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Urbanization, Energy, and Air Pollution in China: The Challenges Ahead: Proceedings of a Symposium (2004)

Chapter: Institutional Issues Environmental Institutions in China--HUA WANG and CHANGHUA WU

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Suggested Citation:"Institutional Issues Environmental Institutions in China--HUA WANG and CHANGHUA WU." National Research Council and National Academy of Engineering. 2004. Urbanization, Energy, and Air Pollution in China: The Challenges Ahead: Proceedings of a Symposium. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11192.
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Institutional Issues

Suggested Citation:"Institutional Issues Environmental Institutions in China--HUA WANG and CHANGHUA WU." National Research Council and National Academy of Engineering. 2004. Urbanization, Energy, and Air Pollution in China: The Challenges Ahead: Proceedings of a Symposium. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11192.
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Suggested Citation:"Institutional Issues Environmental Institutions in China--HUA WANG and CHANGHUA WU." National Research Council and National Academy of Engineering. 2004. Urbanization, Energy, and Air Pollution in China: The Challenges Ahead: Proceedings of a Symposium. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11192.
×

Environmental Institutions in China

HUA WANG

Development Research Group

World Bank

CHANGHUA WU

Green Development Institute

Air pollution in China is a very serious problem. While national pollution survey data show that total emissions of major air pollutants, such as sulfur dioxide (SO2), soot, and industrial fugitive dust, peaked in the mid-1990s and have been falling off ever since, concentrations of fine particulates and SO2 in many Chinese cities remain among the highest in the world. Although metropolitan areas, with a total population of 100 to 200 million, have the most serious air pollution,1 hundreds of millions of people in rural areas are affected by indoor air pollution from solid fuels used for cooking and heating. Acid rain and acid deposition have also had detrimental effects on regions all over the country. In 2002, acid rain was recorded in more than 90 percent of the cities in acid rain control areas.

Energy, heavy industry, and heating and cooking have been the traditional sources of air pollution in China. The large-scale, inefficient consumption of poor quality and poorly prepared coal in the industrial and energy sectors led to large emissions of pollutants. Pollution from small-scale heating and cooking used to fill the streets of Chinese cities and towns with thick, sticky smoke saturated with soot and a mixture of other pollutants. Recently, however, there has been a distinct shift in the sources of air pollution.

The number of vehicles in China has been growing at a rate of 20 percent per year in many urban areas, and vehicular emissions are fast becoming the primary

1  

In 2002, barely one-third of China’s 343 monitored cities were in compliance with the nation’s residential ambient air quality criteria.

Suggested Citation:"Institutional Issues Environmental Institutions in China--HUA WANG and CHANGHUA WU." National Research Council and National Academy of Engineering. 2004. Urbanization, Energy, and Air Pollution in China: The Challenges Ahead: Proceedings of a Symposium. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11192.
×

source of air pollution in cities.2 In addition, construction, which is widespread and poorly regulated in China, is the source of huge emissions of total suspended particulates (TSP), and in some localities, more dangerous pollutants—although there are few data to describe this phenomenon. Ecological destruction is another main contributor to high levels of TSP in much of northern China, where sand-storms have become more frequent in Beijing and other cities.

China has done many things right in the environmental arena over the past decade. However, much more remains to be done to address the growing environmental challenges. This paper reviews the institutional aspects of environmental protection in China and offers recommendations for improving those institutions. Major recommendations include: (1) putting the quality of life, including environmental quality, at the top of the political agenda in China; (2) developing a national environmental network, with the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) as its anchor, and expanding SEPA’s environmental coordination function; and (3) enacting laws requiring the disclosure of environmental information and ensuring public participation in environmental management and the promotion of environmental nongovernmental organizations (NGOs).

The next section of this paper describes the responsibilities of major actors in environmental protection in China. This is followed by sections on regulation, institutional progress, and the future of pollution control in China.

MAJOR ACTORS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The Legal Foundation

Constitutionally, the National People’s Congress (NPC) and its Standing Committee exercise the leading power of the state in China. All administrative, judicial, and procuratorial organs of the state are created by the NPC, to which they are responsible and under whose supervision they operate. China has four major categories of governing institutions—the NPC, the State Council, the People’s Court (judicial), and the People’s Procuratorates (legal).

According to the Constitution, the state is responsible for protecting and improving the living conditions of the people and the ecological environment. The state also prevents and controls pollution and other public hazards (Article 26), ensures the rational use of natural resources, and protects rare animals and plants. Appropriating or damaging natural resources by any organization or individual by whatever means is prohibited (Article 9).

The Law of Environmental Protection further stipulates that “the plans for

2  

Estimates show that by 2010 in Shanghai, 75 percent of total oxides of nitrogen (NOx) emissions, 94 percent of total carbon monoxide (CO) emissions, and 98 percent of total hydrocarbon emissions will be from vehicles.

Suggested Citation:"Institutional Issues Environmental Institutions in China--HUA WANG and CHANGHUA WU." National Research Council and National Academy of Engineering. 2004. Urbanization, Energy, and Air Pollution in China: The Challenges Ahead: Proceedings of a Symposium. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11192.
×

environmental protection formulated by the state must be incorporated into national economic and social development plans; the state [must] adopt economic and technological policies and measures favorable for environmental protection so as to coordinate the work of environmental protection with economic construction and social development” (Article 4).

Article 5 states that “the state shall encourage the development of education in the science of environmental protection, strengthen the study and development of the science and technology of environmental protection, raise the scientific and technological level of environmental protection and popularize scientific knowledge of environmental protection.”

According to the law, the competent department of environmental protection administration (i.e., SEPA) under the State Council shall conduct unified supervision and management of environmental protection throughout the country. The competent departments of environmental protection administration (environmental protection bureaus, or EPBs) of local people’s governments at or above the county level are responsible for unified supervision and management of environmental protection activities in areas under their jurisdiction.

The state administrative department of marine affairs, the harbor superintendency administration, the fisheries administration and fishing harbor superintendency agencies, the environmental protection department of the armed forces, and the administrative departments of public security, transportation, railways, and civil aviation at various levels shall, in accordance with the provisions of relevant laws, supervise and manage the prevention and control of environmental pollution. The competent administrative departments of land, minerals, forestry, agriculture, and water conservancy of the people’s governments at or above county level shall, in accordance with the provisions of relevant laws, “conduct supervision and management of the protection of natural resources” (Article 7).

The 1996 Decision of the State Council on Several Issues Concerning Environmental Protection affirms the importance of public participation and the development of NGOs. The decision states that “a mechanism for public involvement shall be established. Social organizations shall play their role. The public shall be encouraged to [become] involve[d] in environmental protection and to charge against or disclose any kind of illegal activities of violating environmental laws and regulations.”

Major Players

Government continues to play the leading role in protecting the environment in China, although participation by an emerging civil society is increasing, and decision makers are working more with the private sector and organizations outside the government.

Suggested Citation:"Institutional Issues Environmental Institutions in China--HUA WANG and CHANGHUA WU." National Research Council and National Academy of Engineering. 2004. Urbanization, Energy, and Air Pollution in China: The Challenges Ahead: Proceedings of a Symposium. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11192.
×

TABLE 1 Government Agencies with Environmental Responsibilities under State Council

Responsibilities

Actors

Examples

Macro-coordination and control

State Development and Reform Commission

 

  • state land use and protection

  • water resources and environment planning

  • nation-wide ecological/ environmental construction plan

  • coordinate all economic sectors’ development

 

Ministry of Finance

 

  • fiscal policy, control of state-owned capitals

Specialized public agency

State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA)

 

  • pollution control

  • ecosystem protection

  • natural resource management

  • urban environmental management

Pollution control

SEPA

 

 

Ministry of Construction

 

  • solid waste management, wastewater treatment

 

Ministry of Railways

 

  • railway industrial pollution control

 

Ministry of Communications

 

  • marine (shipping) pollution control

 

Ministry of Water Resources

 

  • water quality, water body sink capacity

  • total water pollutant control

 

Ministry of Health

 

  • drinking water quality

Government Players

Government has three major responsibilities: legislative, administrative, and judiciary. The NPC Environment and Resources Protection Committee drafts new environmental legislation and revises existing legislation; local people’s congresses are responsible for local legislation. The Supreme People’s Court and local people’s courts at different levels exercise judicial powers in accordance with law, independently and not subject to interference by administrative organs, public organizations, or individuals. The Supreme People’s Procuratorate and local people’s procuratorates exercise power independently.

