"The China Environment Yearbook," produced by China's preeminent environmental organization Friends of Nature, has established itself as the standard source for on-the-ground civil society perspectives about environmental issues in China. The third English language volume in the series brings readers up to date on the main issues and events in 2007. These include national debates about water and air pollution, the Lake Tai algae crisis, the environmental protests in the city of Xiamen, challenges faced by those planning a green Olympics in Beijing for 2008, and the adverse impact of global climate change. The research and analysis contained in the volume depicts the broader patterns of an emerging environmental politics in China - a more assertive and restive citizenry in environmental affairs, the rise of interest groups, and international influences on domestic policy debates. "The China Environment Yearbook, Volume 3" is an indispensable source for scholars and policy makers concerned about how China's environmental policies and practices will affect its own future and the future of the earth.
Yang Dongping is co-founder and vice president of Friends of Nature and professor of education at the Beijing Institute of Technology.
Friends of Nature was the first environmental non-governmental organization in the People's Republic of China, established in 1994 by Liang Congjie, Yang Dongping, Liang Xiaoyan and Wang Lixiong. The organization has more than 3000 active members and has been recipient fifteen prestigious national and international awards.