Funding for Environmental Projects in China - Essay Example

Name: Affiliation: Date: Funding for Environmental Projects in China Funding for Environmental Projects in China Funding for an environmental project may be stressing. For one many projects are not income generating yet need funds to run. Many projects are set to achieve a particular objective after which they are closed down. Income generating projects have to be tailored to be sustainable in a sense that they can secure grants since profits generated are pumped back to the organization. Various organizations exist in China that fund environmental initiatives (Embassy of the United States, Beijing, China, 2015). Most of the organizations that can be a source of funds discussed in the paper have global networks. For anyone that is seeking funding for a project, they have to ensure that they meet the strict qualifications that are set by various organizations. Failure to do this would make it futile for the project to access funding. China Environmental Protection Foundation The China Environmental Protection Foundation was founded in April 1993 by then State Environmental Protection Administrator, Qu Geping. It is a non-profit entity with corporate qualifications. It takes charge of the Environmental Protection Department which is under the Ministry of Civil Affairs (Walsh, 2008). It is also China’s first ever non-governmental foundation for environmental protection. The foundation’s motto is “take from the people, giving back to people, protection of the environment, and the benefit of mankind.” The foundation tends to acquire for funds in a bid to encourage both organization and individuals to protect the Chinese environment. The foundation assists environmental protection programs and activities by developing technical cooperation between China and the world ().The foundation has funded various projects since its inception including the Automatic Classification Drinks Packaging Recycling Project in 2014, the Ecological China Education Initiative in 2011 and the Yellow Environmental Investigation Action in 2011. For one to have their project promoted by the foundation they have to submit their interest and the foundation has to find the cause relevant. The main advantage of working with the foundation is that it is internationally recognized and there lies and advantage of creating a global network that will ensure that your project is successful. The foundation has a long history in environmental management programs hence would also provide necessary leadership to ensure that the project is successful. The down side of it is that the criteria are very strict hence one might lose out. The foundation will also regularly check on the progress of the program hence it might not be comfortable for people that do not go so well with supervision. Ford Foundation, Beijing The Ford foundation opened its offices in Beijing in 1989. The foundation gives grants in various fields including law, economics, reproductive health and environment. Grants on environment have to solely lie under sustainable development. The foundation has two initiatives under sustainable development. The first is the expansion of community rights over natural resources. The foundation believes that rural communities should be more involved in decision making process and increased access to the natural resources that surround them (Walsh, 2008). The second issue is climate change responses that strengthen rural communities .The main goal of this is to ensure that policies on climate change are able to meet the needs of the rural population. The foundation has preference of funding projects that tend to expand community rights over their surrounding natural resources. The ford foundation is internationally acclaimed and has funded thousands of projects all over the world. One of the main advantages is that through the foundation, a grantee can have limitless networks that can help them improve on their project. On the other hand, the foundation offers grants not loans hence one will not have to repay after being funded. The disadvantages include the fact that the foundation has specifications for projects that it funds. Its particular preference is those projects that are bent on sustainable development and those that increase rural communities’ access to resources. Another issue is the time factor. The foundation has particular seasons when it allows grant applications after which they will have to pass through a rigorous process before being approved. A lot of time is hence lost between submission of the application and implementation of the program. Global Green Grants. The global Green Grants Fund is a charity foundation that makes small donations to start up or grass root environmental causes all over the world. The funds will normally range between $500 to $5000. The funds are usually in support of community based groups and its main focus is on areas of climate change, energy, water, women, indigenous people and bio diversity (Svetlana, 2008). Its climate change program that was launched in 2010 awards grants to projects that aim to protect forest and plant trees, look into climate change and its effects around the world, develop new alternative sources of energy and build capacities of farmers on resilient agricultural techniques (Svetlana, 2008). The organization has boards all over the world that identify local groups that require funding. In China the Green Grants Foundation has funded a total of 562 projects. For this specific organization, there are no grant proposals that sent. A program or project has to be identified by its board of advisors, after which it is then funded. Another major disadvantage is that it only funds a maximum of $ 5000 for each of the projects it funds. This is to mean that one does not have control of whether the project is to be funded nor do they have a say in what amount is to be granted. If the project is under-funded, there is risk that it would never realize its objective. On the other hand, funding is in grant form hence there will be no repayment. Since the foundation is primarily and environmental foundation, there is the obvious advantage of having good networks that will ensure the project is successful. Pacific Environment Pacific Environment is an environmental based organization that is located in San Francisco whose