Public participation modes in China's environmental impact assessment process: An analytical framework based on participation extent and conflict level

Environmental impact assessment (EIA) serves as a gatekeeper to prevent environmental pollution, and public participation is a legal requirement in the EIA process that ensures people's awareness of activities that may jeopardize the environment. Recently, with the elevated awareness of environmental protection and increasing environmental sensitivity, EIA has evolved as a means for the public to show their attitudes towards environmental issues. More frequently, public protests against not-in-my-backyard (NIMBY) facilities have become a significant challenge in the government's decision-making process. Government officials and EIA practitioners continue to look for a more effective way of public participation and aim to establish a platform that can involve related stakeholders. However, current research on public participation is limited to individual case studies or lacks a systematic approach to analysing diversified modes of public participation, which may differentiate levels of acceptance by the government in the EIA process and consequently lead to different effects. Therefore, from the perspectives of the participation extent and conflict level, this paper aims to establish an integrated framework to categorize different public participation patterns in EIA practices and to analyse their characteristics, such as preferences and the action logic arising from different stakeholders, including the government and public. The paper concludes that collaborative public participation is a possible way to strengthen the effectiveness of public involvement within the Chinese context.     

Online rumor propagation of social media on NIMBY conflict: Temporal patterns,frameworks and rumor-mongers

The rapid development of social media has accelerated the online rumor propagation, making social conflicts more intense during the development of NIMBY facilities. The “fake news” issue is not new, as the consequences will be amplified when the fakery spreads on social media as online rumors. However, few studies have been undertaken on the online public opinion, especially the rumor propagation on NIMBYism. This study collects data related to the anti-PX demonstration in Maoming city in 2014 on the Weibo platform. To form the rumor text library, qualitative research method is adopted to encode the collected data. Based on the social amplification of risk framework, three sub-frameworks are proposed in this study and statistical method is used to analyze the topics of rumors. Meanwhile, the textual content analysis and impact factor analysis is employed to examine the semantic features of rumor texts and the key role of rumor-mongers respectively. The results show that there are three main propagation lifecycles of rumors while the topics of rumors vary according to the cycle. Rumors belonging to each framework have diverse trend and the assessment framework is dominant throughout the process. “Individuals” and “Elites” are the main force of rumor spreading, and “Media practitioners” are the opinion leaders. These findings are useful for governments to establish a rumor detection system so that official information can be released and rumors can be refuted without delay. Meanwhile, the cooperation with the opinion leaders in online rumor propagation should be strengthened. In addition, a scientific popularization and timely notification of project progress is recommended prior to the development of NIMBY facility.     

Social Impact Management Plans: Innovation in corporate and public policy

Social Impact Assessment (SIA) has traditionally been practiced as a predictive study for the regulatory approval of major projects, however, in recent years the drivers and domain of focus for SIA have shifted. This paper details the emergence of Social Impact Management Plans (SIMPs) and undertakes an analysis of innovations in corporate and public policy that have put in place ongoing processes – assessment, management and monitoring – to better identify the nature and scope of the social impacts that might occur during implementation and to proactively respond to change across the lifecycle of developments. Four leading practice examples are analyzed. The International Finance Corporation (IFC) Performance Standards require the preparation of Environmental and Social Management Plans for all projects financed by the IFC identified as having significant environmental and social risks. Anglo American, a major resources company, has introduced a Socio-Economic Assessment Toolbox, which requires mine sites to undertake regular assessments and link these assessments with their internal management systems, monitoring activities and a Social Management Plan. In South Africa, Social and Labour Plans are submitted with an application for a mining or production right. In Queensland, Australia, Social Impact Management Plans were developed as part of an Environmental Impact Statement, which included assessment of social impacts. Collectively these initiatives, and others, are a practical realization of theoretical conceptions of SIA that include management and monitoring as core components of SIA. The paper concludes with an analysis of the implications for the practice of impact assessment including a summary of key criteria for the design and implementation of effective SIMPs.     

Comparative research on NIMBY risk acceptability between Chinese and Japanese college students

Along with the progressive acceleration of urbanization, the need to identify potentially troublesome “Not In My Back Yard” (NIMBY) facilities in the city is inevitable. To resolve NIMBY conflict, it is important to know people’s NIMBY risk acceptability for these facilities. A questionnaire survey was used among Chinese and Japanese college students to identify NIMBY risk acceptability. LISREL was used to construct a structural equation model to analyze the difference in NIMBY risk acceptability between the Chinese and Japanese college students. Factors that may affect NIMBY risk acceptability were analyzed: “perceiving utility,” “perceiving risk,” “trust in government,” “reasonable compensation,” and “procedural justice.” The findings show that Japanese students’ concerns were greater than Chinese students’ concerns. Perceiving utility and perceiving risk were the most important factors that affect people’s NIMBY risk acceptability, followed by procedural justice, trust in government, and reasonable compensation. There is a difference between the different cultural backgrounds in confronting the risk: Chinese students focus more on the reputation and value of real estate, while Japanese students pay more attention to environmental pollution and damage to health. Furthermore, cultural influences play a role in students’ risk perception. To improve the risk acceptability for NIMBY facilities and provide a basis for resolving NIMBY conflicts, it is necessary to ensure the benefits of the NIMBY facility while reducing environmental pollution. The findings of this study may be of interest for policy makers and practitioners to devise future NIMBY strategies.     