The responsibilities of the State Council (or the Central Government) are distributed among different ministries and agencies (Table 1). Areas of

Suggested Citation:"Institutional Issues Environmental Institutions in China--HUA WANG and CHANGHUA WU." National Research Council and National Academy of Engineering. 2004. Urbanization, Energy, and Air Pollution in China: The Challenges Ahead: Proceedings of a Symposium. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11192.
×

Responsibilities

Actors

Examples

Ecosystem protection

SEPA

 

 

Ministry of Agriculture

 

  • grassland, wetlands, agricultural biodiversity

  • aquatic wildlife protection

 

State Forestry Administration

 

  • terrestrial biodiversity, land use, forest eco-construction

  • forest resource protection, land greening

 

Ministry of Land and Resources

 

  • land, mineral and marine resources

Natural resource

SEPA

 

management

Ministry of Land and Resources

 

  • mineral and marine resource management

 

Ministry of Water Resources

 

  • water supply

 

Ministry of Agriculture

 

  • fishery, renewable energy, land use

 

State Forestry Administration

 

  • timber and forest products

  • terrestrial wildlife resource use, forest farms, plantations

Others

Ministry of Science and Technology

 

  • R&D

 

Ministry of Education

 

  • environmental education

 

General Auditing Agency

General Customs Agency Taxation

 

  • environmental auditing

responsibility include macro adjustment, coordination, and control (e.g., the State Development and Reform Commission, SDRC) and specialized management areas (e.g., Ministry of Construction, Ministry of Water Resources, Ministry of Land and Resources, etc.) Some agencies are directly affiliated with the State Council, such as SEPA and the State Forestry Administration.

Nongovernmental Organizations

Although China’s legal framework does not promote the creation of NGOs in the Western sense, environmentally oriented NGOs are beginning to provide a vehicle for public expressions of environmental concerns and for effecting change, although on a limited scale. Many Chinese NGOs have official

Suggested Citation:"Institutional Issues Environmental Institutions in China--HUA WANG and CHANGHUA WU." National Research Council and National Academy of Engineering. 2004. Urbanization, Energy, and Air Pollution in China: The Challenges Ahead: Proceedings of a Symposium. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11192.
×

governmental sponsors to guide them through the registration process and provide support for their work, political and otherwise. There are two kinds of environmental NGOs in China: (1) fairly independent NGOs and (2) government-organized NGOs.

The activities of many fairly independent NGOs are directed toward environmental education and community development. Friends of Nature, for example, focuses primarily on raising environmental awareness among the public; the group also promotes wildlife and habitat conservation. Green Earth Volunteers is an example of a volunteer organization. Global Village, although registered as a company, focuses on two main areas: (1) production of a series of TV programs; and (2) promotion of residential reuse and recycling in Beijing. In addition, many grassroots and community-level NGOs scattered around the country are working on specific issues in their communities.

A number of international NGOs have also established their presence in China. They include the World Wildlife Foundation-China, Ford Foundation, Oxfam, Leadership for Environment and Development (LEAD) International, and the Nature Conservancy.

Government-organized NGOs are usually state sponsored and are often established by state agencies or well known Chinese leaders or retired officials. Often large, national-level organizations that receive a large part of their funding from the government (although increasingly from other sources as well), government-organized NGOs are not grassroots organizations. They are focused on an elite audience of scholars, policy makers, and government officials. The clear advantage of these organizations is their ability to bring together scholars and officials from a wide range of institutions that normally find it difficult to interact in China’s highly vertical bureaucratic structure.

Institutes and Think Tanks

The explosive increase in international academic exchanges and the involvement of Chinese experts in cooperative environmental development projects have created an atmosphere of more independent, critical thinking among research institutes and think tanks. For instance, the Rural Development Institute of the People’s University of China in Beijing is one of many educational institutions that combine academic research and rural development projects in China’s interior. The Beijing Environment and Development Institute (BEDI) conducts applied research on environmental issues and encourages market-based solutions to environmental problems. Regionally based institutions, such as the Chinese Academy of Sciences Institute of Geography and the Northern Normal University Institute of Environmental Sciences, have developed impressive research and training programs to address specific regional needs.

The Beijing-based South-North Institute for Sustainable Development has

Suggested Citation:"Institutional Issues Environmental Institutions in China--HUA WANG and CHANGHUA WU." National Research Council and National Academy of Engineering. 2004. Urbanization, Energy, and Air Pollution in China: The Challenges Ahead: Proceedings of a Symposium. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11192.
×

conducted some very successful small demonstration projects on biogas energy for small farmers in the Baima Snow Mountain nature reserve in Sichuan Province. The prestigious Energy Research Institute, which is under the SDRC umbrella and is supported by the dynamic Center for Renewable Energy Development, is an example of a think tank that has had a good deal of influence over China’s energy policies.

A number of institutions have also been actively involved in the development and expansion of environmental management systems in industry. The China National Cleaner Production Center, under SEPA, is an example of an institution that advises businesses on environmental auditing, cleaner production, and setting up ISO 14000 systems.

International Actors

Global changes in ecology, economics, and politics have led to a shift of some power and authority away from nation states and toward supranational, regional, and local levels of governance. International environmental conventions and agreements and multilateral, bilateral, and regional cooperation are a few examples. China has been actively involved in the preparation and implementation of international environmental conventions and now has obligations under more than 80 bilateral and multilateral environmental treaties (see Table 2). Former Premier Zhu Rongji reinforced China’s commitment to reducing greenhouse gases at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in September 2003, when he announced that China was moving forward with ratification of the Kyoto Protocol of the Framework Convention on Climate Change.

China is committed to continue taking steps to protect environmental resources. These steps have included: current state assessments; sharing of information; participation in international cooperative activities; preparation of national action plans; and integration of environmental protection and general development plans and programs.

Because China is held accountable to the international bodies (such as the United Nations Environment Program, UNEP) in charge of implementing these agreements, the ratification and implementation of global conventions has provided a strong incentive for placing environmental issues high on the national political and development agenda. In addition, these accords often provide financial and other support for the development and implementation of environmental laws by domestic institutions.

China is also involved in multilateral, bilateral, and regional cooperative projects, as well as projects with NGOs. The World Bank and the Asian Development Bank have been important in promoting China’s environmental protection and sustainable development activities.

Suggested Citation:"Institutional Issues Environmental Institutions in China--HUA WANG and CHANGHUA WU." National Research Council and National Academy of Engineering. 2004. Urbanization, Energy, and Air Pollution in China: The Challenges Ahead: Proceedings of a Symposium. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11192.
×

TABLE 2 Major International Environmental Conventions Ratified by China

Convention

Date of Ratification

Leading Government Agencies

UN Framework Convention on Climate Change

2002

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, SDRC, MOST, Agriculture, Finance, SEPA, Forestry, Land/Resources, etc.

Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants

2001

SEPA, Foreign Affairs, Agriculture, SDRC, Health

UN Convention to Combat Desertification

1997

Foreign Affairs, Forestry

UN Convention on Biological Diversity

1992

SEPA, Foreign Affairs, Finance, Agriculture, Forestry

Montreal Protocol on Ozone Depleting Substances

1991

SEPA, Foreign Affairs, Agriculture, Finance

Convention on Preventing Ocean Pollution by Dumping Wastes and Other Materials

1985

State Oceanic Agency, Communications, Foreign Affairs

Convention on Internationally Important Wetlands Especially As Water Fowl Habitats

 

Foreign Affairs, Water Resources, SEPA, Forestry

Framework Convention on Tobacco Control

 

SDRC, Health, Foreign Affairs, Finance

Convention on International Trade of Endangered Wildlife Species

1981

Forestry, Foreign Affairs, Agriculture

Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty

1991

 

Basel Convention on Transportation of Hazardous Wastes

1995

 

Administrative Oversight

After the major administrative reforms of 1998, the State Council issued the Three-Determinations Program—emphasizing functions, staff, and personnel. Through this program, each government agency has been required to establish clearly defined functions, responsibilities, and powers and to specify the number of staff members to be responsible for each function.

