“淮河卫士”创造莲花模式 The Huai River Soldiers established “Lotus Method”

淮河位于黄河、长江之间，人们习惯上称它为“中国的第三大河”。这条发源于河南省西部山区的河流，流域跨河南、安徽、山东、江苏四省，全长1000 多公里，流域面积达270000 平方公里，约1•8 亿人生活在这片土地上，至今，这里仍然是中国人口密度最大的地区，也是农业最为发达的地区。“淮河熟，天下足”“走千走万，不如淮河两岸”的歌谣，是人们对淮河粮仓的由衷赞叹……

然而，在上世纪80 年代末，史无前例的水污染不期而至，打破了人们在这里的平静生活，滔滔黑水、臭气冲天，迫使人们接受生存极限的考验。淮河的水污染问题引起中国政府的高度重视，1994 年，确定对淮河水污染进行流域治理，1995 年国务院颁布《淮河水污染防治暂行条例》，明确了97 达标，2000 年实现淮河水质变清的总体目标；随后，针对淮河水污染治理开展了“淮河世纪行”、“零点行动”等活动，采取了“一控双达标”、“关闭十五小企业”等举措，关注淮河的人们至今对此仍然记忆犹新。

尽管政府采取了上述治理措施，并投资上百亿元人民币兴建了相应的治污工程，但淮河污染在继续加剧。我们看到，关闭十五小企业之后，大企业向淮河排放污染更加肆无忌惮，其实现GDP 翻番的同时也意味着排放污染的加倍，而被关闭的十五小企业也以各种方式死灰复燃，淮河不堪重负，河流的清澈成为遥远的记忆，呈现在人们面前的淮河黑水滔滔，臭气冲天，流动中荡起的泡沫有一米多高；在许多河段鱼虾绝迹，沿水位线寸草不生；黑水、劣五类水成为一些河段的代名词。为什么政府花费如此大的代价，最终却是淮河十年治污一场梦？人们开始思考这个问题，探寻突破困局之策。

在淮河水污染治理充满危机的关键时刻，淮河卫士脱颖而出。当地一批农民、退休工人、老干部、大学生、媒体记者组织起来，以一种理性的、非暴力的方式，主动地参与淮河水污染治理当中，通过“民间发起，政府支持，精英带动，全民参与”的路径展开工作，以砥柱中流般的气魄推动建立公众参与机制，促进淮河水污染治理。

淮河卫士长期坚持一个项目：拯救淮河希望工程；说两句话：向政府说实话，为老百姓讲公道话；做三件事：1、对淮河水污染及其排污口进行长期的跟踪调查和监督，2、对受水污染危害严重的区域实施“清洁饮水救助”，3、对污染造成的癌症村实施“医疗卫生救助”；帮助沿淮村民实现四项诉求，即：“求证”（淮河黑水中存在哪些污染物质？它与村民的健康有什么关系）、“求解”（找到应对水污染及其健康风险的办法）、“求助”（落实求证、求解需要社会的帮助）、“求变”（落实求助之后给村庄带来实际变化），最后建设生态文明小康村。淮河卫士的项目是根据社会需求而产生的，所以才产生了实际效果。

淮河卫士通过大量的调查得知，淮河流域有数千家规模不等的皮革厂、造纸厂、化工厂、制药厂、印染厂，在他们排放到淮河的污水中存在着毒害物质和致癌物质，当淮河黑水通过干渠、支渠、毛渠等灌溉网络覆盖农田和坑塘的时候，农村地下水也随之被污染，沿淮村民面临着水污染带来的健康风险。
淮河卫士在公众参与中创造了“莲花模式”。

莲花味精企业集团（以下简称“莲花味精”）是淮河流域的排污大户，是利税大户，是挂牌“重点保护企业”，是味精产量居世界第一的中日合资企业，也是因污染问题被新闻媒体和公众长期谴责的对象。对这样的一个企业能否以生态文明的理念，使其走向循环经济，节能减排，达标排放，最终成为资源节约、环境友好的企业？向着这个目标，我们自2005年开始与莲花味精开展绿色诚信、和谐共建活动，努力使其走向生态文明之路。

