How do China and Brazil deal with water pollution challenges? A comparative perspective of two emerging countries’ approach to water pollution problems docx

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How do China and Brazil deal with water pollution challenges?

A comparative perspective of two emerging countries’ approach to water pollution

problems





MSc China in Comparative Perspective
London School of Economics
2009 - 2010

Candidate Number: 24247
Word Count: 9,866

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Abstract


With 70 percent of the earth's surface covered by water and the human body consisting of 60 percent
of it, it is undoubtedly evident that water is one of the most important elements responsible for life on
earth. China’s and Brazil’s rapid economic growth, industrialisation, dense population and massive

urbanisation, in addition to the ineffective implementation of water management and pollution
controls, have resulted in widespread water pollution. This dissertation provides a comparative
analysis of how China and Brazil deal with water pollution challenges. This dissertation first explores
the role of industrialisation in polluting freshwater in China and Brazil and predicts its future growing
control following the predictions of the environmental Kuznets curve. Second, looking at the massive
internal migration in China and Brazil this paper suggests that cities in China and Brazil are not
capable to sustain the population size and accommodate the population growth, which is threatening
the water security in urban areas. Third, the same causes that have boosted agricultural and rural
development will be assessed in relation to their impact on environmental degradation and the
possibility to implement the precautionary principle to avoid the emergence of new environmental
accidents. Finally, fragmented coordination and bureaucratic competition within Brazil’s and China’s
institutional organisation will be evaluated as a major reason for the lack of environmental pollution

supervision. Informal rules such as the Chinese guanxi and the Brazilian clientelism will serve to
explain the factors affecting policy implementation and compliance. China and Brazil have a very
promising economic future; however, both must address their environmental problems in order to
achieve their full potential. Time is necessary to implement change, yet both countries need to work
against time if they wish to continue to enjoy their miraculous growth. Clean water is a crucial element
for economic growth, healthy life and development but, it is also running out, which threatens long-
term expectations for sustainable development.

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Table of Contents


Page
Abstract………………………………………………… … ………… … 1
Table of Contents…………………………………… …… ……………… …… 3

Chapter I: Introduction
Background and Motivation 4

Methodology 7

Chapter II: Overview
Water Pollution Situation in China and Brazil 10

Chapter III: Comparative Analysis
Industrialisation 13
Urbanisation 17
Rural and Agricultural Development 19

Environmental Policy Enforcement 22

Chapter IV: Conclusion
Conclusion……… …………………….……………… ………….….29

Bibliography………………………………………………………… ……….31




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CHAPTER I: Introduction

Background and Motivation

Agua, eau, su, lehçe, shui, water. Pronunciation may vary across languages, though its significance for
human beings remains equally important. Water represents up to 60 percent of the human body and
cover over 70 percent of the Earth’s surface (U.S. Geological Survey, 2010). Ancient civilisations,
from Egyptians to Chinese to Mesopotamians, had their beginnings along great rivers for agricultural,
transportation, and safety reasons. China, a hydraulic civilisation, was mainly defined by the water of
its rivers, floods, and rains, especially the Yellow River (Huang He), also known as the “dragon river”
(Murray& Cook, 2002). The Amazon River is the backbone of Brazil and, it is the largest river in the
world with a total flow larger than the next ten largest rivers. The numerous rivers that cross Brazil
have provided tremendous natural resources and prosperity, which has been crucial in becoming Latin
America’s largest and the world’s eighth largest economy. Rapid industrialisation and extreme focus

on economic growth are, however, polluting waters in countries with enormous water resources like
Brazil and China, despite that without clean, healthy waters, human development is not possible.

China’s rapid economic growth is often considered the most fascinating economic miracle in
contemporary world history. In fact, China has already become the second largest economy in the
world and unprecedentedly lifted about 500 million people out of poverty over a generation (Malik,
2009). Such an extraordinary accomplishment has, nonetheless, caused tremendous pollution problems,
especially on rivers, lakes, and streams. China’s rapid socioeconomic growth has brought new
challenges to deal with, such as international competition, heavy industrialisation, environmental
pollution, and pollution-related health problems. Furthermore, it has increased dramatically energy
demand for resources and sacrificed the cleanness of natural resources like water. Elisabeth Economy
argues, “the same dynamic that produced such success in the economic sphere, however, has also

wreaked havoc on China’s natural environment” (Economy, 2004). China’s economic growth and
industrialisation have been like a dual-edged sword to the world, as it already stands as one of the
world’s largest CO2 emitters (Horii, 2001).

The Chinese model of excessive focus on rapid economic growth will be unendurable without a real
change in the country’s position against water pollution. According to the non-profit group Pacific
Environment, it is estimated that around 320 million people in China lack access to clean drinking
water, and around 70 percent of all water sources are polluted to some extent (Pacific Environment,

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2009). In fact, this has drastically increased the cases of cancers, leading to the cancer villages

phenomenon near water polluted sources. This is particularly serious in a country that contains some
of the largest fresh water reserves in the world, and the largest population to be supplied.

China’s model of rapid economic growth, however, will not be sustainable without a real change in its
pollution prevention and control mechanisms. The top two most polluted cities in the world are
actually located in China. Excessive industrialisation and reliance on polluting energy resources have
severely damaged the Chinese environment. Pollution causes approximately 400,000 premature deaths
a year and acid rain has increasingly become a serious concern which damage is estimated to total $5-
13 billion (Lew, 1999). Finding a way to ensure water pollution prevention and control is urgent to
China in order to maintain its miraculous story.