State Environmental Protection Administration

SEPA is authorized to conduct “unified supervision and management of

Suggested Citation:"Institutional Issues Environmental Institutions in China--HUA WANG and CHANGHUA WU." National Research Council and National Academy of Engineering. 2004. Urbanization, Energy, and Air Pollution in China: The Challenges Ahead: Proceedings of a Symposium. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11192.
×

environmental protection throughout the country.” Under the Three-Determinations Program, SEPA has responsibilities in the following areas:

  • Policy and regulatory functions: drafting guidelines, policies, laws, regulations and administrative regulations; providing environmental assessments for economic and technological policies; economic and development planning, with the endorsement of the State Council; drafting a national plan for environmental protection; and drafting and supervising implementation of plans in specific areas such as pollution prevention and control and ecological protection for key regions and basins identified by the state.

  • Enforcement and supervision: organizing the enforcement of various pollution-prevention and control laws and regulations; guiding, coordinating, and supervising marine environmental protection activities; overseeing the use of natural resources that effect the ecological environment; overseeing the environmental protection of natural reservation zones, scenic and historic sights, and forestry parks; supervising efforts to protect biodiversity and manage natural resources (e.g., prevention and control of desertification); making suggestions for the establishment of new national natural reservation areas; and supervising national natural reservation areas.

  • Cross-cutting and regional issue coordination: directing efforts to deal with interdepartmental and interprovincial issues; investigating and dealing with major pollution accidents and ecological damage; resolving interprovincial disputes; organizing and coordinating efforts to prevent and control water pollution in national key basins; taking charge of the environmental supervision and administrative examination; and organizing the examination on the enforcement of environmental protection laws.

  • Environmental standards: formulating national standards for environmental quality and discharges; documenting local standards; reviewing comprehensive urban plans for environmental protection; and publishing annual environmental protection reports and related documents (e.g., a national sustainable development profile).

  • Environmental management and environmental impact assessment (EIA): formulating and organizing the implementation of regulations for management of environmental protection; examining and approving the EIA of major new construction; directing the comprehensive control of urban and rural environmental protection; and directing efforts for rural environmental protection and the construction of national ecological pilot areas; and promoting eco-agriculture.

  • Research and development (R&D), certification, and environmental industry: coordinating environmental science and technology,

Suggested Citation:"Institutional Issues Environmental Institutions in China--HUA WANG and CHANGHUA WU." National Research Council and National Academy of Engineering. 2004. Urbanization, Energy, and Air Pollution in China: The Challenges Ahead: Proceedings of a Symposium. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11192.
×

important research projects, and technological pilot engineering; overseeing the development of the environmental protection industry; managing the national certification of environmental management system and environmental labels; and developing and organizing the qualification approval system.

  • Environmental monitoring and information disclosure: supervising monitoring, statistics, and information gathering; formulating the regulations and norms for monitoring; organizing the establishment and management of a national monitoring network and national information network; organizing, overseeing, and coordinating environmental education and publicity; and promoting the participation of the public and NGOs in environmental protection.

  • Global environmental issues and international conventions: formulating national principles for addressing global environmental issues; managing international cooperative efforts; helping to coordinate major events on environmental protection; participating in the negotiations of international environmental protection agreements; coordinating the implementation of international environmental agreements; coordinating and implementing foreign-funded environmental projects; dealing with foreign affairs in relation to environmental protection with the endorsement of the State Council; and communicating with international environmental organizations.

  • Nuclear safety: managing radioactive wastes and nuclear materials; formulating guidelines, policies, laws, and standards; participating in emergency responses to nuclear accidents and radioactive accidents; supervising and managing the safety of nuclear facilities; developing mineral resources with radioactive content; and supervising the safety of nuclear pipelines and pressure-bearing facilities.

Since SEPA was elevated to the status of a ministry, it has been under the direct leadership of the State Council, from which it receives almost all of its funding. SEPA’s national policy activities are supported by the Committee on Natural Resources and Environmental Protection, under the chief legislative body—the NPC.

State Development and Reform Commission

The SDRC, originally the State Development and Plan Commission, is the product of the latest government restructuring symbolizing China’s final move from a command-and-control economy to a market economy. SDRC is now the central agency responsible for macro-coordination and control of the market economy.

Suggested Citation:"Institutional Issues Environmental Institutions in China--HUA WANG and CHANGHUA WU." National Research Council and National Academy of Engineering. 2004. Urbanization, Energy, and Air Pollution in China: The Challenges Ahead: Proceedings of a Symposium. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11192.
×

In the areas related to environmental protection, the SDRC is responsible for coordinating the policies of land use, exploitation, and protection; participating in the development of plans for balanced use of water resources and environmental protection; leading the country toward sustainable development; and directing the work of the National Climate Change Countermeasure Coordination Group. The SDRC is also in charge of linking and balancing the development of agricultural, forestry, water resource, meteorological, aquatic products, husbandry, and land cultivation policies. As part of the 2003 reform, the SDRC took over the responsibilities of the dissolved State Economic and Trade Commission for the development of policies and planning for economic sectors, including energy, transportation, and raw materials.

Other Ministries and Agencies with Environmental Responsibilities

Several other government agencies have environmental responsibilities, many of which were summarized in Table 1. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is involved in the negotiations and ratification of all international conventions and other agreements. The Ministry of Water Resources (MOWR) has responsibilities related to river basin management and water management outside of urban areas. The Ministry of Construction has a strong influence on and responsibilities in urban environmental infrastructure development. The Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) has overall responsibility for most of what happens outside of urban areas, including the regulation of township and village enterprises. The Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) is deeply involved in sustainable development and climate change negotiations and has responsibilities in technology R&D. The State Forestry Administration (SFA) has significant responsibilities related to forest and wetlands management and to the preservation of biodiversity. The Ministry of Land and Resources is responsible for the planning, administration, protection, and rational use of land, mineral, and marine resources, including mapping and cadastral management. The State Ocean Administration (in the Ministry of Land and Resources) is responsible for management of coastal and marine waters, including biodiversity conservation. The State Meteorological Administration takes part in climate change negotiations, and has responsibilities in regional air quality management. The Ministry of Communications shares responsibilities with SEPA for vehicle emissions control, the implementation of which is the responsibility of public security bureaus. The General Auditing Agency is responsible for environmental auditing and related activities.

Local Agencies

Almost all national agencies have counterparts at the provincial, municipal, and county levels. For example, SEPA’s counterparts are EPBs or offices (EPOs) down through the administrative hierarchy at the provincial, municipal, county,

Suggested Citation:"Institutional Issues Environmental Institutions in China--HUA WANG and CHANGHUA WU." National Research Council and National Academy of Engineering. 2004. Urbanization, Energy, and Air Pollution in China: The Challenges Ahead: Proceedings of a Symposium. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11192.
×

FIGURE 1 Environmental protection apparatus. The Environmental Protection Bureaus (EPBs) administer, supervise, and manage environmental protection activities at the various local levels.

district, and in some places, township levels (see Figure 1). The chief responsibility of these local environmental units is to enforce laws and implement policies designed by SEPA and to draft local regulations to supplement central regulations. EPBs work directly with local factories and other polluters, as well as with industry bureaus and local governments.

REGULATION

Policy Making

According to the Law on the Prevention and Control of Air Pollution, the national government shall adopt measures to control or gradually eliminate all emissions of air pollutants throughout the country in a planned way; the local governments at all levels shall be responsible for ambient air quality in the areas under their jurisdiction and shall formulate plans and adopt measures to ensure that ambient air quality in their jurisdictions meets defined standards.

