Assessment system will help protect environment Pan YueChina Daily Updated: 2005-09-19 05:52
Strategic environmental impact assessment holds the key to the sustainable
development of the nation.
It is widely accepted that only when the economy, society and the environment
are in harmony can they develop in a sustainable way.
The ability to put the sustainable development concept into practice will
determine whether the grand undertaking of reinvigorating the nation can be
achieved or not.
Currently, China's economic growth is characterized by reliance on resources
consumption.
In terms of per-capita possession of resources, China ranks low in the world,
with many categories below the global average. Per-capita oil is only 1.8 per
cent of the world's average and iron ore 9 per cent.
If China is to achieve sustainable growth, a proper sustainable development
strategy must be worked out to include strategic environmental impact
assessment.
The strategic environmental impact assessment system, by taking preventative
measures or tackling problems that have already occurred, is meant to stop the
environment from becoming polluted.
This system originated in the United States, with the National Environmental
Policy Act of 1969 as its foundation.
The act requires responsible officials to provide environmental impact
assessment reports on proposals for legislation and other major federal
decisions that significantly affect the quality of the environment.
This practice has been copied in many countries, and by the end of the 1980s
similar environment assessment systems were already widespread, especially in
developed countries.
In China, the Environmental Impact Assessment Law came into effect in 2003 -
a milestone that has greatly improved the country's environment assessment
mechanism.
In the past, when drawing up major economic policies, the impact such
measures would likely have on the environment were seldom taken into
consideration, which often led to serious problems.
When heavy industries were designated as pillars of the economy in central
and western provinces in the past, decision-makers failed to recognize that the
fragile ecological environment in those regions could not support such
heavy-polluting firms, resulting in serious ecological disasters that will take
locals several generations to recover from.
Experience shows that if decision-making bodies gave more consideration to
potential environmental impact when drafting construction or other social plans,
not only could pollution be cut but also economic losses and social friction
reduced.
It is imperative that the introduction of an environmental impact assessment
system in our social planning comes sooner rather than later.
The Environmental Impact Assessment Law, which only requires the planning
environment impact assessment, should serve as the starting point for the
promotion of strategic environment impact assessment.
Planning environment impact assessment evaluates a project's potential
environmental impact before it is drafted.
Previously attention was only paid to the assessment of specific construction
projects. But as building is the last link in the decision-making chain, so its
assessment has only a limited influence and cannot protect the wider
environment. Neither can it guide policy-making in terms of overall plans that
specific construction projects may be parts of.
But with the planning environmental impact assessment system in place, the
effects of policies on the surroundings will be taken into consideration when
drafting overall plans, which could provide valuable information for
decision-makers.
With sustainable development as its ultimate goal, the strategic environment
assessment system is conducive to integrating or co-ordinating policies that
have environmental implications while pooling the efforts of different
government bodies.
But to realize the goal of sustainable development requires hard work from
the whole of society.
Although the environment assessment law has been in effect for two years,
China still faces daunting challenges in promoting strategic environmental
impact assessment.
There is still a lack of systematic strategic environment assessment theories
and expertise and the mechanism for inter-departmental co-ordination has not yet
been established.
Greater efforts are needed to promote the application of strategic
environment assessment.
As the first step, specific management rules should be enacted to clearly
demarcate the roles and responsibilities of different government organs as they
approach environment assessment work.
It is recommended that planning environment impact assessment be first
applied in some pilot provinces or cities where the clash between the
environment and economy is particularly damaging.
It is also vital that the public participates in promoting environment
assessment.
Efforts should be made to inform citizens about the environment assessment
law so they are aware of the potential environmental impact development planning
is likely to have, making everyone actively take part in the supervision of
environment assessment projects.
Planning environment impact assessment capacity building is also imperative.
A capable team of environment assessment professionals should be established and
training offered to them.
(China Daily 09/19/2005 page4)
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