Current Status of Public Participation in the EIA Process in China Seoul Korea, June 2007 By Zhao Xinfeng Appraisal Center for Environment and Engineering, State Environmental Protection Administration of China

Content  Introduction  Requirements on Public Participation  Current situation  Conclusion

Introduction

Why do?  Legislations related to PP in EIA  Law of Administrative Permission(1995)  EIA Law (2003)  Executive Measures on PP in EIA(2006)  Key element of EIA  Criteria for EIA approval

Who do?  During the process of EIA preparation  Project proponent  EIA consultant  During the process of EIA approval  Environmental authority

Scope of Application  All projects that are subject to the detailed EIA  Project that its EIS needs to reapply for approval due to the change of design  Project that does not start the construction after 5 years of getting the EIA permission, and needs to be re-assessed

Requirements on PP

 Four announcements are required 1 st : within 7days after EIA is launched Preparation Stage Approval Stage 1 st : after EIA application is accepted 2 ed : not less than 10days before EIA is submitted for approval 2 ed : not less than 10days before decision is made

 Non-technical EIA report should be public accessible  Information that should be disclosed :  Name of the project proponent and EIA consultant, as well as their contact information  General Information of the Project  Resource Utilization and Pollution Discharge  Key findings of Impact Prediction and Assessment  Mitigation Measures  Main Conclusions of EIA

 Direct affected public must be consulted  Consultation focuses on environmental issues  Time for collecting public comments should not be less than 10 days  Means of public consultation include  questionnaire  Interview  Public meeting  Public hearing

 Public hearing is required in certain circumstances (not be clearly defined)  Two types of public hearing  Public Comments Hearing (leading body-proponent)  Formal Public Hearing (leading body-environmental authority)

 All comments should be recorded  EIA statement should contain a chapter describing the procedures and outcomes of public participation  The PP chapter should include a summary of the public comments, and indicate the unadopted comments and the reasons of unadoption

Current Situation

Successes  SEPA is the first government sector that issued the legal document specific on PP  Awareness of PP among project proponents and government staff has been enhanced  Information Disclosure has been improved, although not enough  More opportunities for vulnerable peoples to get involved

Constrains  Public awareness on environment is still low in poor areas  Time for public comments is short, especially in EIA approval stage  EIA statement is not fully opened to the public  Social issues is not covered  Consultation with NGOs is not compulsory

Conclusion

 PP in china is still in the preliminary stage  Effective PP needs more legislative supports  Environmental education is essential for mass public, especially poor peoples, to get involved  PP alone can not guarantee the environmental equity

Thank You