Municipal Land Use Center Welcomes Delegation of Chinese Environmental Officials

Environmental officials from the Wuhan District of China recently visited with Martin Bierbaum and the staff of the Municipal Land Use Center (MLUC) at The College of New Jersey. Their intent was to learn about the MLUC’s efforts to improve coordination and integration of local municipal land-use decision-making and transportation planning, while at the same time addressing a variety of environmental issues, including wetlands restoration, wastewater treatment, and solid waste disposal.

Cao Jia Xun, deputy director of the Wuhan Environmental Protection Bureau, seven other officials, and their interpreter are traveling to different parts of the United States to study management of growth and protection of the environment. The group visited wastewater treatment plants, restored wetlands, and other sites on the East Coast to learn about how municipalities have dealt with the challenges China now faces in terms of its own rapid industrial development. Estimates say that China’s economy is growing by 9 percent annually, and the group welcomed the opportunity to see successful U.S. projects and discuss “lessons learned” with participants.

While in New Jersey, Bierbaum arranged for the group to meet with staff from the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission. Brett Bragin, senior natural resource specialist; Kyle Spendiff, wetlands specialist; and Christine Hobble, senior environmental scientist; gave the group a tour of a 140-acre Meadowlands Commission wetlands restoration project at the Mill Creek Marsh in Secaucus and the Sawmill Creek Wildlife Management Area, a naturally restored wetland. They also explained some of the challenges involved in this two-year, multi-million dollar restoration project.

Wuhan is the capital of the Hansui Province and is located in the central part of China, at the confluence of the world’s third longest river, the Yangtze, and its longest branch, the Hansui River. With a metropolitan area population of 7.16 million people and an urban population of 4.86 million people, this 8,467 square kilometer city is now one of the six largest cities in China. Hubei is known as “the province with a thousand lakes,” so the restoration of the Hackensack wetlands from industrial pollution was of particular interest to the delegation.