On the other side of the globe, Brazil has deserved to be called the Latin American miracle due to its

astonishingly rapid socioeconomic growth as one of the world’s fastest growing economies. This has
contributed to consolidate it among the emerging BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, and China).
Similar to China, Brazil contains large water resources from lakes and rivers, like the Amazons. Water
resources management is undeniably a key element to achieve sustainable growth, as well as a more
equitable and inclusive society. Nonetheless, rapid economic and industrial growth endangers Brazil’s
urban water access. Cities like Sao Paulo are among the largest urban centres in the globe with over 20
million people. Major cities, however, suffer from polluted water due to residential and industrial
sewage. Furthermore, it is believed that only 35 percent of collected wastewater received any
treatment. Uncontrolled urban growth is becoming a growing threat to the environment.

Both China and Brazil are often regarded by many developing countries as models to follow. As they
achieve astonishing economic results, water pollution has become an extremely serious threat to their

sustainable development. This research project will study and compare the approach of each country
to freshwater pollution. I will also evaluate the effectiveness of their policy enforcement efforts to
prevent and control water pollution. Although there is some literature on water pollution that analyses
individually China and Brazil, there are nearly almost no studies that compare both countries together,
despite their growing importance in the world. This dissertation will contribute to the existing
literature by providing a comparison of how two emerging countries that belong to a similar category
of development deal with one of the most serious contemporary problems. China and Brazil are often
criticized when compared to the great achievements on water pollution treatment made by developed

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countries, such some European nations. However, in order to best understand and evaluate their

approach to water pollution issues they should be compared to countries with common socio-
economic characteristics and a similar development stage. This will facilitate drawing clearer
conclusions and identify more appropriate lessons that can be applied to China and Brazil.

Preventing, reducing, and controlling water pollution is critical, thus, to maintain China’s and Brazil’s
miraculous socioeconomic growth and provide an example to all those developing countries that
follow their steps. My research question is, thus, not only important but vital due to the urgency of
China and Brazil to address the problem of water pollution in order to ensure access to health and
higher living standards to their respective populations. Much of the available literature focuses solely
on either China or Brazil. This dissertation will, nonetheless, analyse and compare how both emerging
countries deal with freshwater pollution issues. While previous comparative analysis has been usually
done among developed economies or between emerging and industrialised countries, there are

extremely few works that study pollution issues within emerging countries. Given the importance that
emerging economies have for the world and in particular for their own regions, it is thus vital to
further research issues like water pollution within an intercontinental comparative analysis framework.

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Methodology

How do China and Brazil deal with water pollution challenges? Emerging countries’ rapid
socioeconomic growth is indeed a great example to follow for many developing countries around the
world. Among them, both China and Brazil have proven in their respective regions that development
is possible for all economies and have drawn a new path towards growth and prosperity. Nevertheless,
water pollution is one of the most severe consequences of such phenomenon, as governments have
advocated for an economic growth first, environmental protection later approach. In the past few
decades, ruling institutions have attempted to tackle the water pollution problem due to the essential
role that water plays in human lives. This dissertation will analyse and compare these two emerging
countries’ approaches to freshwater pollution prevention and control.

In order to analyse and compare the ways China and Brazil deal with water pollution challenges and

assess their effectiveness, I will be looking at the impact on freshwater pollution of: industrialisation
and economic growth, urbanisation, rural and agricultural development, and environmental policy
enforcement. First, studying how water pollution has worsened in China by massive industrialisation,
as factories often fail to meet environmental standards and discharge untreated wastewaters to local
rivers, will provide an important assessment of the Chinese industrial impact on water pollution. The
water consequences of Brazil’s export orientated industrialisation approach, that marked its economic
policy, will be also analysed. Such comparison is crucial to understand how industrialisation in two
different emerging countries has negatively impacted water pollution in diverse ways. Second,
examining the phenomenon of massive urbanisation in China will demonstrate that excessive
population density has an uncontrollable impact on water pollution, to the extent that des-urbanisation
is currently encouraged. China’s socialist roots will be contrasted to the Brazilian system that has led
to severe inequality and illegal settlements’ problems. Differences between both will be highlighted in

order to assess how they have affected water pollution. Third, studying Brazilian agricultural
fertilizers’ and agrochemicals’ discharge to rivers and streams will show the gravity of uncontrolled
rural development. China’s rural industrial development drivers, Township and Village Industrial
Enterprises (TVIEs) polluting practices will be analysed in order to deeper understand some of the
main reasons for water contamination in China. Comparing both countries’ rural and agricultural
sources of water pollution will help to demystify ideas of rural pureness that overlook the
countryside’s role in contaminating water. Finally, policy enforcement problems of both China and
Brazil will be studied in order to compare how informal rules affect water pollution control policies’
compliance in these two emerging countries, given their different socio-cultural background.

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The research methodology for this dissertation is primarily based on a review of books and journal
articles that examine environmental, economic, social and political topics related to Chinese and
Brazilian environmental and, more specifically, water degradation; economic growth and industrial
pollution in emerging countries; the impact of urbanisation and social inequality impact on water
pollution in China and Brazil; the institutional framework that regulates water pollution control in both
countries; and Chinese and Brazilian informal rules that stop policy compliance. For the purpose of
this dissertation, only pollution on freshwater in both China and Brazil will be studied.