SEPA and local EPBs shall exercise unified supervision and management of

Suggested Citation:"Institutional Issues Environmental Institutions in China--HUA WANG and CHANGHUA WU." National Research Council and National Academy of Engineering. 2004. Urbanization, Energy, and Air Pollution in China: The Challenges Ahead: Proceedings of a Symposium. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11192.
×

the prevention and control of air pollution. The public security, communications, railway, and fishery departments at all levels shall, according to their respective functions, be responsible for the supervision and management of air pollution by motor vehicles and vessels.

SEPA is responsible for setting national ambient air quality standards. Governments at the provincial level may establish their own local, supplementary standards for items not specified in the national ambient air quality standards and report to SEPA for documentation.

In accordance with the national ambient air quality standards and the nation’s economic and technological conditions, SEPA shall establish national air pollutant emission standards. The governments at the provincial level may set local standards for items not specified in the national air pollutant emission standards, as long as they are more stringent than the national standards. Local standards should be reported to SEPA for the record. All emissions of air pollutants are subject to local standards where they have been established.

Indoor air pollution has traditionally been dealt with by public health and agriculture agencies and is not on SEPA’s agenda. Because public health agencies are being overwhelmed by other public health issues and agricultural agencies are facing redefined missions, there is a danger that indoor air quality may be left out of the government agenda completely. As China’s top environmental agency, SEPA should lead efforts to coordinate activities to address indoor air pollution.

According to the Law on Prevention and Control of Water Pollution, competent departments (SEPA) under the State Council and local governments at various levels shall incorporate the protection of the water environment into their plans and adopt ways and measures to prevent and control water pollution.

SEPA and environmental protection departments at all levels shall exercise unified supervision and management of the prevention and control of water pollution. Navigation administrative offices of transportation departments at various levels shall exercise supervision and management of pollution from vessels. Water conservancy departments, public health departments, geological and mining departments, municipal departments, and water sources protection agencies for major rivers at various levels shall supervise and manage the prevention and control of water pollution by performing their respective functions in conjunction with environmental protection departments.

SEPA shall establish national ambient water quality standards. The governments of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities may establish local, supplementary standards for items not specified in the national ambient water quality standards and report the same to SEPA for the record.

In accordance with the national ambient water quality standards and the country’s economic and technological conditions, SEPA shall establish national pollutant discharge standards. The governments of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities may establish local standards for the discharge of water pollutants not specified in the national standards; for items specified in the

Suggested Citation:"Institutional Issues Environmental Institutions in China--HUA WANG and CHANGHUA WU." National Research Council and National Academy of Engineering. 2004. Urbanization, Energy, and Air Pollution in China: The Challenges Ahead: Proceedings of a Symposium. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11192.
×

national standards, local standards must be more stringent than national standards. The local standards for the discharge of water pollutants must be reported to SEPA for the record.

Policy Instruments

Policy instruments in China include command-and control, market-based, information-based, and voluntary approaches (see Table 3). China has continued to improve its capacity in air pollution prevention and control. The first air pollution control law went into effect in 1987 and was amended in 1995 and 2000 to strengthen enforcement and address emerging issues. The 2000 amendment includes several new mandates that will improve future air quality management, such as the endorsement of emission fees and emission permits, both of which are potentially important regulatory instruments. China has also made significant adjustments in its fuel mix through large investments in both residential fuel switching and energy efficiency through technical innovation and structural adjustment. These pro-environment energy policies are significant additions to the air quality improvement agenda. The government has already developed a national strategy for reducing motor vehicle emissions based on international experiences and China’s situation. Key components include: phasing out leaded gasoline; tightening emission standards for all categories of new vehicles; upgrading vehicle inspection and maintenance programs; adopting cleaner fuels; and implementing traffic and demand management.

TABLE 3 Pollution Control Instruments

Command-andControl Instruments

Economic Incentives

Voluntary Instruments

Public Disclosure Instruments

 

  • Concentration-based pollution discharge limits

  • Mass-based controls on total provincial discharge (pilot only)

  • Environmental impact assessment

  • Three-synchronous policy

  • Limited time treatment

  • Centralized pollution control

  • Two-compliance policy

  • Discharge permit system (experimental)

 

  • Pollution levy fee

  • Noncompliance fines

  • Environmental compensation fee

  • Sulfur emission fee (experimental)

  • Emission trading (experimental)

  • Subsidies for energy-saving products

  • Regulation on refuse credit to high-polluting firms

 

  • Environmental labeling system

  • Promotion of ISO 14000 system

  • Cleaner production

 

  • Cleanup campaign

  • Performance disclosure

Suggested Citation:"Institutional Issues Environmental Institutions in China--HUA WANG and CHANGHUA WU." National Research Council and National Academy of Engineering. 2004. Urbanization, Energy, and Air Pollution in China: The Challenges Ahead: Proceedings of a Symposium. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11192.
×

At the beginning of the 1990s, the dominant water pollution issue in China was industrial point-source pollution, specifically pollution from state-owned industries, which became the focus of pollution-control efforts. SEPA and lower level EPBs used a variety of instruments to address the problem, including command-and-control measures, “administrative” measures, economic instruments, and public awareness. The available data suggest that these measures did contribute to reversing industrial water pollution emissions by the middle of the decade.

SEPA, the leading government agency in enforcement, formulates regulations, policies, and standards and uses implementation instruments to prevent and control industrial pollution. The regulatory and administrative framework for pollution control, which today is comprehensive, has been continuously updated and expanded to improve effectiveness and cover emerging issues. During the 1990s, regulators attempted to encourage three shifts in pollution-control strategy, described in the following paragraphs.

First, at the enterprise level, pollution control shifted toward whole-process control, rather than end-of-pipe waste treatment. The shift was encouraged by the promotion of cleaner production concepts and the adoption of ISO 14000 certification procedures. The Cleaner Production Program (CPP), which began in 1993, encourages enterprises to adopt in-plant waste-minimization technologies. Although CPP has great potential, efforts so far have been focused mainly in areas with strong incentives, such as areas of northern China where water is scarce. Nevertheless, the technical capacity to conduct clean-production audits and feasibility studies has been established, and regulators now have the capacity to respond as the demand for these services. In the meantime, the Law of Promoting Cleaner Production, passed and put into effect on January 1, 2003, includes both mandatory and voluntary incentives for enterprises to take measures to control pollution.

ISO 14000 certification procedures were introduced in 1997. The government believes that promoting ISO 14000 will increase the compliance rate without increasing regulatory effort. The project was initiated by SEPA’s Office of Environmental Management Systems and was taken over by the Steering Committee for Environmental Management System Certification, which was established within SEPA to provide accreditation services for certification bodies and auditors. Several environmental management and consulting centers have been established to conduct ISO 14000 certification. So far, the majority of participants are either foreign firms or domestic firms engaged in the production of export-oriented products, neither of which is the sort of industry responsible for the nation’s main pollution problems. Both CPP and ISO 14000 programs can help reduce China’s industrial pollution, but increased funding and manpower will be necessary to enforce pollution laws and regulations.

Second, the regulatory focus has shifted from pollutant concentrations toward total-load control through a combination of concentration and mass-based

Suggested Citation:"Institutional Issues Environmental Institutions in China--HUA WANG and CHANGHUA WU." National Research Council and National Academy of Engineering. 2004. Urbanization, Energy, and Air Pollution in China: The Challenges Ahead: Proceedings of a Symposium. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11192.
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discharge criteria. In 1987, SEPA (then NEPA) began to experiment with mass-based control to cap or reduce the total level of pollutants released to the environment in certain areas. Seventeen cities and one river basin were selected to participate in the trial implementation of a discharge permit system based on the total-load-control concept. By 1994, the program had expanded to more than 200 cities and 12,000 enterprises. However, studies of the pilot program showed only moderate improvements in environmental quality in participating cities because the program did not address the underlying problem of lax regulatory enforcement.

And third, to improve cost effectiveness, the focus has shifted from dispersed-source control, which requires that each enterprise individually resolve its emission problems, to a more integrated approach with centralized control by, for example, encouraging the discharge of semi-treated liquid wastes to municipal sewers. The previous emphasis on controlling wastes from individual sources did not have the desired results and placed too many demands on EPB staff for supervision; in addition, in less developed areas, there was not enough technical expertise to implement the policy. Encouraging the discharge of pretreated wastes to municipal sewers does not eliminate the need for supervision, but it reduces the monitoring workload and will improve the economics of the centralized sewage system—as long as discharge fees cover the costs of receiving and treating the wastes, and the fees are collected.

