Ma Jun (; born 22 May 1968) is a Chinese
environmentalist
Environmentalism is a broad Philosophy of life, philosophy, ideology, and social movement about supporting life, habitats, and surroundings. While environmentalism focuses more on the environmental and nature-related aspects of Green politics, g ...
, environmental consultant, and journalist. He is the director of the Institute of Public & Environmental Affairs (IPE).
Biography
In the 1990s Ma became known as an investigative journalist, working at the ''
South China Morning Post
The ''South China Morning Post'' (''SCMP''), with its Sunday edition, the ''Sunday Morning Post'', is a Hong Kong-based English-language newspaper owned by Alibaba Group. Founded in 1903 by Tse Tsan-tai and Alfred Cunningham, it has remaine ...
'' from 1993 to 2000. There, he began to specialize in articles on environmental subjects. He eventually became the Chief Representative of
SCMP.com in
Beijing
Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...
.
[National Geographic]
Explorers:Ma Jun
Accessed 07-26-2012.
Ma's 1999 book ''China's Water Crisis'' (Zhongguo shui weiji) has been compared to
Rachel Carson
Rachel Louise Carson (May 27, 1907 – April 14, 1964) was an American marine biologist, writer, and conservation movement, conservationist whose sea trilogy (1941–1955) and book ''Silent Spring'' (1962) are credited with advancing mari ...
's ''Silent Spring'' – China's first major book on the subject of that nation's environmental crisis.
[Ed Norton]
2006 TIME 100: Ma Jun
Time, 8 May 2006.
He directs the IPE (Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs), which developed the China Water Pollution Map (), the first public database of
water pollution
Water pollution (or aquatic pollution) is the contamination of Body of water, water bodies, with a negative impact on their uses. It is usually a result of human activities. Water bodies include lakes, rivers, oceans, aquifers, reservoirs and ...
information in China. He also serves as environmental consultant for the Sinosphere Corporation.
[
Ma said: "Water pollution is the most serious environmental issue facing China. It has a huge impact on people’s health and economic development. That is why we have begun to build this database. To protect water resources, we need to encourage public participation and strengthen law enforcement. In some places, polluting factories and companies are being protected by local governments and officials."
In 2010, Ma, addressing ]air pollution
Air pollution is the presence of substances in the Atmosphere of Earth, air that are harmful to humans, other living beings or the environment. Pollutants can be Gas, gases like Ground-level ozone, ozone or nitrogen oxides or small particles li ...
particularly in the wake of efforts made at the time of the Beijing Olympics, said "many of the government’s efforts to curtail pollution had been offset by the number of construction projects that spit dust into the air and the surge in private car ownership."
In 2016, Ma Jun appeared in the National Geographic
''National Geographic'' (formerly ''The National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as ''Nat Geo'') is an American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. The magazine was founded in 1888 as a scholarly journal, nine ...
film, '' Before the Flood'', directed by Fisher Stevens
Stephen Fisher (born November 27, 1963), known professionally as Fisher Stevens, is an American actor, director, producer and writer. As an actor, he is best known for his portrayals of Ben Jahveri in ''Short Circuit'' (1986) and ''Short Circu ...
and narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio
Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio (; ; born November 11, 1974) is an American actor and film producer. Known for Leonardo DiCaprio filmography, his work in biographical and period films, he is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received ...
.
Recognition
He was named as one of the 100 most influential people in the world by ''Time
Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
'' magazine in May 2006, in an article written by Hollywood film star Ed Norton. He was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award
The Ramon Magsaysay Award (Filipino language, Filipino: ''Gawad Ramon Magsaysay'') is an annual award established to perpetuate former Philippine President Ramon Magsaysay's example of integrity in governance, courageous service to the people, ...
in 2009. In 2012, Ma received the Goldman Environmental Prize
The Goldman Environmental Prize is a prize awarded annually to grassroots environmental activists.
History
Awardees are named from each of the world's six geographic regions: Africa, Asia, Europe, Islands and Island Nations, North America, an ...
. In 2015, Ma Jun became the first Chinese social entrepreneur to win the Skoll Award. In 2021, Jun was selected as
Bloomberg New Economy Catalyst
Selected publications
; Books
* ''China's Water Crisis'' (中国水危机; 2004)
; Articles
Ma Jun has written for the online journal chinadialogue
Dialogue Earth, formerly China Dialogue (), is an independent, non-profit organisation based in London. It was launched on July 3, 2006. Dialogue Earth is funded by a range of institutional supporters, including several major charitable foundations ...
since 2006. Articles are available in Chinese and English.
* "Tackling China's water crisis online" (21 September 2006)
* "A path to environmental harmony
(30 November 2006)
* "How participation can help China's ailing environment" (31 January 2007)
*
* "Getting involved" (24 May 2007)
* "Disaster in Taihu Lake" (8 June 2007)
* "After green GDP, what next?" (8 August 2007)
* "Tackling pollution at its source" (14 August 2007)
* "Ecological civilisation is the way forward" (31 October 2007)
* "Your right to know: a historic moment" (1 May 2008)
Ma Jun wrote for Hong Kong's South China Morning Post
The ''South China Morning Post'' (''SCMP''), with its Sunday edition, the ''Sunday Morning Post'', is a Hong Kong-based English-language newspaper owned by Alibaba Group. Founded in 1903 by Tse Tsan-tai and Alfred Cunningham, it has remaine ...
from 1993 to 2000.
Green Choice Apparel Supply Chain Investigation - Draft Report (PDF, 41 p., April 9., 2012)
See also
* China Pollution Map Database
*Environment of China
The environment of China ( zh, s=中国的环境) comprises diverse geology, rich biota, and varied climates, ranging from arid deserts to subtropical forests. However, rapid industrialization and lax environmental oversight have caused many e ...
*
*Scientific publishing in China
Today in China, there are more than 8,000 academic journals, of which more than 4,600 can be considered scientific. About 1,400 cover health science (medicine and public health). In 2022, it was reported that China has become one of the top countr ...
References
Citations
Sources
*
*
External links
Ma Jun page
from ''Time'' magazine
Ma Jun interview
Institute of Public & Environmental Affairs
founded by Ma Jun
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ma, Jun
Living people
Chinese environmentalists
20th-century Chinese journalists
1968 births
Place of birth missing (living people)
Writers from Qingdao
Ramon Magsaysay Award winners
Winners of the Nikkei Asia Prize
Goldman Environmental Prize awardees
University of International Relations alumni