Academic research books may provide useful theoretical and analytical frameworks, though some
information and data may be outdated due to the rapid changing environmental and political issues in
emerging economies like China and Brazil. Scholarly journal articles offer more in-depth
interpretation and take innovative intellectual approaches to the issue. All these materials were

accessed through the London School of Economics’ library, online journal databases, as well as other
articles and reports available online. Data from books, journals, articles, and reports are accordingly
cited and quoted. All the material has been selected according to content and relevance to the topic,
and analysed carefully to understand the main arguments of authors. Nevertheless, my research
encountered some language limitations, since some data and journals were only written in either
Portuguese or Chinese. Moreover, finding general information about Brazil was limited, as most data
was only found per regions due to Brazil’s federal structure.

This dissertation, thus, explores economic, political, social, and environmental aspects to compare
how two rapidly emerging countries like China and Brazil deal with water pollution. In Chapter II, an
overview of the importance of water for a country’s development will be followed by an introduction
of China’s and Brazil’s water resources and pollution problems. Chapter III will use a comparative

analysis to explore different areas related to water pollution in China and Brazil that will help us to
deeper understand how these two emerging countries deal with the issue. First, the role of
industrialisation in polluting freshwater of China and Brazil will be studied and compared. In order to
assess how China and Brazil deal with the problem of water pollution, the pollution intensity of GDP
and the environmental Kuznets curve will be applied. Second, an analysis of the impact of urbanisation
on water pollution in the Chinese and Brazilian contexts will contribute to the understanding of how
water pollution is caused and controlled. Third, rural development will be compared by evaluating
polluting elements of agriculture in both countries such TVIEs, fertilisers, and agrochemicals. This
will be analysed through the precautionary principle in order to assess the risk of rural policies to
cause harm to the rural environment. Fourth, environmental policy and water pollution control
enforcement in China and Brazil will be studied through the fragmented coordination and

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bureaucratic competition approaches, as the role of governmental institutions will be considered in
dealing with this problem. Informal rules of behaviour, such as guanxi and clientelism, will serve to
the purpose of analysing how social factors affect policy compliance and water pollution treatment
efforts. Chapter IV will conclude the dissertation with an evaluation of the main arguments raised
throughout the dissertation by using a comparative analysis to provide a more complete study and
offer alternatives and suggestions for each country to improve water pollution prevention and control.
The applicability of some aspects, however, might be challenged by China’s and Brazil’s unique
socio-economic conditions.

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CHAPTER II: Overview

Water Pollution Overview

Water is probably the most indispensable element for life on Earth. Water not only covers 70 percent
of the planet’s surface, but also represents up to 60 percent of the human body and 83 percent of our
blood (U.S. Geological Survey, 2010). Most great empires and civilisations were born at the meadows
of rivers like the Tigris, Nile, and Huang He. Despite its status as the backbone of life, human beings
have mistreated water and sacrifice its pureness at the expenses of development and economic growth.
Pollution of freshwater is an increasing problem, as there are about 250 million cases of water-related

diseases annually, with up to 10 million deaths (Grinning Planet, 2005). Ingestion of contaminated
water can cause mortal diseases like cholera, typhoid, and dysentery. It is not a coincidence that Asian
rivers are the most polluted in the world and have twenty times more lead than industrialised
countries’ rivers, as Asian economies have performed an impressive but destructive miracle. Chinese
rivers’ waters are mostly undrinkable. However, Asia is not the only continent with water pollution
issues. Latin America’s leading country, Brazil, has become one of the fastest growing economies in
the world. Excessive focus on industrialisation and growth has increased, like in China, water
pollution despite the abundance of its water resources. No development, however, is sustainable
without balanced actions that maintains a clean environment and promotes social wellbeing.

Over the last three decades, China has climbed from a poor developing Communist country to the
world’s third largest economy lifting about 500 million people out of poverty in a generation (Malik,

2009). What is considered by many as one of the world’s greatest social achievements has created
tremendous expectations given that one fifth of the planet’s population lives in China. Its rapid
industrialisation and growth has been carried out without considering environmental degradation and
contamination, which has contributed to reaching some of the world’s highest rates of water pollution
(Economy, 2006). China’s industrial output increased by more than 15 percent annually throughout
the 1990’s, thus becoming the country’s largest productive sector, accounting for 47 percent of its
gross domestic product (GDP) and employing 17 percent of the labour force (Wang, 2007).

Although China has the sixth largest stock of freshwater in the world, which represents about 5.8
percent of the world’s water on 2,812.4 billion cubic metres, its massive population has led the
country to rank on the 88
th

place out of 153 countries in terms of access of water (Qingshan, 2008).
China’s urban population grew by more than 160 million between 1990 and 1995, thus more people

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Source: Wu, 1999
are exposed to unsafe water (Ma, 2000). Urban dwellers increased per capita from less than 100 litres
in 1980 to 244 litres in 2000, and demand for water is expected to triple during 1995-2030 from 120 to
400 billion tons (Economy, 2006). The combination of skyrocketing demand, population pressures,
inefficiencies, overuse, and unequal distribution has led to a situation of which two-thirds of China’s
600 cities suffer from water shortages (Economy, 2006). As a result of rapid industrialisation and
urbanisation, in China over 700 million people consume contaminated water that exceeds maximum

permissible levels by as much as 86 percent in rural areas and 28 percent in urban areas (Wu, et Al.
1999). By the end of 1990s, only 5 percent of municipal wastewater and 17 percent of industrial
discharge received any sort of
treatment before being discharged
back into coastal waters, rivers, and
lakes (Wu, et Al. 1999). The river
quality map unveils the seriousness of
water quality problems as Grade V and
IV areas are very numerous throughout
the country. China urgently needs to
address water pollution in order to
restore the wellbeing of its people and

ensure the continuity of its
socioeconomic miracle. Sadly, it is not
the only emerging country that faces
this difficult challenge.


