IMPLEMENTATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT IN CHINA

Xin Ren ()
Additional contact information
Xin Ren: Environmental and Social Unit, World Bank Office in China and Mongolia, 16–17 Floor, China World Tower 2, No. 1 Jianguomenwai Avenue, Beijing, China

Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and Management (JEAPM), 2013, vol. 15, issue 03, 1-20

Abstract: The paper describes major developments of environmental impact assessment (EIA) in China since 2003 when its EIA law became effective, with emphasis on those aspects not sufficiently touched upon by most researchers so far. These range from threshold-based categorization, evolution in scoping, expansion and upgrading of a series of technical guidelines for EIA, addition of water and soil conservation plan to EIA, public consultation and social impact assessment to interaction with other major means of environmental management in China (i.e. total pollution load control, discharge permit and cleaner production). Based on a literature review, exchanges with EIA practitioners and the author's daily work on EIA, it is found that EIA in China has evolved into a fairly comprehensive and technically adequate system. The biggest problem lies in its poor enforcement and implementation, which is the focus of this paper. By examining each practical step in reviewing, enforcing and implementing EIA, the paper evaluates EIA's role in optimizing decision-making (e.g. by alternative analysis), EIA implementation and its supervision piloted in China, underlying technical, procedural and institutional issues and concerns, and the disconnect between project EIA and plan/regional EIA, both with regards to theory and practice. The main reasons for weak EIA enforcement and implementation are discussed, which include the political system and incentive mechanisms, institutional arrangements, and regulatory and methodological shortcomings. Based on the analysis, recommendations are made for improving enforcement and implementation of EIA in China.

Keywords: Environmental impact assessment; Environmental enforcement and implementation; China (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.worldscientific.com/doi/abs/10.1142/S1464333213500099
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:wsi:jeapmx:v:15:y:2013:i:03:n:s1464333213500099

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from

DOI: 10.1142/S1464333213500099

Access Statistics for this article

Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and Management (JEAPM) is currently edited by Thomas Fischer

More articles in Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and Management (JEAPM) from World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Tai Tone Lim ().