在莲花味精建厂初期，日本投资方味之素曾提出“如果遇到环境风险怎么办？”的问题，当地官员打包票不会因环境损害要资方负责，在环境问题出现后，日方资产不愿承担环保责任，撤出了全部投资（日方控股，占51%的股份）。而中方资产此时也已面临严峻得舆论压力，甚至国家层面已经有人提出味精是高污染行业，同时不是必要行业，老百姓不一定要吃味精，可以关停中国所有味精企业。在强大的舆论压力下，中方资产愿意履行环保责任，并主动与“淮河卫士”对话。“淮河卫士”此时已和污染企业斗争多年，对是否接受对话有争议，但是后来研究认为应该通过对话解决问题。

莲花味精认真进行整改，并接受公众监督，实行企业环境信息公开。于2007 年实现了节能减排、达标排放的环保目标，污水排放量由过去的12 万吨/日，降低到1.2 万吨，污水中主要污染物质氨氮的含量由过去的120mg/L 降低到5mg/L 以下，在中国的同行业中，创造了一个生态文明的典范，这个典范就是“莲花模式”（接受公众监督、开展和谐共建、重建绿色诚信、做到循环经济、节能减排、达标排放、最终深度治理）。在莲花味精实现循环经济后，用污水生产的有机肥每年就可带来2000多万元收入，过去企业认为治污就是往河里扔钱，现在发现污染确实是放错地方的资源。

目前，“淮河卫士”正在把“莲花模式”在沙颍河复制推广，逐步建成“沙颍河模式”、“淮河模式”。这种模式已经发挥作用，并且被广泛认可。在今年的两会期间，“淮河卫士”负责人霍岱珊与中央电视台著名新闻节目主持人柴静有一个电视连线访谈，题目就叫做《节能减排：从莲花模式到中国模式》。

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Huai River, also called “China’s third longest river”, is situated between the Yellow River and the Yangtze River. The river originates from the rivers of the western mountains in the Henan province, and spans Henan, Anhui, Shandong and the Jiansu province, totaling over 1000 kilometers long with a basin area reaching 270,000 square kilometers. About 180 million people live on this stretch of land and to this day, the area is still China’s most densely populated land and also China’s most agriculturally developed land. The folk song, “Upon the arrival of Huai river’s harvesting, the whole world could be fed, No matter where you go, no place is better than the Huai river,” is the people’s devoted praise for the Huai river’s grainary.

However, near the end of the 1980’s, an unprecedented water contamination disrupted the people’s peaceful and steady lifestyle. With polluted water and air, the people were forced to struggle through an extreme test of survival. The Huai river water pollution problems incited the government to put grave importance on the matter, and in 1994, they decided to carry out a drainage treatment. In 1995, the Chinese state government published the “Huai River Water Pollution Prevention Regulations” which stated 97 clear standards and aimed for a goal to achieve clear water by the year 2000. Afterward, the government launched a series of activities such as “Huai River in the New Century”, “Zero Point Activities”, and “One control fulfilling two standards”, and closed fifteen small businesses and other initiatives. Those who paid close attention to the Huai River still remember all this very clearly.

Even though the government applied the treatment measures described above, and invested more than ten billion Chinese RMB to construct relevant pollution management projects, pollution along the Huai River continued to worsen. After closing fifteen small businesses, large corporations were even more unscrupulous in dumping waste into the Huai River. As China’s GDP rapidly grew, the rate of pollution also rapidly grew, and all the while, the fifteen small businesses that were closed attempted to do whatever it took to revive their businesses. The Huai River was overwhelmed. The river’s purity became a distant memory. Appearing before the people was a dirty, black-water river, with stench-filled air and pollutant skies, and gurgling bubbles as high as one meter. At many segments of the river, fish and marine life became extinct, while along the river, grass and plant life grew extinct. “Black water” and “inferior category 5 water” became synonyms for some parts of the river. Why is it that when the government has paid such a heavy price, in the end, the ten-year Huai River pollution treatment turned out to be only a dream? People started to ponder about this question, exploring other policies to breakthrough this predicament.