Before the first Europeans arrived in most of what today is known as Brazil, that land was like a
gigantic Eden with clean natural resources and a balanced harmony between men and nature. Since the
discovery of the Americas, Brazilian rivers and forests have been severely damaged for the sake of
large agricultural production and mining, especially due to Brazil’s rich gold resources. As South
America’s largest gold producer, Brazil has released into the Amazon about 2,000 to 3,000 tonnes of
mercury since the 1980’s (Malm, 1998). Moreover, rapid industrialisation and urbanisation has cost

severe water resources contamination, as it happened to China. Just in Brazil’s two largest
metropolitan areas, Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, over 30 million people are affected by water
pollution (Osava, 2007).


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Water resources in Brazil account for 53 percent of the total in South America with 251,000 cubic
metres/ second (Ferrao Boroi, & Alencar Torres, 1997). Brazil has about 14 percent of the world’s
freshwater resources, but 68 percent are located in the northern regions, which only has 7 percent of
the country’s population (Bernardo, 2008). Although Brazil is a large country with abundant water
resources, these are not homogeneously distributed (Clevelario Junior., 2005). The northern areas are

the least populated but rich in water, while the north-eastern regions have scarcity of water resources
due to a semi-arid climate and large population (Clevelario Junior., 2005). Southern Brazil’s water
scarcity is due to overexploitation and heavy pollution. In addition, there are two opposing groups
involving water distribution: one is made of governmental authorities that want water to serve power-
production and urban consumption purposes; whereas the other group is formed by rural inhabitants
that want water for irrigation and farming (Bernardo, 2008). If Brazilians are to enjoy clean water,
more needs to be done to ensure clean water accessibility and water pollution control.

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CHAPTER III: Comparative Analysis

Industrialisation

China’s fast paced development has led it to become “the third biggest contributor to global pollution”
(Murray & Cook, 2002). The main contributors to water pollution originate from industrial activities,
chemical, organic, and thermal wastes; urban centres, sewage consisting of human wastes, and
detergents; and rural activities, pesticides, fertilizers, and animal wastes (Brower et. al, 1990).
However, the most fundamental factors causing water pollution are the same that have boosted the
economic success of the rural industry. The causes for such a massive rate of pollution are closely
linked to its rapid industrial growth and the need to slow migration to the cities. China’s National
Environmental Protection Agency acknowledges that the main source of pollution in China come from
the dispersal of industries that was designed to dilute the concentration of industrial pollution, as well
as to improve the rural economies and prevent migration to the main urban centres (Ward & Liang,
1995).

Rapid industrialisation has had a profound impact on China’s environmental degradation and water
pollution. Environmental quality has declined sharply since 1978 (Swanson, 2001). In Zhejiang
province alone, more than 65 percent of the total precipitation is now acidic and the total annual
industrial wastewater discharge has been above 20 million tons since 1986 (Swanson, 2001). Industrial
pollution occurs due to mismanagement caused by a variety of reasons. Every year, rivers, lakes and
coastal water receive some 36 billion tons of untreated industrial wastewater and raw sewage
discharged by factories (Murray & Cook, 2002). According to China’s former State Environment
Protection Administration (SEPA) minister “about 28,000 enterprises still failed to meet the state
environmental standards. Another 7,280 had failed to take action to reduce their discharge of toxic
waste despite repeated warnings to do so” (Murray& Cook, 2002). Poor regulation and enforcement
allow many small enterprises to operate without wastewater treatment, thus exacerbating the water

pollution problem.

Furthermore, water pollution also has an economic burden for China. According to the 1997 World
Bank Clear Skies Blue Water report, the annual cost of environmental pollution and degradation in
China was equivalent to 8-12 percent of the Chinese GDP (Economy, 2006). Water availability is
crucial for economic growth and human wellbeing; however, mismanaged economic activities have a
profound negative impact on water availability and quality. When water is scarce or polluted, or where

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economic activity is unrestrained and without regulation, social problems emerge. Water pollution
problems have reached to the point of threatening the pace of economic growth and weakening

political stability (Gleick, 2008). International enterprises have started to cancel business ventures
because of water concerns, thus creating public concern and raising political pressure on central and
regional governments to adopt more effectively measures to deal with water problems (Gleick, 2008).
In addition, water pollution has become a nationwide concern, as seen in Chinese media articles: “The
pursuit of economic growth has been the priority overshadowing the vital issues of water resources
and ecological balance” (Gleick, 2008). In 2005, the Chinese government recognized the occurrence
of 50,000 protests related to environmental concerns, many of which were related to water decay
(Turner & Lü, 2006). In the efforts to address water-related issues, local authorities have found
themselves in an uncomfortable position where balance is needed among different aspects, like protect
local industries and jobs, safeguard own personal interests, the desire to sustain rapid economic growth,
and address the environmental crisis (Gleick, 2008). Industrialisation has, thus, not only provided
China with many socioeconomic opportunities but also challenges that threaten its rapid economic

growth and social stability. Promoting sustainable development that prevents and control water
pollution is crucial to ensure China’s long term growth goals.