main objective is to protect the living environment of the Pacific Rim. In China, the organization has been very beneficial in building capacities for local groups to become efficient watchdogs over the government’s environmental policies. It has also been quite interested in helping local groups review impacts of various policies and practices (Embassy of the United States, Beijing, China, 2015). It has partnered with various organizations in China including Greener Beijing to organize a campaign against turtle and tortoise consumption in Hainan Province. The organization enhances the environmental movement in China through the following ways: provision of financial support to partners to retain and hire new staff, organizing a network through which partners can share their experiences and information on issues related to the Pacific environment and assisting partners develop relevant communication strategies so that they can generate efficient media attention on water pollution efforts.The Pacific Environment is quite bent towards water pollution issues especially along the Pacific. Just like previous the organizations that are previously discussed in the paper, it offers aid in terms of grant form and also ensures that its partners join a network through which they can share various experiences. The World Bank The World Bank Group has a program that is known as Global Environment Facility (GEF).the program was established in 1991 and directly grants support actions and initiatives around the world that help combat various environmental issues such as climate change, loss of bio-diversity, land degradation, persistent organic pollutants and polluted international waters. The fund is allocated to members of the private sector; NGO’s over the last two decades to help them implement tailored solutions to complex multi-sector challenges (Andrea, 2014). Grants by the Global Environment Facility program are used to support sustainable management and conservation of protected areas, integration of bio-diversity conservation in various productive landscapes and design of sustainable funding mechanisms that ensure long-term bio diversity conservation (Andrea, 2014). World Bank funding is very specific. Organizations or individuals that seek funding must meet the strict procedures of the World Bank. Although aid is usually in grant form, one has to tailor their application to fit the requirements of the World Bank. There lies many advantages in having World Bank fund a project. For instance, it is most likely that the funding will be adequate and well-structured to ensure that the objectives of the project are achieved. Another advantage is that one will be able to develop a strong network such that it becomes easy to direct the project smoothly to achieve its objectives. China Environment and Health Initiative Under this initiative, grants of $10, 000 to $ 15,000 are offered to seven or eight Chinese organizations that have environmental projects or have on going environmental health research. The grants are issued under Grants for Collaborative Research on Environment and Health in China (Embassy of the United States, Beijing, China, 2015). The projects must have the capacity to address an environmental health problem affecting quite a substantial number of people. Applicants must also show their capacity to access data, form relationships and form relationships with local communities, administration and government. This particular initiative has the disadvantage of limiting the number of organizations it funds and the amount of funding it allocates. It also has the disadvantage of limiting its grants to environmental health projects only. However, it is a grant hence no repayment and one can form important networks that can help to ensure the objectives of the project are achieved. Financial Institutions One can seek funding from various banks provided that they show sustainability and profitability of the project. One also has to provide collateral for the specific amount of funds that they seek from the bank. There are various reasons why one would want to take a loan from a bank instead of seek a grant. First is that the bank will offer money fast taking only a few days to process the loan, second is that one does not require enormous documentation as opposed to one required to seek a grant. Banks also have an advantage of that the project is not always on scrutiny and supervision. On the other hand, if the project fails, one risks losing the collateral provided to the bank. The Chinese Government Funds can also be directly borrowed from the government. Through relevant government departments, one can solicit for funding for an environmental project. There are various risks that can come from seeking government funding. One is the issue of project ownership; politicians are shrewd and cunning and can easily take over a project and make it their own. It may also take a lot of time before the project funds are provided due to government bureaucracy (Walsh 2008). Another issue that could affect the project is consistency, when a new government comes in place, it may no longer find it viable to fund the specific project. Advantages are that funding is in form of grants hence no repayment is expected. Another advantage is the security that comes with the fact that people will have faith in a government funded initiative. In addition to all these, one can seek donations from the community which the project is directed to. An advantage of this is that the project gains acceptance from the community but there is also the risk that the community may not find it relevant since they have been living with that problem for many years.Generally, the most important thing when seeking funding is to ensure that the project meets the funding criteria. Environment is one of the world’s emergent issues for the last two decades hence many organizations do exist that can partner with one or fund their project. References Andrea, B (2014)The World Bank Group’s Global Environment Facility Program: The World Bank. Embassy of the United States, Beijing, China (2015) Environmental, Science, Technology and Health NGO’s in China. Svetlana, T (2008) How the Global Green Grants System Works: Alliance Magazine. New York City. Walsh, E (2008) A Memoir of the Ford Foundation: The Early Years: Philanthropy News Digest, Read More