The Chinese have a well-earned reputation in Africa for not being very environmentally conscious. From highly mechanized clear cutting of tropical forests to the wholesale slaughter of endangered wildlife, the Chinese do not have an impressive track record on the continent. However, there are indications that that may now beginning to change. Our guest this week, Xiaoxue Weng of the International Institute for Environment and Development in London, says a new generation of Chinese journalists, activists and citizens are emerging who have a very different worldview than their predecessors.
Xiaoxue (Xue) Weng is China Researcher at IIED (International Institute for Environment and Development). She researches environmental and social impacts of China’s engagement in Africa. In particular, she examines i) the impacts of Chinese investment on Africa’s forests and rural communities and ii) Chinese traders operating in local informal economies in the natural resources sector. Her current project, China-Africa Forest Governance Learning Platform, involves research and policy engagement in China, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda and Mozambique. Prior to IIED, Xue worked for CIFOR (Centre for International Forestry Research)’s China-Africa Project based in Cameroon, Indonesia and UK. Xue holds MSc in Environmental Change and Management from University of Oxford.