Public disclosures of environmental performance by industries and local governments have begun recently. The environmental performance of industries is rated by five color categories (green, blue, yellow, red, and black) from the best to the worst; color ratings are disseminated to the public via the media. Preliminary analyses show that the disclosures have been effective (Wang et al., 2004).

Enforcement

As the highest level of authority, the NPC is responsible for environmental legislation. Supervision and monitoring are mostly the responsibility of law enforcement agencies, including SEPA and local EPBs, which both have departments of environmental supervision and inspection. There are also some supervision and inspection institutes, such as the South China Environmental Protection Supervision and Inspection Center. All of these departments and institutes are responsible for making sure industrial polluters are taking measures to control pollution.

The People’s Procurotorates supervise the enforcement agencies to make sure they properly enforce the laws. In addition, the NPC’s Environment and Resources Protection Committee organizes yearly nationwide inspections of legal enforcement. The NPC committee also works with the media to organize media coverage of enforcement issues. Media organizations themselves naturally take on the social responsibility of exposing both positive and negative stories in

Suggested Citation:"Institutional Issues Environmental Institutions in China--HUA WANG and CHANGHUA WU." National Research Council and National Academy of Engineering. 2004. Urbanization, Energy, and Air Pollution in China: The Challenges Ahead: Proceedings of a Symposium. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11192.
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industrial pollution control. The public is also a powerful force for change; as awareness of pollution increases, the public is gradually becoming a nationwide watchdog. Despite all of the progress, however, negotiation and bargaining in environmental policy enforcement are still widespread in China (Wang et al., 2003; Wang and Wheeler, in press).

INSTITUTIONAL PROGRESS

History and Evolution

Progressive institutional reforms since the late 1970s have moved China toward a more decentralized government system. Environmental institutions in China have been evolving along with the reform process. Moves toward more openness, which began in 1978 to bring China out of its isolation from the rest of the world, have led to an era of transition and exploration for a new, workable power structure to govern the country.

Decentralization3 is essential to the reforms. The government believes that decentralization can cut the central government’s costs and improve efficiency by reducing the size of the central bureaucracy. In addition, decentralization is believed to improve the delivery of services by bringing decision making and implementation closer to the target population. Decentralization is also regarded as a natural complement to economic liberalization and the imposition of fiscal discipline.

In the last three decades, major steps toward decentralization to meet the demands of a transition to a market-oriented economy have included: establishment of the Household Responsibility System, which has dismantled the collective ownership of agriculture; the transfer of central authority to local governments and enterprises; the establishment of a socialist market-economy system; and membership in the World Trade Organization. In short, fundamental changes have been made in China’s power structure and in the roles of actors in the political, economic, and social arenas.

In 1978, the Household Responsibility System privatized land-use rights in rural areas by leasing agricultural land. Farmers initially received leases on their land for one to three years. In the next decades, the leases were lengthened to 30 and later 50 years. The contract responsibility system was extended to forest-lands in the early 1980s and grasslands in the 1990s. Thus, the collective ownership of agriculture was ended, which radically altered the functions of government.

3  

Decentralization refers to any act in which a central government formally cedes powers to actors and institutions at lower levels in a political-administrative hierarchy. It is an umbrella term that includes political decentralization, deconcentration or administrative decentralization, fiscal decentralization, privatization, and even co-management.

Suggested Citation:"Institutional Issues Environmental Institutions in China--HUA WANG and CHANGHUA WU." National Research Council and National Academy of Engineering. 2004. Urbanization, Energy, and Air Pollution in China: The Challenges Ahead: Proceedings of a Symposium. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11192.
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In 1982, the government passed legislation that devolved fiscal and economic decision-making responsibilities from the central and provincial levels to the county, township, and even village levels. Under the Fiscal Responsibility System, each level of government became financially independent, that is, responsible for raising and managing its own revenues. (Before 1980, local governments remitted tax revenues directly to the central government and awaited partial returns based on the central government’s discretion.) Fiscal decentralization meant new responsibilities for township governments.

In 1988, a new round of government restructuring focused on promoting changes in government responsibilities and functions. Since that time, economic management departments that had directly managed the economy have changed to indirect management to improve administrative efficiency and speed up administrative legislation. Another round of restructuring took place in 1993 and was focused on separating government from business, separating rule-making from implementation, strengthening supervision, and reducing the direct government management of enterprises.

In 1998, the State Council established a government administrative system that would support China’s socialist economic system. The government was restructured on the basis of “streamlining, unification, and efficiency,” and assignments and divisions of responsibilities were modified in accordance with the principle of “consistency of power and responsibilities.” The legal administrative system was strengthened to ensure that the country is ruled by law and governed by law. Similar reforms were carried out at the provincial, municipal, and county levels in the following years. The 1998 reform is regarded as the most dramatic in terms of government restructuring.

The most recent reforms, in 2003, go one step further by instituting a much better developed administrative management system that is standardized, coordinated, transparent, clean, and highly efficient. The most important motivation for this set of reforms was China’s accession to the World Trade Organization. A major feature of the 2003 reforms is the separation of decision making, enforcement, and supervisory responsibilities. Along with the internal supervision of administrative departments, the reforms strengthen outside oversight by society, the media, people’s congresses, and political consultants.

Compared with many other countries in the world, China has made little progress toward political democratization. Six rounds of government restructuring, however, have led to many achievements. For example, the number of government agencies has declined, and the functions of government agencies at different levels have changed dramatically. The government has gradually given up control over materials allocation, prices, and enterprise operation and management. Today, many state-owned enterprises are characterized by shareholder ownership, market operation, and enterprise-level management. In addition, the private sector has grown rapidly and is now a strong pillar of national economic development. In short, China has moved closer to a market economy.

Suggested Citation:"Institutional Issues Environmental Institutions in China--HUA WANG and CHANGHUA WU." National Research Council and National Academy of Engineering. 2004. Urbanization, Energy, and Air Pollution in China: The Challenges Ahead: Proceedings of a Symposium. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11192.
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Dramatic changes have also occurred in the way the government operates. Legal forces are at play in all economic sectors. Rule by law and administration by law have become basic requirements of government operation. In the meantime, government powers continue to devolve, and public participation in government services continues to increase. A transparent government with limited powers, multiple power centers, under the rule of law will provide favorable conditions for China to move further toward political democratization, at least theoretically.

Implications for the Environment

Reforms and decentralization in the last three decades have brought about changes in the way China deals with its daunting environmental challenges. First, responsibilities for the environment and natural resource decision making are being shifted to lower levels of government. Local governments now have not only the authority necessary to reform local industries, but also the power to control financial resources at the local level.

Second, the streamlining of environmental management has become a major feature of the delegation of environmental jurisdiction. Authorities with cross-cutting responsibilities in the environment and sustainable development were greatly strengthened after the 1998 government reforms, when SEPA was promoted to its present ministerial status and SDRC was given a clear mandate to lead China’s sustainable development efforts in close collaboration with a number of ministries and agencies.

Third, as the market becomes increasingly decentralized, market forces are gradually assisting command-and-control mechanisms to protect the environment and ecosystem. The government has been experimenting with market-oriented tools in environmental management. Regulators have learned how to price drinking water and utilities based on market values, how to trade SO2 pollution rights, and how to use taxation to regulate pollution-heavy industries.

And fourth, the concept of environmental governance has become part of the national discourse to encourage information disclosure and public participation. The burgeoning government structure in the environmental arena is reflected by increasing media coverage of environmental issues, and public participation is reflected in the remarkably independent grassroots and citizens’ organizations that have been formed in the last several years.

Environmental Institutions

China’s environmental awakening happened around 1972 when the first United Nations (UN) Conference on the Human Environment was held in Stockholm, Sweden. Even though at that time China was still a closed society in the middle of the Cultural Revolution, China sent a delegation to the conference.

