Reflections on China’s grassroots environmental movement

By Courtney Banayad, Senior Foundation Partnerships Manager

Yu Yin, the coordinator of Global Greengrants Fund’s small grants program in China, recently joined me in New York City for a series of meetings with donors on the role of grassroots grantmaking in fueling environmental and social justice movements, especially in regions where space for civil society is shrinking.

Read my post for Alliance Magazine about grassroots grantmaking in China. 

While in her coordinator role for only a short time, she has already proven to be an invaluable resource to our grantees. Yu Yin uses Wechat, the Chinese version of WhatsApp, to stay in daily contact with our grantees.

She facilitates group chats, attracting more than 110 people from our vast network of grantees. In the chats, grantees share successes, discuss training resources, or ask for peer support to address common environmental challenges across different provinces.

Since Yu Yin is so dialed into the activities of our grantees through Wechat—in addition to the mentorship she provides—she learned that the co-founder of CrossBorder Environmental Concern Association, Zhang Jiayue, was also in New York.

We met in Central Park and had an inspired conversation about how Global Greengrants is supporting Zhang Jiayue’s group to increase information transparency and public participation around PetroChina’s reclamation projects, which threaten marine life in the densely populated Pearl River Delta.

Many communities in China face daily injustices that include living in toxically contaminated areas, unsafe levels of air pollution, the destruction of finite natural resources, and rivers that run green, red, and denim blue. Meanwhile, China’s energy needs have led to a rapid acceleration of hydropower stations, nuclear power plants, mining, and the import of oil and natural gas—posing more threats to environmental and public health.

Within this context of pressing environmental degradation and public health harms, there is a growing engagement of grassroots groups that are propelling the environmental movement and fostering the development of civil society.

Check out “Reflections on Grassroots Grantmaking in China” to learn why China is a key battleground for environmental protection.