Although no country in the world has managed to sustain China’s growth figures, the Brazilian
economy has experienced an exponential growth in the last three decades, totally unprecedented in its
region. The Brazilian miracle began with the many incentives created to increase exports as a way to
alleviated the pressure caused by the payments of the external debt crisis that Brazil had by the early
1980’s (Frickman, 2010). As a consequence of the rapid export oriented policies, water pollution
problems have increased in Brazil. Therefore, pollution from industrial activity is positively correlated
since the 1980s: the higher the growth, the higher the pollution threat. In other words, industrial
growth has been shifted towards potentially polluting industries (Frickman, 2010 Brazilian water
quality has been seriously impacted by industrial and agricultural chemicals.

Massive industrialisation derived from rapid economic growth has increased water pollution to
alarming levels in emerging countries like China and Brazil. However, this could merely be part of the
normal transition from a traditional to a developed economy. Countries with traditional economies
lack of a solid industrial foundation that boosts socioeconomic development. They are usually based
on rural activities for economic growth, such as farming and livestock raising, which generally suffer
from low-productivity. Some scholars argue that historically “during the transition from a traditional
economy to a developed economy, the pollution intensity of GDP has first intensified and then eased”

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Source: New Zealand MAF

Source: Auty, 1997
(Auty, 1997). When countries
transform their economic
structure towards becoming a
developed economy,
manufacturing is specially
emphasized, whereas service
activities gain importance as the
economy later develops.
Transition length varies from five
generations in average to merely
two generations that has taken in

East Asia (Auty, 1997). This
argument can be explained by
using aggregate pollution patterns that mark the midpoint in the transition process in which
manufacturing reaches a peak. Pollution intensity of GDP can be understood with the inverted U-
shape of the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC): pollution rates and environmental degradation first
increase as manufacturing takes more importance and per capita income increases. After reaching the
turning point, the curve goes down as environment begins to improve due to economic development,
technological changes, and growing preference for a cleaner environment (Lee, 2009).


This is also partly due to the fact that
traditional economies first focus on

heavy industrialisation, often at the price
of polluting, outdated machinery and
factories. As people’s per capita income
increases, their concern for quality of
living begins to increase; thus health and
environmental quality becomes more
important. Once the industrial transition
from a traditional to a developed
economy nears its end, hazardous waste
becomes a serious pollution problem that
is often discharged to waterways, thus

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producing severe adverse health effects (Auty, 1997). As their governments often claim, China and
Brazil are currently at that transitional stage and just need more time to reduce pollution as their
economies develop. Victorian Britain was not only the most industrialised place at the time, but also
the most polluted and dark; therefore, China and Brazil will also reduce water pollution as per capita
income increases and their economies develop. However, it is important to consider whether the
serious effects on water pollution today are irreversible ever in the future.

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Urbanisation

Emerging countries compromise about half of the planet’s population (Global Edge, 2009). Alongside
to their economic growth, Chinese and Brazilian cities are developing and urbanising at a remarkably
fast rate. Though it is economically beneficial, this rapid urbanisation has an adverse impact on the
environment because the city infrastructure is unable to adapt to the growing population in the same
pace than the migration wave. Urbanisation brings environmental issues including water pollution and
waste dumping. The Chinese urbanisation rate has increased from 18 percent in 1978 to 31 percent in
1999, a growth rate three times higher than the world average during the same time period (Zhang &
Song, 2003). In addition, the percentage of China’s population that live in cities is estimated to
increase from the present 47 percent to 75 percent within the following thirty years (Land, 2010). As

the Brazilian economy has shifted from a highly agriculture oriented economy to one more focused
around the service industry, 66 percent of Brazil’s labour force is now dedicated to services related
activities; while only 20 percent remains doing agricultural based chores (The World Factbook, 2009).
Brazilians are seeking to work in urban settings, cramming in poor living conditions and causing a
deeper environmental degradation.

One out of five people in the world live in China, which population is 1,345,750,973. This is larger
than all Western countries together (IBGE, 2010). Although China’s population density is high (145
people/km2), most of its provinces exceed this figure as the population is mainly concentrated on the
eastern part of the country. Guangdong’s population density, for instance, is about four times the
national average: 536 /km2 (IBGE, 2010). Although Brazil is the world’s fifth most populous country
in the world, its population density is merely 23/Km2 due to the country’s uneven population

distribution. Half of all Brazilian states are above that figure, mostly located on the eastern part, like
China, including the Federal District (410.9/Km2), Rio de Janeiro (356.1/Km2) and Sao Paulo
(165/Km2) (IBGE, 2010).

China’s population pressure, growing agriculture, industrialisation and increasing high living
standards have all intensify the demand for water, while overuse and pollution have decreased
supplies. According to a 2003 United Nations report, “Across the globe, groundwater is being depleted
by the demands of megacities and agriculture, while fertilizer runoff and pollution are threatening
water quality and public health” (Hays, 2010). A combination of factors, such as insufficient
legislation, poorly designed control mechanisms, and a discouraging work environment for

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environmental regulators has impeded the successful enforcement of polluting controls, aggravating
the current environmental crisis, thus becoming a pollution cause itself.

