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Feature: China Improves Enforcement of Environmental Laws (1)

Posted on: Thursday, 6 October 2005, 09:00 CDT

Feature: China improves enforcement of Environmental Laws (1) By Xinhua Writer Lin Gu

BEIJING, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- When the construction of some 30 big projects were suspended at a mandate from the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) in December 2004, China was taking the most notable move in enforcing environmental laws.

Their construction was put to a halt for the projects, most of them hydro- or thermal power plants, failed to have an environmental impact assessment according to law. All would have obvious environmental consequences if no measure is taken to curb their possible hazardous impact, so an advanced assessment on their environmental impact is necessary according to law.

However, construction of these projects was launched without proper environmental assessment before hand. Hailed by media and the public as "an environmental protection storm," SEPA's act to halt their construction marked a departure from its old image as a rubberstamp of such wrongdoings.

"We are determination to investigate and punish any violations of environmental laws and environmental assessment is never a rubber stamp," says Pan Yue, deputy-director of SEPA.

Interestingly, the top three on the "black list" were all hydro- power plants under China's Three Gorges Project Company, which claims millions yuan of government input as key projects to alleviate the country's energy plight and hinges on the same administrative level with SEPA. So the unprecedented campaign certainly incurred great pressure on SEPA.

Yet the move won the praise from Premier Wen Jiabao, who openly applauded SEPA's campaign at a State Council conference.

Although one month later, most of the 30 halted projects resumed their construction, reportedly having passed the environmental assessment, the act that these key projects' construction was ever suspended made a history, says an official of SEPA.

SEPA alone can never guarantee the full enforcement of environmental laws and regulations, observes Prof. Wang Canfa, director of the center to help environmental victims at China University of Political Sciences and Law. In fact, according to Wang, the rate of China's environmental laws and regulations that are actually enforced is estimated to be barely 10 percent. (more)

Source: Xinhua News Agency - CEIS

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