civil society organizations in the entire process of environmental assessment of investment projects, and establishing a shared information platform to ensure investment information is available to the public, etc.
In terms of suggestions for future work by Chinese companies in the Mekong River Basin, Vannara Ouk suggests that Chinese companies strengthen their communication with Mekong communities and provide necessary livelihood support to community members, while engaging them in an environmental agenda. Chinese internet technology companies can play a more important role in raising awareness of the need to boycott animal products.
■ Diinsider Co-founder Bolun Li
After the sharing of the two foreign guests, Diinsider co-founder Bolun Li summarized and extended their arguments, analyzing the international responsibility of Chinese enterprises in the Mekong countries from their biodiversity conservation practices.
Mr. Li has deep experience in global sustainable development work. His organization promotes bottom-up transformative innovation in developing countries and localize international development cooperation. He has conducted fieldwork in Myanmar, Cambodia, the Philippines, Kenya, Bangladesh, and other countries on issues such as global health, sustainable livelihoods, and social innovation, and has worked with numerous grassroots innovation organizations and international policy institutions.
What can Chinese companies do to protect biodiversity in the Mekong countries? Mr. Li believes there are four ways to start: "bottom-up" community-based sustainable production management, policy advocacy for decentralized resource management, experience sharing and capacity building, and the use of new technologies.
In addition, Mr. Li suggested that a better way is for technology-driven Chinese companies to look for opportunities in the Southeast Asian Mekong River Basin and to find cooperations to promote their technologies to Southeast Asian countries. For example, there are many natural disasters in Southeast Asia and there is urgent need for local communities to introduce technologies such as geographic information and remote sensing infrared.
In addition, Chen Xiaodong, Secretary General of Zhongguancun Zhirong Special Robotics Industry Alliance, Dr. Cheng Chen from Shanshui Nature Conservation Center, and Mr. Zhang Yunbo, a biodiversity expert, were invited to attend the seminar. The guests discussed the best path for enterprises to promote biodiversity mainstreaming from the perspectives of technology, internet and conservation sites respectively.
At the conference, Diinsider, a social innovation agency, released the "Briefing on Social Risks in Countries Along the Belt and Road (Mekong Region)". The briefing, which focused on the "Mekong Water Crisis", suggested that strengthening cooperation between China and the Mekong countries is particularly important in the current volatile international situation, and provided an objective analysis of the positive initiatives of Chinese companies, providing a window for local organizations to understand the efforts of the Chinese community. The sharing of data on the Mekong River Basin will help countries and communities to participate in discussions and dialogue on an equal footing, reduce differences caused by information asymmetries, and ultimately achieve "mutual benefits" up and down the Mekong.
At the end of the conference, the organizers, local NGO representatives, corporate representatives and individuals issued a joint initiative: the Mekong region is geographically connected; economic development and ecological protection need to be developed together. We will join hands with more Mekong organizations to promote the input of Chinese companies to make efforts for biodiversity conservation in the Mekong region.
没有评论:
发表评论