It is an unfortunate reality how emerging countries tend to ravage the environment as they climb to
power. Irresponsible dumping is not only affecting rivers and lakes, but human beings, animals, and
their surrounding are suffering as well. In China, statistics suggest that over 70 percent of lakes and
rivers are heavily contaminated, and more than half of the cities’ groundwater is polluted (Zhang,
2006). As reported by the government newspaper China Daily, over a sixth of China’s population is at
risk by severely polluted water, while most of the rural areas have no wastewater system in place
(Gleick, 2008). China’s uncontrolled exploitation of its water resources has reached the terrible point
that its rivers are dying, lakes are pools of waste; groundwater aquifers are being unsustainably

consumed, driving multiple aquatic life species to extinction; adverse impacts on both human and
ecosystem wellbeing are extensive and growing (Gleick, 2008). Sustainable development will only be
achieved when pollution control is effectively enforced to balance population and economic growth, as
well as environmental wellbeing.

The positive correlation between urbanisation and water pollution also occurs in Brazil, where major
and medium size metropolitan areas face increasing problems of water contamination. The rapid
growth of urban population has exceeded the ability of governments to expand sewage and water
treatment infrastructure. Approximately 30 million people are suffering from the water contamination
in Brazil's two largest metropolitan areas, Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro (Osava, 2007). Unlike China
where the communist regime left the attachment to the land as its heritage, Brazilian unequal but
democratic system promotes moving for opportunities. As the Brazilian industry and economy keeps

growing, invasions of illegal settlements in metropolis like Sao Paulo are increasingly becoming a real
threat for sustainable growth. According to the non-governmental Socioambiental Institute 2000
census, an estimate of 1.6 million people lives in illegal settlements, which leads to unregulated water
and sewerage runoff (Osava, 2007). As Rio de Janeiro metropolitan area has grown to the west
towards the Guandú basin, the main cause of water pollution is the untreated runoff of water used by
the civilians, particularly in illegal settlements (Osava, 2007). In contrast to China’s major cities
stagnant population, as the result of economic incentives to remain and return to secondary cities, the
population in Brazilian cities continues growing exponentially. This means more sewage and waste is
being dumped into water flows, and the problem threatens to lack solution unless more efficient water
pollution control measures are taken.

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Rural and Agricultural Development

According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) definition sustainable agricultural
development needs "the management and conservation of the natural resource base, and the orientation
of technological and institutional change in such a manner as to ensure the attainment and continued
satisfaction of human needs for present and future generations” (FAO Trainer’s Manual, 1995). To
achieve such development, all natural resources including water must be protected in a technically
adequate manner, being economically viable and socially acceptable. Simultaneously to population
growth, the adverse effects of pollution are threatening to constrain the gains in production and put at
risk sustainable agriculture development (FAO, 1995). Achieving sustainable agriculture and rural

development (SARD) in China and Brazil is not an easy task, as the per capita water availability is
falling rapidly. Achieving SARD depends on both countries’ ability to increase the productivity of
existing water resources through the appropriate implementation and enforcement of pollution controls.

Water pollution accidents are mostly caused by rural industries related to papermaking, textile,
chemical plants, cement and bricks. These enterprises are common as Township and Village Industrial
Enterprises (TVIEs) across China. Raw materials can be supplied in almost any village and processing
is simple, thus contributing to the easy spread of pollution across the rural areas (Taketoshi, 2001).
This sort of industry is characterised by its small size, outdated technology and equipment, poor
management and intense consumption of water resources. In addition, due to budget constraints, most
TVIEs choose to pay emission fees rather than incur the costs of installing and operating pollution
controls (Wang, 2007). Local government’s close financial ties to rural enterprises also limit the

implementation and enforcement of environmental regulations. Local authorities are often involved in
the management of TVIEs. Therefore, conflicts of interest make local governments reluctant to
monitor and penalise for avoiding compliance and lacking wastewater treatment (Wang,
2007). Moreover, due to the dispersion of TVIEs, environmental monitoring staff is unable to carry
out inspections to all the registered enterprises. For instance, in Zhejiang’s Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) each staff has to monitor an average of 500 enterprises in addition to the urban
enterprises (Wang, 2007). As a result, the Environmental Protection Bureau (EPB) and the local EPAs
focus on large polluters, leaving rural TVIEs immune.

Water contamination resulted from industries is much easier to document than that from agricultural
areas due to the lack of rural records (CR). However, existing reports suggest that massive rural
pollution has resulted from synthetic fertilizers and pesticides carried away in flows leaving irrigated

20

fields (CR). An example is the Huai River, which flows through densely populated farmland between
the Yellow and Yangtze rivers. Half the checkpoints along the Huai River showed pollution levels of
“Grade 5” or worse, with pollutants detected in ground water 300 meters below the river (Hays,
2010). Bottlenecks and elevation changes make the river prone to flooding and collecting pollutants.
In some cases, cities along a river dump pollutants outside their city limits, which create more
pollution for the cities downstream. By doing this, the cities’ authorities pass the pollution problem to
the cities downstream and avoid real policy compliance. Water has reached high rates of pollution
mainly because of poor irrigation and industrial practices, lack of wastewater treatments, and direct
wastewater dumping into the water flows.