Suggested Citation:"Institutional Issues Environmental Institutions in China--HUA WANG and CHANGHUA WU." National Research Council and National Academy of Engineering. 2004. Urbanization, Energy, and Air Pollution in China: The Challenges Ahead: Proceedings of a Symposium. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11192.
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Thirty years later, the Chinese government has recognized the value of using the market to make environmental protection profitable and to motivate a knowledgeable population to demand compliance and environmental quality.

“Environment” as defined by the Environmental Protection Law of People’s Republic of China, refers to the totality of all natural elements and artificially transformed natural elements that affect human existence and development. The environment includes the atmosphere, water, seas, land, minerals, forests, grasslands, wildlife, natural and human remains, nature reserves, historic sites and scenic spots, and urban and rural areas. According to the Environmental Protection Law, environmental responsibility includes protecting and improving both people’s living environment and the ecological environment, preventing and controlling pollution and other public hazards, and safeguarding human health.

As a result of the 1972 UN conference, the Chinese delegation realized that China shares the problems of environmental degradation with the rest of the world. The conference was followed a year later by the first National Conference on Environmental Protection in Beijing, and in 1974, by the establishment by the State Council of the Group on Environmental Protection. These events were followed by a series of legislative efforts in the late 1970s, marking the beginning of government efforts to put environmental protection on the national agenda.

In 1984, the group on Environmental Protection was disbanded, and the National Environmental Protection Bureau (NEPB) was set up in the Ministry of Urban and Rural Construction. In 1988, the NEPB was reclassified as an agency, the National Environmental Protection Agency (NEPA), with a bureaucratic rank slightly below a ministry and resumed reporting directly to the State Council. In 1993–1994, the Committee for Natural Resources and Environmental Protection was set up under the NPC to take responsibility for revising and drafting environmental laws, ensuring their rapid promulgation, and supervising their enforcement. And in 1998, NEPA was upgraded to ministerial status and renamed the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA).

SEPA underwent dramatic institutional changes in the 1990s. The most notable developments included: (1) elevation to the status of a ministry, clarifying SEPA’s position as the agency with overall responsibility for environmental management and protection in China; and (2) efforts to address the so-called “horizontal-vertical” issue, in which lower level EPBs report to higher level EPBs, and ultimately SEPA, but receive their funding from local governments. The heads of local EPBs must now be endorsed by a higher ranked environmental agency.

Lower level EPBs were strengthened, either by raising their bureaucratic status or by giving them independent bureaucratic status. As of 2000, all 31 provincial EPBs were independent agencies, and 30 of them were first-tier institutions; all city-level EPBs were independent agencies, and most were firsttier institutions; about 70 percent of county EPBs were independent; and about

Suggested Citation:"Institutional Issues Environmental Institutions in China--HUA WANG and CHANGHUA WU." National Research Council and National Academy of Engineering. 2004. Urbanization, Energy, and Air Pollution in China: The Challenges Ahead: Proceedings of a Symposium. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11192.
×

1,422 environmental protection units were established at the township level (World Bank, 2001).4

Political Agenda

The Chinese government has clear environmental policy goals that were most recently articulated in former President Jiang Zemin’s report to the 16th Communist Party Congress. Sustainable development was identified as one of the three pillars of the strategy to build a “well-off society in an all-round way.” An essential element of that strategy is to address “the growing contradiction between the ecological environment and natural resources on the one hand and economic and social development on the other.”

Over the last two decades, the environment has been given increasing priority. In the Tenth Five-Year Plan (2001–2005), sustainable development is designated as the “guiding principle and strategy” for the country’s economic and social development. The Five-Year Plan also identifies environmental protection as a national priority, but not quite on the same level as economic growth or the alleviation of poverty. This has been one of the major reasons some environmental regulations have not been effectively enforced.

Legal System

The effectiveness of the environmental legal system, which is at an early stage of development, is hampered by a variety of factors. There is a deeply ingrained problem-solving culture on the part of all parties—EPBs, other government agencies, and industrial enterprises—based on negotiating and bargaining outside of the court system. This tradition militates against turning to the courts for recourse and will have to be overcome. This is compounded by the lack of a tradition of drafting laws to limit ambiguity and define the rights and responsibilities of all relevant parties.

To strengthen environmental law enforcement, the government has revised criminal laws a few times to include punishment for violators of laws and regulations to protect the environment and resources and regulations of those causing damage to the environment, property, or public health. The current Section 6 of Chapter VI specifically designated “Crimes of Undermining Protection of Environmental Resources,” specifies three- to seven-year prison terms and monetary penalties for violations of the legal restrictions on the discharge, dumping, or disposal of radioactive waste, hazardous waste, and other dangerous substances to the environment. Violators of laws or regulations on protecting aquatic

4  

The World Bank, China Air, Land and Water: Environmental Priorities for A New Millennium, August 2001, pp. 99-100.

Suggested Citation:"Institutional Issues Environmental Institutions in China--HUA WANG and CHANGHUA WU." National Research Council and National Academy of Engineering. 2004. Urbanization, Energy, and Air Pollution in China: The Challenges Ahead: Proceedings of a Symposium. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11192.
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resources, the hunting and killing of protected species, the occupation of or serious damage to forestland or cultivated land, logging and mining, etc., are also subject to punishment.

Although law enforcement agencies have the power to enforce environmental laws, the facts show that a tremendous burden still falls on the shoulders of victims, who must collect proof to make a case against violators. So far, the enforcement of environmental laws and regulations has been spotty.

Interagency Coordination

With sustainable development and the environment high on the national agenda, one would expect that a mechanism would be in place for integrating and coordinating environmental and economic policies. However, this is not the case. The State Council used to have an Environmental Protection Commission, set up in 1984, to aid in cross-sectoral coordination. The commission was disbanded in 1998 when SEPA was elevated to the ministerial level and the commission’s coordinating role was transferred to SEPA. With the dissolution of the commission, China lost a potentially important forum for encouraging collaborative, cross-cutting approaches to environmental issues and for resolving jurisdictional disputes. Experience in other countries suggests that SEPA, a second-rank (non-cabinet) ministry, will not be able to carry out this role effectively because it is below the ministerial level in many respects and because it is considered somewhat of a newcomer. Moreover, many enterprises, local governments, and production-oriented ministries view SEPA as an environmental policeman trying to limit economic growth. In response to these reactions, SEPA tends to adopt a defensive attitude and stick to the issues it feels most comfortable with—issues that can be addressed without collaboration with other agencies.

On paper, all major economic development policies in China must go through an environmental impact assessment to ensure that they do not entail negative impacts on the environment. But in reality, the questions of who should perform the assessment, how it should be done, how the assessment will impact economic policies, and so forth, have not been answered.

The lack of coordination can be illustrated by the example of ecological conservation. This is an area in which many government agencies and departments have responsibilities (e.g., SEPA, SFA, MOA, MOWR) and even conflicting interests. Without the State Council’s Environmental Protection Commission or a similar group, there is no linkage or connection among the plans made by those agencies. In addition, some agencies have internally conflicting mandates; SFA, for example, is in charge of both the conservation and exploitation of forests.

Suggested Citation:"Institutional Issues Environmental Institutions in China--HUA WANG and CHANGHUA WU." National Research Council and National Academy of Engineering. 2004. Urbanization, Energy, and Air Pollution in China: The Challenges Ahead: Proceedings of a Symposium. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11192.
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Contractual Arrangements

SEPA holds local decision makers accountable for the environmental quality in their localities. The performance of governors and mayors is evaluated partly by the environmental quality and improvements in their jurisdictions. With this kind of contractual power, SEPA should be able to ensure that many environmental policies are implemented at the local level. However, no penalty mechanisms have been designed or implemented for contracts that are not fulfilled. However, public disclosures of local government environmental performance can provide incentives for local governments to enforce regulations enacted by the central government.

Nongovernmental Organizations and Research Institutes

Authoritative advice from independent, reliable sources is crucial to sound decision making, especially for the complex issues involved in sustainable development. In the past, technical and academic institutes were part of, or under the supervision of, government ministries or agencies for which they gathered information. Not surprisingly, these institutes provided advice that was carefully attuned to “the master’s voice” (any notion of potentially adverse effects was routinely brushed under the carpet).

