When the construction of some 30 big projects were suspended at
a mandate from the State Environmental Protection Administration
(SEPA) in December
2004, China was taking the most notable move in enforcing
environmental laws.
Their construction was put to a halt for the projects, most of
them hydro- or thermal power plants, failed to have an
environmental impact assessment according to law. All would have
obvious environmental consequences if no measure is taken to curb
their possible hazardous impact, so an advanced assessment on their
environmental impact is necessary according to law.
However, construction of these projects was launched without
proper environmental assessment before hand. Hailed by media and
the public as "an environmental protection storm," SEPA's act to
halt their construction marked a departure from its old image as a
rubberstamp of such wrongdoings.
"We are determination to investigate and punish any violations
of environmental laws and environmental assessment is never a
rubber stamp," says Pan Yue, deputy-director of SEPA.
Interestingly, the top three on the "black list" were all
hydro-power plants under China's Three Gorges Project Company,
which claims millions yuan of government input as key projects to
alleviate the country's energy plight and hinges on the same
administrative level with SEPA. So the unprecedented campaign
certainly incurred great pressure on SEPA.
Yet the move won the praise from Premier Wen Jiabao, who openly
applauded SEPA's campaign at a State Council conference.
Although one month later, most of the 30 halted projects resumed
their construction, reportedly having passed the environmental
assessment, the act that these key projects' construction was ever
suspended made a history, says an official of SEPA.
SEPA alone can never guarantee the full enforcement of
environmental laws and regulations, observes Prof. Wang Canfa,
director of the center to help environmental victims at China
University of Political Sciences and Law. In fact, according to
Wang, the rate of China's environmental laws and regulations that
are actually enforced is estimated to be barely 10 percent.
For instance, he notes, China's criminal law that includes clear
stipulations on crimes of serious environmental accidents took
effect in 1997. In the following five years the country recorded at
least 50 serious environmental accidents a year based on official
estimation, but to date no more than 20 people have been held
accountable.
"This is what happens with the enforcement of criminal law that
deals with the most serious cases of environmental accidents in the
legal system, and you can imagine what happens to other
environmental laws," laments Prof. Wang.
A joint investigation by SEPA and Ministry of Land and Resources
in 2004 shows that 30 to 40 percent of the mining construction
projects went through the procedure of environment impact
assessment as required, while in some areas only 6 to 7 percent did
so. This partly explains why China has witnessed so many mining
accidents in recent years.
Wang and his colleagues started to offer legal assistance to the
victims of environmental accidents five years ago, and the biggest
obstacle remains in the "environment" to enforce law.
Last year, Wang recalls, he tried to help a local fisherman in
southwestern China's Chongqing, who went bankrupt as his fish farm
was poisoned by the waste water discharged into the river from a
local chemical plant. The fisherman sued the chemical plant with
help from Wang. But a judge from the county court told Wang
matter-of-factly that a county leader had made phone calls asking
favor for the chemical plant, which set the tone of verdict even
before the trial. The reason was simple: the chemical plant turns
is a major contributor to the local revenue.
China's central government has embraced the "scientific concept
to development," which emphasizes the balance between economic
development and environmental sustainability. But some local
officials still prioritize GDP growth over environmental
protection, partly due to the current evaluation system of
political performance, says a senior official from SEPA on
condition of anonymity.
The evaluation system is being re-structured by introducing the
new concept of green GDP, which would calculate the environmental
and ecological cost along with the economic growth, and the
achievements may be offset if the cost is too dear.
SEPA and the Organization Department of the Central Committee of
the Communist Party of China, which is in charge of Party
officials' promotion, are studying how to incorporate environmental
parameters into evaluating an official's performance, such as
overall environmental quality based on public survey, quality of
air and drinking water, forest coverage and so on.
While the "economy-goes-first" mentality lingers on the minds of
many local officials, environmental departments are expected to be
watchdogs to form some counter-balance.
But this is not easy to realize in reality, as local
environmental protection bureaus remain part of the local
government, which controls their budget and staff, instead of
reporting directly to SEPA.
"When you are opposed to a project out of environmental
concerns, you have to think of the possible consequence, as your
boss is certainly not in favor of your objection," says the SEPA
official.
To change this situation, reforms in power structure have been
started on a trial basis. For two years the provincial
environmental protection administration of Shaanxi in northwestern
China has required the local environmental bureaus at city and
county levels to directly report to the provincial administration
instead of local governments, so as to guarantee their independence
to enforce environmental laws and regulations despite local
administrative interventions.
Similar experiments have been carried out for the past ten years
in dozens of large and medium-sized cities nationwide, such as
Dalian, Ningbo and Xiamen. Further steps are being considered for
SEPA, the theoretically highest body to enforce environmental laws
and regulations, to set up monitoring mechanism directly at major
sites of significant ecological or geographical values, lest local
bureaus fail to function as they should.
An encouraging progress in China's enforcement of environmental
laws lies in the greater public participation, evidenced by the
emergence of environmental NGOs as among the most active players in
China's growing civil society.
Domestic organizations like Friends of Nature have successfully
launched high-profile environmental awareness campaigns among the
general public for years.
On the individual level, more and more victims have resorted to
law thanks to help from professionals like Prof. Wang and his
colleagues. The fisherman from Chongqing remains unbeaten even
though the local judge would not support him.
"I'm going to appeal my case to the highest court in Beijing if
local courts fail to do me justice," he claims.
(Xinhua News Agency October 7, 2005)