A possible indicator to assess the rate of water pollution caused by each sector is looking at the
percentage of Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), a major water pollution indicator, discharged. In
China, the total wastewater discharge in 2007 was about 30 million tons, 43 percent of which came
from agricultural sources (Xinhua, 2010). In the industrial sector, from all the surveyed TVIEs, paper
manufacturing industries discharged 45 percent of all the wastewater, and 67 percent of the total COD
discharged (Taketoshi, 2001). Social, political, and economic barriers have prevented effective
enforcement of environmental regulation (Swanson, 2001). Fragmented coordination and bureaucratic
competition, in addition to the Chinese tradition of harmonious network relations of guanxi, has
constrained the role of governmental institutions enforcing wastewater treatment and supervision.
According to The World Bank sources, the impact of water pollution on human health has been
estimated to cost approximately U.S. $3.9 billion (The World Bank, 1997). Nearly 700 million

Chinese consume water on a daily basis contaminated with human or animal wastes that exceeds the
maximum permissible levels (Hays, 2010). China has the highest rate of liver and stomach cancer in
the world, which is in part caused by water pollution (Hays, 2010). Cancer patients are 3-7 times
higher in rural areas, such as in Shanxi, Shenyang, and Liaoning provinces, which shows the positive
correlation between water pollution and mortal diseases (The World Bank, 1997). Cancer village is a
term used to define those towns where cancer has risen dramatically because of pollution, especially
that from water. China is said to have around 100 cancer villages along the Huai River. Mortality rates
on those towns next to the Huai River are 30 percent higher than the national average (Hays, 2010). In
1995, the Huai River was declared to have exceeded the maximum permissible pollution rate,
therefore it was undrinkable, cutting the pipelines from the Huai River and forcing the military to
truck in water for a month (Economy, 2006). Many farmers fear that they are paying for the country's
overwhelming economic expansion with their lives, as surrounding TVIEs lack effective pollution

controls and the use of agrochemicals in addition to massive dumping is filling the rural areas with
health-damaging waste.

21

For thousands of years natural resources have been managed to sustain productive agriculture and at
times to uphold growing human populations. Brazil’s agricultural activity has been cited as a major
pollutant to its main water flows (Sharp, 1979). The main agricultural-caused problem affecting
Brazil’s water quality is the presence of nitrate in underground water, and nitrate and phosphate in
surface waters (Mello & Van, 2006). Water pollution caused by application of fertilizers and
agrochemicals comes mainly from rice crops. Around 700 chemical compounds, including 600
organic compounds have been detected in water samples (Primel, 2005). The state of Rio Grande du

Sul (RS) alone is responsible for using around 20 percent of all the pesticides utilized in the country
(Primel, 2005). In the region of Paty do Alferes, the Caetes watershed was reported to carry heavy
metals due to excessive use of fertilizers, pesticides, and organic residues. Brazil’s export oriented
agricultural practices have not only harmed the water quality, but it also puts at risks Brazil’s
capability to achieve a sustainable long-term growth.

Since the early colonial period, high expectations have remained about mineral riches hidden in the
Brazilian territory. Mining is one of Brazil’s main rural industries. As a result of 1970s gold prices
increase, since 1980s Brazil has ranked first in South America’s gold production, with nearly 90
percent coming from informal mining (Malm, 1998). However, in artisanal gold mining practices,
particles are extracted burning the amalgam with mercury. In the present gold rush this has led to
about 2,000 to 3,000 tonnes of mercury released into the Brazilian Amazon (Malm, 1998). Elevated

concentrations of mercury have been found in the Tapajos and Madeira river basins, as well as in some
populations (Malm, 1998). The intake of mercury through water or fish causes serious health risks,
such as neurological damage (Leino & Lodenius, 1999). Medical concern and awareness of the need
to reduce the overall exposure to mercury should encourage governments to take anticipatory action to
prevent harm of new activities, processes, technologies, and other discoveries. Because the burden of
proof in these cases relies on the proponents, the precautionary principle is crucial in protecting the
environment and avoiding pollution (Murray & Cook, 2002).

Many of the obstacles to effective wastewater management and water pollution prevention in
developing countries are also applicable to the implementation of environmental policy in Brazil and
China. Lack of trained personnel, budget constraints, inaccurate reporting data, limited public
awareness and participation, weak environmental organisations, insufficient legislative framework,

and ineffective control mechanisms lead to the aggravation of the water and environmental crisis
(Swanson, 2001).


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Environmental Policy Enforcement

Water is the most precious element of human life and socioeconomic development. Water institutions
play a vital role in ensuring accessibility and protection of water resources. This includes water law,
water policies, and water administration and combined “set the rules and defines, thereby, the action
sets for both individual and collective decision-making in the realms of water resource development,

allocation and utilisation” (Saleth & Dinar, 2000). Nonetheless, coordination among regulating bodies
has been weakened by the fragmented coordination of the regulating bodies.

Economic reforms in emerging countries such as China and Brazil have accelerated the process of
industrialisation and urbanisation. Although China has a central government, both countries have
opted to great process of decentralisation, to allow political and economic autonomy to local
authorities over their respective regions. As a result, countrywide close monitoring and policy
enforcement is harder to control since bureaucratic agencies have greater power. Fragmented
coordination and bureaucratic competition in China and Brazil is to a great extent a common cause for
the continued allowance of water polluting practices, causing a further environmental decay. The lack
of coordination is one of the main reasons for weak policy enforcement, as competing agencies and
government offices may have opposing interests. Due to a certain inaccuracy in the definition and

responsibilities of each local agency, water monitoring may be carried out by more than one
organisation, or in some cases in China, not even being monitored at all. Furthermore, constantly
changing methodologies of sampling and analysing are used in different regions, providing conflicting
information about the same water flow (Lipscomb, 2007). Deficient water treatment supervision and
management along with rapid industrialisation has become emerging countries’ biggest threats against
their capability to maintain a balance between development and healthy environmental conditions.