As a result of recent government restructuring and reform, many of these organizations are now more independent. Combined with their improved capacities, they are now in a position to give objective, even challenging advice to decision makers. In addition, there is a growing, competitive market for environmental knowledge and services, mostly government agencies contracting for decision support, such as studies, investigations, and feasibility studies. Finally, increasing pluralism in the technical and academic sectors has created more opportunities for institutes to network and collaborate with research institutes and consulting agencies around the world; Chinese institutes have begun bidding for overseas consulting jobs, as well as international research assignments. The major concern is that NGOs and think tanks are not allowed to operate independent of official government policy.

Economic Globalization and International Cooperation

Trade and commerce are also general stimuli to environmental protection. With globalization and opening markets, China is interacting more and more with its neighbors and with the rest of the world. Trade and commerce are growing at an unprecedented rate. All of these interactions are driving environmental and social change in China, and laws and regulations have been developed specifically to ensure environmental protection in imports and exports and general trade (see Tables 4, 5, and 6).

Suggested Citation:"Institutional Issues Environmental Institutions in China--HUA WANG and CHANGHUA WU." National Research Council and National Academy of Engineering. 2004. Urbanization, Energy, and Air Pollution in China: The Challenges Ahead: Proceedings of a Symposium. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11192.
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TABLE 4 Import and Export of Environment-Related Goods

Items Specifically Listed

Agency

Prohibited imported goods

Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation (MOFTEC)

Wastes used as raw materials and restricted in importation

MOFTEC, General Administration of Customs, State Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, SEPA

Waste used as raw materials under automatic import license category

SEPA, MOFTEC, etc.

Machinery and electronic products subject to automatic import license

MOFTEC, etc.

Goods subject to import license

MOFTEC, etc.

Goods for which quota, license and specific import administration measure are eliminated

MOFTEC

Prohibited exported goods

MOFTEC

Prohibiting export of black moss

MOFTEC

TABLE 5 Import and Export of Hazardous Chemicals

Topics

Agency

Circular on strengthening the management of hazardous chemicals

SEPA, MOFTEC, Ministry of Public Security, etc.

Provisions on environmental management of the first import of chemicals and the import and export of toxic chemicals

SEPA, MOFTEC

Standards of registration fee for environmental management of chemical export and import

SEPA

Circular on renewal of registration of environmental management of first import of chemicals

SEPA

Through environment-related provisions in the legal agreements for China’s accession into the WTO, China is obligated to abide by various requirements. The goal of WTO is to establish global international competition under equal conditions. To be competitive in this market, Chinese industry must become more efficient, which, at least in the long run, may lead to better use of resources, better conservation, and the importation of cleaner, more efficient technology.

Suggested Citation:"Institutional Issues Environmental Institutions in China--HUA WANG and CHANGHUA WU." National Research Council and National Academy of Engineering. 2004. Urbanization, Energy, and Air Pollution in China: The Challenges Ahead: Proceedings of a Symposium. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11192.
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TABLE 6 Trade Provisions in Multilateral Environmental Agreements

Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal

Amendment to the Basel Convention

Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade

Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants

Framework Convention on Climate Change

Kyoto Protocol to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change

Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer

Convention on Biological Diversity

Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora

Agreement on Fish Stocks

International Tropical Timber Agreement

Convention on the Ownership of Cultural Property

Rio Declaration on Environment and Development

Agenda 21

Statement of Principles on Forests

The economic activities of China and Chinese enterprises have an impact on both regional and global environments. Although no detailed studies of China’s ecological footprint have been undertaken, there are five relevant areas for study: (1) greenhouse gas emissions; (2) biodiversity; (3) transboundary pollution; (4) domestic consumption; and (5) overseas investment. For instance, severe dust storms, resulting in large part from desertification throughout China, have played havoc with air quality and transportation in China and neighboring countries, such as Korea and Japan. Dust plumes from these storms have even been identified in the United States, reportedly transported via the jet stream.

One positive aspect of regional and global environmental developments is that they have led to meetings between high-level government officials in the affected countries to discuss solutions to China’s growing environmental problems. In April 2002, the environmental ministers of China, South Korea, and Japan met in Seoul for the 4th Tripartite Environment Ministers Meeting. Most of the discussions in 2002 were focused on the problems of “yellow dust” emanating from China. South Korea initiated the meeting in 1999 to address

Suggested Citation:"Institutional Issues Environmental Institutions in China--HUA WANG and CHANGHUA WU." National Research Council and National Academy of Engineering. 2004. Urbanization, Energy, and Air Pollution in China: The Challenges Ahead: Proceedings of a Symposium. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11192.
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transboundary pollution originating in China. Since then, the meetings have addressed many environmental issues of mutual concern.

China has worked with other countries bilaterally and multilaterally to protect the environment in border areas. For example, the Mekong River Watershed Management Committee is a regional organization with members from Southeast Asia along the Mekong River. Although China has not become an official member of the committee, China is involved along the upper reaches of the Mekong, which originates in the Tibet-Qinghai Plateau. Thus, what China does along the watershed and how China plans to use the water resources of the upper reaches of the Mekong have a major effect on the river itself and the development of countries along the middle and lower reaches of the river. The committee brings the stakeholders together to discuss how the watershed can be protected while economic growth is pursued.

Other examples include the China-Russia collaborative program to protect the Usuri River and China/Myanmar/Laos cooperative efforts to control trafficking in endangered species. However, projects like these have many problems, such as lack of financial support, weak enforcement powers, and corruption in many countries.

THE FUTURE OF POLLUTION CONTROL IN CHINA

There is no doubt that China faces major environmental challenges. If GDP continues to grow at (or near) a rate of 8 percent in the short term or medium term, urbanization continues and possibly even accelerates, and industrialization continues to evolve toward the production of finished products, the scope and dimensions of China’s environmental problems will increase and become more complex. Therefore, China must continue to improve its environmental institutions.

The decentralization reform process has generally had a positive impact on the environment. Despite uneven progress in economic, public administration, and governance reforms, there have been large environmental payoffs. The greatest impact on the environment has been the result of a more efficient economy, which has included more efficient use of resources, decreased industrial and domestic wastes, and a system of incentives that encourages further environmental improvements.

However, the reactive approaches of the past will not be sufficient to address the challenges China faces. The government must become more proactive in addressing environmental problems. Given the substantial and growing tension between economic development and environmental protection, the government must ensure that environmental factors are considered in policy decisions, and there must be comprehensive environmental supervision of all government activities. And government should maintain its strong commitment to the

Suggested Citation:"Institutional Issues Environmental Institutions in China--HUA WANG and CHANGHUA WU." National Research Council and National Academy of Engineering. 2004. Urbanization, Energy, and Air Pollution in China: The Challenges Ahead: Proceedings of a Symposium. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11192.
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environmental agenda, which includes improving the quality of life rather than promoting economic development at the expense of the environment.

Continued reform of public administration toward good governance for sustainable development is essential to stimulating economic reform and a necessary basis for reinforcing the environmental legislative framework and ensuring the implementation of environmental laws and regulations. The growing cadre of more efficient public officials at the national level and across China, with increasingly clear duties and responsibilities and a commitment to the rule of law, bodes well for the protection of the environment. Further clarifications and separations of responsibilities, from national to local levels and among agencies at the same level, will yield similarly impressive results.

Efforts to strengthen SEPA and EPBs should be continued, and SEPA should be elevated to membership in the State Council to ensure that the government’s environmental concerns are taken into account in all aspects of development policy. SEPA’s institutional capacity, including staffing levels, should be significantly increased to bring it more into line with comparable international agencies. The lack of cross-sectoral coordination is commonly considered to be at the heart of the critical problems related to water resources management, urban planning, forest management, product-related environmental measures, and many other areas. To improve cross-sectoral coordination, a national environmental network, with SEPA as its anchor, should be developed; in addition, SEPA’s environmental coordination function should be enhanced.

