Ma Jun

Who is Ma Jun?

Ma Jun is a Chinese environmentalist, non-fiction writer, environmental consultant, and journalist. He is a director with the Institute of Public & Environmental Affairs.

In the 1990s Ma became known as an investigative journalist, working at the South China Morning Post from 1993 to 2000. There, he began to specialize in articles on environmental subjects. He eventually became the Chief Representative of SCMP.com in Beijing.

He was named as one of the 100 most influential persons in the world by Time magazine in May 2006, in an article written by Hollywood film star Ed Norton.

Ma's 1999 book China's Water Crisis has been compared to Rachel Carson's Silent Spring – China's first major book on the subject of that nation's environmental crisis.

He directs the IPE, which developed the China Water Pollution Map, the first public database of water pollution information in China. He also serves as environmental consultant for the Sinosphere Corporation.

Ma said: "Water pollution is the most serious environmental issue facing China. It has a huge impact on people’s health and economic development. That is why we have begun to build this database. To protect water resources, we need to encourage public participation and strengthen law enforcement. In some places, polluting factories and companies are being protected by local governments and officials."