Fragmented Coordination

Economic reforms in emerging countries have fostered rapid industrialisation and urbanisation while
maintaining an emphasis on decentralisation, so local authorities could have more political and
economic power to administer their respective regions. This has been especially the case in large

countries where policy enforcement is harder and bureaucratic agencies have great power. This system
of fragmented coordination and bureaucratic competition has led to loopholes for bargaining and
uncoordinated policies among state agencies that often fight for increasing their share of power.

23

Fragmented coordination is one of the main reasons for weak policy enforcement, as competing
agencies and government offices may have opposing interests.

Dealing with water pollution in China has been limited by the fragmented coordination and excessive
decentralisation of the country’s ruling agencies. Economic reforms taken during the 1980’s brought
China a new era of management decentralisation in the water sector, as several government agencies

were created to supervise different sectors at national, provincial, prefectural, and country levels.
Although the Ministry of Water Resources was founded in 1949 to manage water resources directly
under the State Council of the People’s Republic of China, it was completely reorganised in 1988
(Ministry of Water Resources, 2010). This ministry was responsible for reviewing and verifying “the
capacity of pollutant load of water bodies, making proposals on the limit of total wastewater discharge,
and providing guidance on the protection of drinking water resources” (Ministry of Water Resources,
2010). The State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) was restructured as the Ministry of
Environmental Protection in 2008 to deal with water and environmental pollution issues. However,
sewage is administered by the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development (former Ministry of
Construction) and groundwater falls is managed by the Ministry of Land and Resources, both founded
after the 1998 Reform Plan of the Ministries of the State Council passed at the 9
th

National People’s
Congress (Li, 2008).

Having such large number of ministries administrating water pollution has created an inefficient and
uncoordinated system that only worsens China’s water pollution problem. Water pollution issues are
not only addressed by these four ministries, but also by other local governments at the provincial,
prefectural, and county levels that fight against one another for funds and power. Local governments
usually do not like the interference of Ministries in their own areas. Furthermore, water pollution is
poorly dealt due to the fragmented coordination of responsibilities and management among several
ministries and government agencies. Polluting actors such as state-owned enterprises (SOEs) are
directly administered by the central government as ministries. This makes coordination more difficult
to water pollution control and prevention among state agencies since the interests of SOEs and

ministries clash and SOEs are only regulated by the central government.

In contrast to what happened in China, water pollution planning began earlier in Brazil. The post-1964
economic reforms boosted economic growth and favoured the promotion of water sanitation plans.
The National Water Supply and Sanitation Plan (Planasa) was institutionalised in 1971 during the
military regime to guarantee financial resources transfers to Sanitation State Companies (SSCs) to the
detriment of the municipalities and autarchies (Oliveria & Heller, 2007). Unlike China, Planasa

24

concentrated decisions in the state sphere and state enterprises that supported the plan. It also reduced
concessions signed between local governments and state water companies. By the end of the

programme in 1986 with the return to democracy, Planasa had expanded coverage from 45 to 95
percent for water and 24 to 42 percent for sanitation among urban residents, and its drainage and
sewerage services attended around 17.5 million people (McNallen, 2006). This system of state water
enterprises managing water and its pollution was very efficient as it reduced coordination and power
clashes among government agencies.

Brazil’s political and economic reforms that underwent in the late 1980’s were, unlike China, marked
by the fall of an autocratic military regime and the rise of today’s democratic system. Decentralisation
and promotion of a federative structure led to the fragmentation of cooperation among water
institutions. Due to Brazil’s federal structure, water statistics are gathered by the federal, state and
municipal institutions. As a result of the states’ different social and economic reality, some states are
more effective in the coverage, frequency of data collection and types of analyses made of their

freshwater sources (Clevelario, 2005). In some cases, there is full detailed information regarding water
conditions, while in other cases, water quality reports are inexistent. This has led to overlapping
actions, and important gaps and/or omissions in some water statistics due to the different interests of
these institutions. Moreover, Brazil’s fragmented judiciary system and excessive political
decentralisation and autonomy has been also a cause of policy implementation failure (Lemos, 1998).
Some scholars have criticised the water privatisation process initiated in Brazil in 1996 to complement
public water agencies to manage water resources (Abcon, 2010). However, cooperation between
private and public enterprises seems to have worked out well, as only one of the two operates in each
designated region.

While China has relied entirely in public agencies to deal with water pollution, the Brazilian National
Water Agency (ANA) introduced in 2001 the PRODES Basin Restoration Programme to finance

wastewater treatment plants through concession contracts to private and public enterprises. This
innovative federal programme pays for treating wastewater based on certified outputs. A contract for
payment for sewage is signed between the Federal Government and the public or private entity that
will provide the service sanitation (PRODES, 2010). The contract establishes the commitments for
reducing pollutant loads, the value of financial incentive offered by ANA and the disbursement
schedule (PRODES, 2010). Participating entities have greater access to commercial credits for the
investment required due to the financial viability of utilities that the programme enhances. PRODES
has focused on the Brazilian south-east, where the most serious water pollution problems exist. The
programme has financed over 40 wastewater treatment plants in 32 cities with total leveraged