WHY GREEN BRI SURVEY?
The Belt and Road Initiative of China (BRI) is associated with substantial environmental and social risks which are yet to be properly managed. Civil society organizations\activists in many countries monitor China overseas investment and are trying to push it towards greater sustainability and prevent negative impacts on sensitive natural areas and vulnerable populations whose livelihoods depend on ecosystem services. As the most comprehensive of all "sustainability" policies published by China to address its overseas activities, the "Guidance on Promoting Green Belt and Road" can be used as a template to track progress of well-meaning policy intentions and compare it with actual need and implementation.
As the 2nd Belt and Road Forum will be held soon in Beijing everyone is reviewing the progress of the BRI. We propose to use this 2nd anniversary of the Green BRI policy to survey environmental sustainability aspects of BRI as perceived by civil society members both in China and countries hosting BRI projects as well as by broader international CSO and expert community.
Survey is undertaken by Green Silk Road Initiative, a coalition formed by civil society in 2016 to monitor and address challenges of BRI. Web-site http://greensilkroad.net/. Survey Coordinator: Eugene Simonov, Rivers without Boundaries International Coalition. Please send all further inquiries, suggestions and requests for survey results to email: coalition@riverswithoutboundaries.org
Survey participants: members of civil society organizations (CSOs), academia, media, policy practitioners, and others concerned with China’s overseas investments, effects of the evolving globalization processes, and achieving sustainable development and environmental justice.
Survey objectives:
– Call for timely implementation, adjustment and enhancement of the "Guidance on Promoting Green Belt and Road" and related policies;
– Develop and demonstrate a common CSOs’ ability to track progress of well-meaning "Green BRI" sustainability policies and procedures;
– Build an initial platform for future assessments and discussions of progress in environmental and social accountability of Chinese overseas investment, cooperation programs and policies in BRI-affected countries;
– Promote priority solutions for "Greening BRI" as seen by CSOs coming from different countries.
– Make recommendations on future cooperation between civil society and other BRI actors.
Our Survey includes a quick guide to "Green Belt and Road Initiative policy" as manifested in "Guidance on Promoting Green Belt and Road" and "The Belt and Road Ecological and Environmental Cooperation Plan" issued by Chinese government in 2017 and a Questionnaire that will help to evaluate how well known the policy is in BRI countries and what information on its implementation is available to civil society members. For convenience the guide is divided in sections followed by questions related to the subject.
It may take You from 30 to 55 minutes to answer the questions of this survey. Have fun!
Please disseminate the link for this Survey Google form to potentially interested contacts and mailing lists.
LINK: https://forms.gle/uvYP2febrdE1Dq278