Not long ago, Tian Guirong, a well-known environmentalist in Henan Province, central China, beat her rival, a local factory owner, in the elections of Fanling Village committee.

The villagers hailed it as "the victory of the ordinary," and hoped that Tian would help drive out polluting factories run by local people.

Fanling villagers used to enjoy a comfortable, pastoral life, with clean water from two sources -- the Communist Canal and the Weihe River. But their pleasant life came to an end a few years ago, when chemical factories began appearing in the village and the surrounding area.

Since being elected village head, Tian has been busy scrutinizing the behavior of the factories and resisting attempts to build new factories that may create pollution for the village.

Tian's plight is common in China's rural areas today. Environmental protection has become one of the top concerns of Chinese farmers.

"Environmental pollution is threatening the life of villagers in many parts of the country," says Zhang Yulin, a scholar from Nanjing University.

In a study of the Yellow River and Huaihe River areas, Zhang found that many local villagers suffer from serious diseases caused by water pollution, spending heavily on medicine.

It is estimated that 360 million rural residents in China drink substandard water. In rural areas, 120 million tons of garbage are stockpiled in the open air, and 10 million hectares of cultivated land have been badly polluted by discharges of factory waste.

Chen Yingxu, deputy dean of the Environment and Resources Institute of Zhejiang University, says the authorities should attach great importance to environmental problems in the countryside. "Farmer's health rights must be put on top the agenda," he says.

In some areas, local environmental departments have been blamed for their failure to tackle environmental problems and protect villagers' health rights.

"Localism is one of the major obstacles to anti-pollution efforts," says Tian.

There are accusations that in Xinxiang, where Fanling Village is located, local environmental officials have tried hard to cover up the serious environmental degradation.

But some officials argue that environmental problems are exaggerated.

Fan Ziding, secretary of the village's Party committee, doubts Tian's credibility, saying Tian has a low educational background (she only graduated from elementary school), and a lack of experience in rural matters.

"Environmental protection should be only a small part of the work for a village head, but Tian always talks about it regardless of the overall situation," he says.

(Xinhua News Agency July 21, 2005)