We hope the Chinese economy will grow stronger and Chinese people will be affluent.
We hope people in China will become more friendly and kinder to each other.
And we hope China will preserve the vigor and health of its environment.
We hope people all over the world will live together in a beautiful and harmonious global village.
We dream for a world where each and every one of us has the opportunity to realize our aspirations.
Based on such awareness and consensus, we entrepreneurs from different regions, different industries and different ownership consciously converge in the Alxa Desert and jointly sign this declaration. We will all do our best to make the "SEE " recognized by the Chinese society and the world, so as to make it the most important environmental public welfare organization in controlling sandstorms in China. We are willing to make sincere efforts for the wishes and dreams advocated in this declaration.
Declarers: All the initiators of SEE
Venue: Moon Lake in Tengelitala Desert
Date: Saturday, June 5, 2004
Why did we entrepreneurs from all over China come to the Alxa Desert? Why did we establish the SEE to engage in sandstorm control in China? It is because we still hold hopes and dreams in us. We hope the Chinese economy will grow stronger and Chinese people will be affluent. We hope people in China will become more friendly and kinder to each other. And we hope China will preserve the vigor and health of its environment. We hope people all over the world will live together in a beautiful and harmonious global village. We dream for a world where each and every one of us has the opportunity to realize our aspirations.
Driven by China's modernization process, Chinese society has stepped on a path of peaceful development, and the Chinese nation has entered a completely new period of development. As a result of that, Chinese economy has been keeping a stable growth, and the Chinese people have greatly improved their material life. Chinese society has made all-round progress. Looking back at the century-long suffering history of the Chinese nation, we really take pride in our era. We cherish the great opportunity that history has given us for free innovation and peaceful development in our times. We are willing to face various difficulties and problems we encounter rationally with a constructive attitude and solve them one by one.
However, with the rapid growth of China's economy, we are aware that some of our ways of thinking, production and lifestyle are unfriendly to the nature we closely depend on. We are destroying our natural environment. Many of our economic achievements in the past were accomplished at a great cost of natural environment. Environmental problems such as air pollution, water pollution, exhaustion of rivers and lakes, frequent occurrence of floods and droughts, shrinkage of forest areas, degradation of grassland, sharp declination of biodiversity, desertification of land and bursting of sandstorms are seriously exposed. These issues affect the safety of people’s lives and property, the environment in which our business operate, the stability of our society, and the survival foundation of the Chinese nation. As we all know, natural environment is a patron of human beings. If we devastate natural environment surrounding us, we will have nothing to rely on to seek our dreams and aspirations. Facing today's deteriorating ecological environment, we have to ask ourselves a question: what can we do for improving the environmental quality?
China's modernization process will continuously bear pressures from environmental resources as China has a large population, scarce resources, small environmental capacity and low accumulation of science and technology by enterprises. Under the dual pressures of economy and ecology, we entrepreneurs should consciously include both enterprise development and environmental protection into our vision. We should actively seek the unity of economic growth and environmental protection, and strive to explore a new path for China's modernization. In light of the new problems and new responsibilities in the new era, we should constantly overcome our own shortcomings and limitations to develop new values, new ideals, new personalities and new codes of conduct for ourselves.
Based on such awareness and consensus, we entrepreneurs from different regions, different industries and different ownership consciously converge in the Alxa Desert and jointly sign this declaration. We will all do our best to make the "SEE " recognized by the Chinese society and the world, so as to make it the most important environmental public welfare organization in controlling sandstorms in China. We are willing to make sincere efforts for the wishes and dreams advocated in this declaration.
In order to build a strategic support system for the sustainable development of environmental protection public welfare, and to facilitate the systematic and long-term development of environmental projects, SEE Conservation and its members have established 8 foundations, focusing on desertification control, climate change and business sustainability, coastal wetland protection, biodiversity protection, nature education, Yangtze River protection, green supply chains, industrial development and other relevant environmental issues. With over 2 billion yuan accumulative fundraising income, these institutions have joined hands with more than 1,200 Chinese civil society organizations and individuals to conduct environmental public welfare activities.
In 2008, SEE Conservation initiated the SEE foundation in Beijing(which later became a public fundraising foundation in 2014), implementing projects including the “100 Million Suosuo”initiative for desertification prevention and control, “Green Startups” and “Growing Up Together” programs to nurture civilian-initiated environmental protection forces.
In 2012, SEE Conservation founded the Mangrove Conservation Foundation (MCF), China's first publicly-funded environmental protection foundation initiated by civil society, creating a replicable model for coastal wetland protection in China.
In 2016, SEE Conservation founded the Hubei Changjiang Conservation Foundation (CCF) to facilitate the national strategy of “Yangtze River Protection”.
In 2017, SEE Conservation founded the Xi'an Entrepreneurs Environmental Protection Foundation to protect the ecology of Qinling, a major chain of mountains in Central China.
In 2018, SEE Conservation launched Shenzhen Aleshan Foundation, which brings entrepreneurs’ resourcefulness and innovative spirit into full play, and provides sustainable support for public welfare organizations and projects.
In 2021, SEE Conservation founded Guangdong Nature Conservation Foundation (NCF) and Guangxi Conservation Foundation (GCF), focusing on the Guangdong and Guangxi regions to promote natural resource protection and ecological restoration, supporting green development.
In 2023, SEE Conservation launched Jiangxi Poyang Lake Conservation Foundation, aiming to explore effective conservation paths for rare and endangered species and wetland ecosystems, contributing to the national strategy of “Yangtze River Protection”.
To date, SEE Conservation and its affiliated organizations have been awarded titles including Top Ten Hotspots of China's Public Welfare and Charity (2008-2018), the National Exemplary Social Organization, and Beijing Social Organization Demonstration Base. We have also received honors such as the China-Europe Top Ten Green Foundations Award, the 5A Level organization in China Social Organization Evaluation Grade, the “Ford Conservation & Environmental Grants, China” (CEGC), the Paulson Prize for Sustainability, and “Beautiful China, I'm a Participant - Top Ten Public Engagement Cases” honor and the Mother River Award of the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League.
After twenty years of development, SEE Conservation has entered a new phase, further driving and integrating entrepreneur resources and social capital to promote innovative environmental public welfare activities. By carrying out the Green Belt and Road Initiative and “One Vertical, One Horizontal” strategy, SEE Conservation is determined to call for the support and participation of a wider public, establishing a public environmental platform for civic engagement to jointly protect our environment.