Environmental Movements and Social Organizations in Shanghai

Abstract

This research aims to analyze environmental movements and social organizations in Shanghai since the late 1990s. The study reveals that civil society in Shanghai has increasingly had an impact on environmentally unfriendly policies given the priority of economic well-being in every aspect of society. The development of social organizations in environmental protection in Shanghai was identified through fieldwork carried out in 2002. Alongside existing social organizations already engaged in environmental protection, there was also an emergence of new social organizations. Most of the environmental NGOs in Shanghai—spearheaded by university students—lack capacity to exert much influence on environmental policies. In addition to student-based environmental NGOs, other types of social organizations include government-organized NGOs (GONGOs), local communities (s hequ), the media, and international NGOs. The study evaluates how the local environmental NGOs in Shanghai evolved and survived in the transitional period interacting with other social organizations. It is concluded that a collaboration of GONGOs, NGOs, and various environmental groups together with international NGOs has led to the formation of a civil force that influences Shanghai's environmental policymaking.