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Partners & Projects

China: Boosting Climate Resilience in Fangshan District

Project Date:

March 2024 – February 2025

Partners:

Social Workers Without Borders

Background

China’s northern regions suffered unprecedented flooding in July and August 2023, as a result of the dual impact of tropical typhoons and the southwest monsoon season. The disaster left behind a trail of damage, with an estimated 1.3 million people affected in the Fangshan and Mentougou districts alone. The social, economic and human impact of these climate-induced extreme weather events highlighted the urgent need to improve climate adaptation and sustainability efforts, particularly in these sub-regions which have yet to build resilient foundations to withstand the ever-changing climate.

In addition to weak disaster response systems, many rural regions have maintained the traditional practice of open agricultural burning. Despite the fact that the government had imposed a strict ban on the practice since 1999, burning straw has remained a quick-fix and economical practice for rural communities, especially as alternative technologies to process agricultural waste have yet to be made widely available.

The practice of open burning causes many environmental woes, including the generation of black carbon and carbon emissions that fuel climate change, as well as reduced soil fertility. The health toll should not be overlooked either, with long-term inhalation of pollutants associated with higher risks of respiratory diseases, heart problems and even neurological disorders.

Given these issues, grassroots communities in the village town of Doudian are now looking to explore new technologies to sustainably convert and treat agricultural and organic waste.

Led by Social Workers Across Borders, this initiative seeks to respond to these needs of grassroots and rural communities in this region. Through a series of climate resilience projects, the goal is to enhance the locality’s ability to cope with increasingly frequent extreme weather events brought on by the climate crisis. The programme will also hone in on the development of sustainable, carbon-friendly waste management systems.

Project Features

In order to improve the region’s ability to cope with climate disasters, flood resilience was a core tenet of the project. Besides conducting village disaster risk assessments, emergency response teams were created and trained in response drills. Families were also provided with knowledge over emergency kits, which raised the region’s overall flood response and management capabilities. These multi-pronged approaches were developed to provide a comprehensive enhancement of all aspects of emergency responses in event of floods.
Through close integration with grassroots and local departments, Social Workers Without Borders actively engaged civil society in climate resilience efforts. In addition to education over emergency supply packages, the programme encouraged greater mutual aid among the community. This would help improve the speed and cohesion of disaster clearance and recovery efforts.
On top of reducing the region’s vulnerability to disaster risks, this project established a horticultural and agricultural organic waste recycling system. ECF’s grantee partner organised village-level training for grassroots organisations, where beneficiaries received technical knowledge and capacity-building support. The aim was to accelerate the phasing out of open burning in favour of the more sustainable practice of recycling agricultural waste into organic compost.

Project Outcomes

Although this project is still ongoing, a number of positive impacts can already be observed. By bringing together different sectors of society, there has been a strengthening of multi-stakeholder collaboration. For instance, local flood responses saw the joining of forces, from groups such as the Fangshan District Youth League Committee and the Doudian Township Youth League Committee, local authorities and other grassroots groups. The primary focus has been equipping flood control staff, village officials and volunteers with flood response training.
Having integrated local families and the grassroots community in emergency response mechanisms, the project has reinforced intra-community mutual aid and civil self-reliance over time. Training workshops and drill programmes, for example, empowered the public with hands-on knowledge about preparing family emergency kits, how to conduct timely post-disaster cleanup and best practices in epidemic prevention.
Finally, progress has been made in the transformation of existing waste management practices into low-carbon and green methods—which in turn has also led to benefits to the local economy and health. Through a series of technical training courses, villagers gained know-how on high-temperature aerobic composting and fermentation of regularly pruned garden waste to prepare spent mushroom substrates (SMS). SMS, created through this biochemical fermentation process, can be used as organic fertilisers or soil conditioners for on-farm planting.
Because open field burning is associated with harms to human health and nature, curbing this polluting practice has benefited the community’s well-being as well as the environment. Beyond these factors, the concept of turning ‘trash into treasure’ through this after-use economy helps reduce input costs for farmers, thereby boosting livelihoods and enabling sustainable development.