TheSecond Sessionof ColloquiumSeries onPolicy and Realitiesby CASS Academicians was held at Liangxiang Campus (R140, Administration Building) on the afternoon of April 26th, 2019. Chaired by Prof. Lin Wei, Vice President of UCASS, the talk was delivered by Prof. Zhu Ling, member and research fellow of CASS. The event had the attendance of some officials from the General Office of Academic Divisions and the Think Tank Office of CASS, and part of UCASS faculty, as well as 700-plus students, all drawn to Prof. Zhu’s lecture onCreationof Management Systems for Rural Waste.

In the context of the realities of rural sanitation in China and applicable policies issued by the CPC Central Committee, Professor Zhu first referred to her own survey in the province of Guangxi, Gansu, Inner Mongolia and other regions to demonstrate the focus and methodology of this area of research and the status quo of soil and water pollution associated with agricultural production and rural households, based on detailed and accurate data analysis. The speaker then shared with the audience a rich variety of cases on rural pollution control and waste management, covering manure management system of livestock sector, toilet renovation, sewage and domestic waste management system. Substantiated by a large number of photos and practical examples, these case analyses illustrated the tough trade-offs farmers have to make between their livelihood and environmental concerns. Thanks to the great efforts made by governments at all levels, administrative actions and financial incentives have played a leading role in waste reduction, hazard disposal and waste-to-resource recycling. But subject to how developed a region is and how conscious farmers are, the creation and execution of such systems also vary from one place to another, revealing the challenging nature of this uphill battle.

In the Q&A session, Prof. Zhu interacted with the audience by sharing her thoughts on specific topics, such as the use of farmyard manure and ways to protect farmers’ interests in a market economy. Prof. He Hui, the Executive Dean of the School of Economics concluded the event with a summary of the presentation.