At the most critical moments of the Huai river treatment crisis, the Huai River Soldiers, a grassroots organization, stepped forward. Local farmers, retired workers, veterans, college students and journalists formed this organization, using rational, nonviolent means, voluntarily participating in the pollution treatment process. Work began through the route of “public proposals, government support, elite leadership, and population participation”. They used a mainstay general’s spirit to promote the establishment of a public participation mechanism, the Huai River water pollution control was accelerated.
The Huai River Soldiers adhered to one long-term project: the Save the Huai River Hope Project. There were two things that needed to be spoken: the government must be told the truth, and the word of the people must be spoken for, honestly and fairly on behalf of the people. There were three things that needed to be done: 1. performing a long-term follow-up survey and monitoring on the Huai River water pollution and its outfalls, 2. the hazardously polluted areas needed to be cleaned, rescued and provided clean drinking water, and 3. providing medical relief to the cancer village created by the pollution, helping the villagers along the Huai River to achieve four claims. These four claims are: “seek verification” (What are the pollutants of the blackwater Huai River? Do they have anything to do with the village people?), “seek solution” (find ways to resolve the problems of the water pollution and health risks), “seek help” (work with what was verified and help the needs of society), “seek change” (after implementing help, work to bring about change for the villages), and finally, build an ecological community and a well-off village.

The Huai River Soldiers learned through a large amount of research that there were thousands of factories of different scales on the river basin, including leather factories, paper mills, chemical plants, pharmaceutical companies, printing and dyeing mills. Toxic substances and carcinogenic substances were found in the wastewater these factories emitted to the Huai River. When the Huai River black water passed through the sewers, branch canals, gross drainages, and other agricultural irrigation network covering farmland and ponds, the water deposited onto the countryside farmlands was polluted, and the village people faced health risks brought by the polluted land and water.
Through public teamwork, the Huai river soldiers created the “Lotus Method.”

The Lotus Flower MSG Enterprise Group (from this point forward, will be referred to as “Lotus Flower MSG”) was a big sewage customer and big profits customer of the Huai River basin, and was listed as an “important enterprise to protect.” Its MSG yield ranked as the world’s number one joint Chinese-Japanese venture, yet was also a long-term item of condemnation by the media because of the contamination issues. Was it possible to apply the concept of civilized ecology to such a corporation, making it a company goal to reach for sustainable economy, efficient use of energy to reduce waste, and final waste emission within the regulated level, to finally become a resource saving and environmentally friendly corporation? Aiming for this goal, we formed a partnership with the Lotus Flower MSG Enterprise Group in 2005 to launch green faith campaigns, harmonious rebuilding activities, working hard to help the company toward the path of civilized ecology.

During the early entry stage of the Lotus Flower MSG factory, Japanese investors had raised the question, “How should we react when environmental risks are encountered?” However, local officials promised that they would not hold the Japanese investors accountable for any environmental damages. After the environmental issues emerged, the Japanese investors did not want to assume any environmental protection responsibilities. The investors withdrew all investments, (the Japanese investors had the controlling interest with 51% equity investment). To make the matter worse, Chinese investors were already facing severe pressure from public opinion at the time. There were even central government officials that proposed that MSG was a highly pollutive industry, and also an unnecessary one, since people did not have to consume MSG, and therefore, all MSG manufacturing corporations in China could be shut down. Under strong public pressure, Chinese investors agreed to carry out their environmental protection responsibilities, and also took initiatives to conciliate with the “Huai River Soldiers.” However, the “Huai River Soldiers” had already struggled with the polluting corporations for many years at that time, so there were disputes to whether or not accept the conciliation. In the end, after thorough consideration, they believed the pollution problem should be resolved through cooperative discussions.

Lotus Flower MSG seriously and sincerely carried out rectification, accepted public oversight, and put into practice sharing enterprise environment information to the public. In 2007, they achieved energy-efficiency and discharge environmental standards. Sewage water emissions reduced from 120,000 tons per day to 12,000 tons per day, and ammonium nitrogen content in the sewage water reduced from 120mg/L to less than 5mg/L. In China, in the same industry, this model of creating an environmental community is called the “Lotus Method” (subject to public oversight, harmonious construction was initiated to rebuild a green integrity and achieve circular economy, energy conservation, emission standards, and final legislation). After Lotus Flower MSG established circular economy, every year an additional two billion in income can be brought in by the sewage water organic fertilizer. In the past the enterprise thought pollution control was just to throw money into fixing the water problems, but now it is clear that there were indeed misplaced resources regarding the pollution problem.

Currently, the “Huai River Soldiers” are in the process of spreading the success of the “Lotus Method” to the “Sha Ying River,” progressively building the “Sha Ying River Method” and “Huai River Method.” These methods have already shown to make impact, and are now widely recognized. This year during the Two Sessions, Huo Daishan of the “Huai River Soldiers” was interviewed by a famous CCTV news anchor, Chai Jing, and the program was called, “Energy Conservation: From Lotus Method to China Method.”

(Translated by: Mary Zhuang)

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