Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Dam Opponents,” in which he lambasted antidam activists for failing to understand the sci-
entific and technical merits of the case and for engaging in groundless activism (McDonald
2007; Magee 2006). As often happens in cases of dissent in China, Yu's work received a
warmer reception abroad than at home: in 2006, he was awarded the Goldman Environ-
mental Prize, a prestigious international award given to grassroots environmental activists,
but he remains a controversial figure.
5
AlthoughitistemptingtoviewtheadvocacymovementsthatsurroundtheNuRiverpro-
jects as coming from the “grass roots”—particularly since Dr. Yu was awarded the Gold-
Ralph Litzinger has noted,
To see the opposition as a grassroots movement, the term would need to be expanded to incorporate the activities,
mobilization strategies, and media skills of various international and metropolitan-based environmental groups,
and the ways in which these groups worked across national, regional, and local administrative boundaries to bring
pressure to bear on the Chinese government. Even if we take a more transnational approach to the analysis of the
grassroots, we would have to acknowledge that intense debates still rage as to just how much this activism across
borders is giving voice to the people living in the Nu River valley.
(2007:292-293)
International organizations have arguably played a much more visible role than domestic
NGOs or citizens' groups in the conservation debates taking place over northwest Yunnan.
For example, International Rivers, an NGO that began in the 1980s, enlists natural and so-
cial scientists from around the world in the effort to preserve free-flowing rivers; the or-
ganization added its first full-time staff member in China in 2012. It works by support-
ing—sometimes monetarily and sometimes logistically—the work of domestic scientists,
activists, and NGOs. Other organizations such as the China Rivers Project and Last Des-
cents have focused on publicizing the recreational and touristic value of China's great
rivers. The latter organization promotes hands-on environmental education by organizing
rafting expeditions that allow people—sometimes those with policy clout—to experience
life on the river, hoping that this kind of intimate experience will help people to see rivers
not just in economic terms, but for their ecological and cultural value as well.
In my conversations with many government officials and scientists regarding environ-
mental NGOs, I heard time and again that one organization—The Nature Conservancy
(TNC, Da Ziran Baohu Xiehui)—was particularly successful in promoting conservation-
friendly policy without antagonizing government agencies. Founded in the 1950s in the
United States and funded largely through private-member donations, TNC has grown into
one of the largest conservation organizations in the world, with a mission of preserving
both terrestrial and marine habitats through a pragmatic strategy that engages governments,
businesses, and civil society organizations.
