Transparency needed to fight pollution
How can transparency and better information disclosure help solve the heavy metal pollution problem China is facing today? The cadmium pollution incident in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region provides a vivid example.
According to news reports, industrial waste discharges, containing high levels of cadmium, contaminated a 100-kilometer stretch of the Longjiang and Liujiang rivers in southern Guangxi in mid-January. The first signs of the spill came after mass death of fish in the river. The pollution is now flowing toward Liuzhou, a city of 3.7 million people.
On Jan 23, the Liuzhou government began releasing data on the cadmium levels in the Liujiang River almost on an hourly basis. The government harnessed modern communication tools, even the social media, to disseminate information. The media widely applauded the move and praised the officials for their transparency during an environmental disaster.
