Focus on Arts and Ecology

May 31 - June 6, 2019

Villagers in Zhejiang province claim that waste from a new sewage treatment plant has caused clams in their aquaculture ponds to die, reports The Beijing News. Residents of Wengyu Sanyu village have long enjoyed a stable and relatively lucrative existence raising the Chinese mud clam (Tegillarca granosa). But in recent years their land has been forcibly reclaimed to be used for rice paddies. The villagers were compensated but say they weren’t consulted.

Ninety percent were opposed to the new sewage treatment plant in their village. They say that the environmental impact assessment was mired in controversy but construction went ahead anyway. The Beijing News reporter noticed cracks caused by the new plant in the surrounding levy and construction waste mixed into the water. Villagers say this waste has caused their clams to die. Many have illegally moved their operations to sensitive intertidal marine ecological habitats where they are excavating mudflats for ponds and harvesting wild seafood.

The reporter and photographer who were covering the story, along with two local environmental volunteers, were taken into the local police station for questioning without cause. They were eventually released. The reporter published an account of the incident.