By Fu Jing (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-03-24 15:11

Among the five new "super ministries" set up last week, the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) acts most actively to fulfill its duties in winning China's demanding battle against environmental woes.

The ministry last Tuesday replaced its website domain name SEPA (the State Environmental Protection Administration), the same day the annual session of National People's Congress (NPC) closed. It changed former SEPA head Zhou Shengxian's title to minister shortly after the top legislature voted for Premier Wen Jiabao's nomination, even though the vice-ministers' names remained unknown. The ministry's staff has been joyfully taking photos in front of the national environment watchdog building in downtown Beijing before the SEPA name is changed.

Internally, Minister of Environmental Protection Zhou and other high-level officials in charge are considering a reshuffle of SEPA, as well as its elevation into a real ministry. Zhou has required his staff prepare for the new ministry's launch ceremony even though the internal reshuffle will not be finished until July.

By July, all staff will be put in place to "boost environmental and ecological protection efforts and accelerate the building of a resource-saving and environmentally friendly society", missions assigned by the State Council in this round of administrative reform.

So far, the new ministry has not officially made public its increased responsibilities. But it seems very likely that environmental protection ministry, among 27 Cabinet departments, will be playing its strengthened watchdog role on two fronts: authority consolidation and authority penetration.

On the first hand, a source said, the environment ministry is expected to have consolidated authority over "pollution prevention", which is currently handled by several different departments. It will have full responsibility for water pollution, while control of industrial pollution is also to be strengthened under the new ministry.

It will also be responsible for biodiversity management and approval and the assessment of national ecological protection zones, which is currently the job of the forestry administration. As the country rolls out its program of building nuclear power generators, the ministry will play a role in safety management to prevent radiation leaks.

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