“Institutional construction is needed to guarantee public participation in environmental protection” in China, according to a commentary published in Dazhong Daily. China’s State Environment Protection Administration (SEPA), reports the publication, has released a set of guidelines on public participation in environmental impact assessment, encouraging direct involvement from the general public in the country's environmental affairs. This is the first official document on public involvement in the environmental sector, aimed at making government decisions in the sector more transparent and democratic. The provisional measures give recognition and respect to the public right to environment participation. But such a right of participation is still limited to the assessment stage. Arrangements addressing the policy-making and law-enforcement phases are still lacking.
The opinion piece was excerpted and reprinted in China Daily (27 February 2006)