In the meantime, limited experiments in governance reforms have shown that empowering and liberalizing people, within a regulated and monitored framework, can produce a strong, positive force for environmental change that complements, rather than threatens, government objectives and actions. Experience in China and other countries suggests that the media and NGOs will be strong advocates for the environment in the future. A law ensuring the disclosure of environmental information and public participation in environmental management decisions should be enacted, and the development of environmental NGOs should be promoted.

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Suggested Citation:"Institutional Issues Environmental Institutions in China--HUA WANG and CHANGHUA WU." National Research Council and National Academy of Engineering. 2004. Urbanization, Energy, and Air Pollution in China: The Challenges Ahead: Proceedings of a Symposium. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11192.
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Suggested Citation:"Institutional Issues Environmental Institutions in China--HUA WANG and CHANGHUA WU." National Research Council and National Academy of Engineering. 2004. Urbanization, Energy, and Air Pollution in China: The Challenges Ahead: Proceedings of a Symposium. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11192.
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Suggested Citation:"Institutional Issues Environmental Institutions in China--HUA WANG and CHANGHUA WU." National Research Council and National Academy of Engineering. 2004. Urbanization, Energy, and Air Pollution in China: The Challenges Ahead: Proceedings of a Symposium. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11192.
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Suggested Citation:"Institutional Issues Environmental Institutions in China--HUA WANG and CHANGHUA WU." National Research Council and National Academy of Engineering. 2004. Urbanization, Energy, and Air Pollution in China: The Challenges Ahead: Proceedings of a Symposium. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11192.
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Suggested Citation:"Institutional Issues Environmental Institutions in China--HUA WANG and CHANGHUA WU." National Research Council and National Academy of Engineering. 2004. Urbanization, Energy, and Air Pollution in China: The Challenges Ahead: Proceedings of a Symposium. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11192.
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Suggested Citation:"Institutional Issues Environmental Institutions in China--HUA WANG and CHANGHUA WU." National Research Council and National Academy of Engineering. 2004. Urbanization, Energy, and Air Pollution in China: The Challenges Ahead: Proceedings of a Symposium. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11192.
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Suggested Citation:"Institutional Issues Environmental Institutions in China--HUA WANG and CHANGHUA WU." National Research Council and National Academy of Engineering. 2004. Urbanization, Energy, and Air Pollution in China: The Challenges Ahead: Proceedings of a Symposium. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11192.
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Suggested Citation:"Institutional Issues Environmental Institutions in China--HUA WANG and CHANGHUA WU." National Research Council and National Academy of Engineering. 2004. Urbanization, Energy, and Air Pollution in China: The Challenges Ahead: Proceedings of a Symposium. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11192.
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Suggested Citation:"Institutional Issues Environmental Institutions in China--HUA WANG and CHANGHUA WU." National Research Council and National Academy of Engineering. 2004. Urbanization, Energy, and Air Pollution in China: The Challenges Ahead: Proceedings of a Symposium. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11192.
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Suggested Citation:"Institutional Issues Environmental Institutions in China--HUA WANG and CHANGHUA WU." National Research Council and National Academy of Engineering. 2004. Urbanization, Energy, and Air Pollution in China: The Challenges Ahead: Proceedings of a Symposium. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11192.
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Suggested Citation:"Institutional Issues Environmental Institutions in China--HUA WANG and CHANGHUA WU." National Research Council and National Academy of Engineering. 2004. Urbanization, Energy, and Air Pollution in China: The Challenges Ahead: Proceedings of a Symposium. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11192.
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Suggested Citation:"Institutional Issues Environmental Institutions in China--HUA WANG and CHANGHUA WU." National Research Council and National Academy of Engineering. 2004. Urbanization, Energy, and Air Pollution in China: The Challenges Ahead: Proceedings of a Symposium. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11192.
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Suggested Citation:"Institutional Issues Environmental Institutions in China--HUA WANG and CHANGHUA WU." National Research Council and National Academy of Engineering. 2004. Urbanization, Energy, and Air Pollution in China: The Challenges Ahead: Proceedings of a Symposium. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11192.
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Suggested Citation:"Institutional Issues Environmental Institutions in China--HUA WANG and CHANGHUA WU." National Research Council and National Academy of Engineering. 2004. Urbanization, Energy, and Air Pollution in China: The Challenges Ahead: Proceedings of a Symposium. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11192.
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Suggested Citation:"Institutional Issues Environmental Institutions in China--HUA WANG and CHANGHUA WU." National Research Council and National Academy of Engineering. 2004. Urbanization, Energy, and Air Pollution in China: The Challenges Ahead: Proceedings of a Symposium. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11192.
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Suggested Citation:"Institutional Issues Environmental Institutions in China--HUA WANG and CHANGHUA WU." National Research Council and National Academy of Engineering. 2004. Urbanization, Energy, and Air Pollution in China: The Challenges Ahead: Proceedings of a Symposium. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11192.
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Suggested Citation:"Institutional Issues Environmental Institutions in China--HUA WANG and CHANGHUA WU." National Research Council and National Academy of Engineering. 2004. Urbanization, Energy, and Air Pollution in China: The Challenges Ahead: Proceedings of a Symposium. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11192.
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Suggested Citation:"Institutional Issues Environmental Institutions in China--HUA WANG and CHANGHUA WU." National Research Council and National Academy of Engineering. 2004. Urbanization, Energy, and Air Pollution in China: The Challenges Ahead: Proceedings of a Symposium. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11192.
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Suggested Citation:"Institutional Issues Environmental Institutions in China--HUA WANG and CHANGHUA WU." National Research Council and National Academy of Engineering. 2004. Urbanization, Energy, and Air Pollution in China: The Challenges Ahead: Proceedings of a Symposium. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11192.
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Suggested Citation:"Institutional Issues Environmental Institutions in China--HUA WANG and CHANGHUA WU." National Research Council and National Academy of Engineering. 2004. Urbanization, Energy, and Air Pollution in China: The Challenges Ahead: Proceedings of a Symposium. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11192.
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Suggested Citation:"Institutional Issues Environmental Institutions in China--HUA WANG and CHANGHUA WU." National Research Council and National Academy of Engineering. 2004. Urbanization, Energy, and Air Pollution in China: The Challenges Ahead: Proceedings of a Symposium. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11192.
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Suggested Citation:"Institutional Issues Environmental Institutions in China--HUA WANG and CHANGHUA WU." National Research Council and National Academy of Engineering. 2004. Urbanization, Energy, and Air Pollution in China: The Challenges Ahead: Proceedings of a Symposium. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11192.
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Suggested Citation:"Institutional Issues Environmental Institutions in China--HUA WANG and CHANGHUA WU." National Research Council and National Academy of Engineering. 2004. Urbanization, Energy, and Air Pollution in China: The Challenges Ahead: Proceedings of a Symposium. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11192.
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Suggested Citation:"Institutional Issues Environmental Institutions in China--HUA WANG and CHANGHUA WU." National Research Council and National Academy of Engineering. 2004. Urbanization, Energy, and Air Pollution in China: The Challenges Ahead: Proceedings of a Symposium. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11192.
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Suggested Citation:"Institutional Issues Environmental Institutions in China--HUA WANG and CHANGHUA WU." National Research Council and National Academy of Engineering. 2004. Urbanization, Energy, and Air Pollution in China: The Challenges Ahead: Proceedings of a Symposium. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11192.
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Suggested Citation:"Institutional Issues Environmental Institutions in China--HUA WANG and CHANGHUA WU." National Research Council and National Academy of Engineering. 2004. Urbanization, Energy, and Air Pollution in China: The Challenges Ahead: Proceedings of a Symposium. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11192.
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Suggested Citation:"Institutional Issues Environmental Institutions in China--HUA WANG and CHANGHUA WU." National Research Council and National Academy of Engineering. 2004. Urbanization, Energy, and Air Pollution in China: The Challenges Ahead: Proceedings of a Symposium. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11192.
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In October 2003, a group of experts met in Beijing under the auspices of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Engineering, and National Academy of Engineering (NAE)/National Research Council (NRC) of the National Academies to continue a dialogue and eventually chart a rational course of energy use in China. This collection of papers is intended to introduce the reader to the complicated problems of urban air pollution and energy choices in China.

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