Public participation in Strategic Environmental Assessment: A practitioners' perspective

Public participation is considered a distinguished feature of Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA), and the SEA literature has traditionally identified several benefits attached to it, from more open and transparent decision-making to greater acceptance of plans/programmes' output by the affected population. However, relatively little empirical evidence has been collected so far on the extent and outcomes of public engagement as it is being carried out in current SEA practice. In this article, we present the results of a study on this theme based on a direct survey of 47 SEA practitioners and scholars from different countries. Respondents were asked to report their experience about a number of items including: the frequency of SEA process featuring deep public participation; its overall influence on plan/programmme-making; the identification of the main factors impeding it; the correlation of public involvement with environmental outcomes; and the increase of costs. Results indicate that public engagement in current SEA practice is still relatively limited and with limited influence on decision-making. The main impeding factors seem to be: lack of political willingness by proponents; insufficient information on the SEA process by the public; and weakness of the legal frames. However, respondents also report that when effective public engagement takes place, benefits do arise and identify a positive correlation between the degree of public involvement and the environmental performance of plans and programmes. Overall, findings suggest that public involvement has indeed the potential to positively influence both SEA and decision-making, although this should be supported from the policy side by stronger legal frames, higher requirements and improved technical guidance.     

Exploring the “not in my backyard” effect in the construction of waste incineration power plants - based on a survey in metropolises of China

Waste incineration power plants have become the best option in face of the increasing amount of garbage in China's cities. However, constructing waste incineration power plants will cause “not in my backyard” (NIMBY) effect in the public. To identify variables causing this effect and measure the effect quantitatively, we designed and carried out a random survey in four metropolises in China. Of the 3133 questionnaires distributed, 3066 are thought to be effective. Males, persons with higher educational levels, or with higher income, or having underaged children in their families, or thinking their neighborhoods are upscale ones are willing to pay more to avoid the construction of waste incineration power plants in their surroundings than others. In addition, provided that the respondents deem that the construction of waste incineration power plants would have an impact on their lives, they are willing to pay more no matter they own their departments or not. Finally, the estimated willingness to pay (WTP) to avoid the waste incineration power plants is 105 yuan to 133 yuan per month. Hence, the government should treat the NIMBY syndrome well in the construction of waste incineration power plants, with WTP being one perspective to persuade the public.     

Public environmental information: access or excess?

Amongst the mass of academic papers and policy reports it is easy to forget that scientists and regulators are not the only ones concerned about the environment. The public has an interest too. Aided by modern technology and increasing legal rights, the man in the street has access to environmental information as never before. In this article we review recent developments in public assess and what these mean for 'the experts'.     

Social impact assessments: Developing a consolidated conceptual framework

Social Impact Assessments (SIAs) have played an increasingly important role in the conduct of planned interventions, providing proponents the capacity to assess and manage the social consequences of their activities. Whilst the SIA field has experienced significant conceptual and practical development over the last decade, efforts at consolidating this within one framework have been limited. In this paper, we incorporate this new knowledge by redeveloping and thus updating the SIA procedural framework developed by Interorganizational Committee on Guidelines and Principles for Social Impact Assessment. In doing so, this updated procedural framework has attempted to incorporate current ‘best practice’ that focuses on participatory approaches to undertaking an SIA. This involved making adaptions to two steps, expansions to five steps, integration of a stronger participatory approach to six steps, and the development of a new step, Management and Evaluation reflecting moves towards ex-post use of SIA processes. It is hoped that this consolidation of the literature of a decade's worth of key findings in SIA research will lead to further efforts towards a meta-evaluation of SIA literature and a platform from which newer developments may be further investigated.     

Assessing the visual quality of green landscaping in rural residential areas: the case of Changzhou, China

Changzhou is a typical waterside municipality with approximately 2,500 years of history located south of the Yangtze River. It was an agriculturally oriented region but is becoming an industrialized region. Rural green landscaping in this region possesses characteristics of traditional Chinese gardens. This paper presents a methodology for assessing the visual quality of green landscaping in rural residential areas through public perception-based and expert/design approaches. The former approach enables us to rank green landscaping based on a survey of public preference; the latter weighs the contributions of the attributes contained in a photograph to its overall scenic beauty via correlation, regression, and factor analyses. The photographs used in the survey included road greenways, riparian greenways, residential public gardens and green landscaping around houses, with each type of landscape represented by seven photographs. In total, 141 college students and 41 other participants ranked photographs of each landscaping type from highest to lowest preference. The results indicate that the preferences of students are similar to those of the general public. Examples of green landscaping depicted in the “best” four photographs possessed more attractive qualities regarding the variety of vegetation, richness of colors and a selection of human additions compared to those depicted in the “worst” photographs. The perceived visual quality was positively influenced by, in decreasing order of importance, the variety of vegetation, color contrast, the openness of green spaces, the area of vegetation, and positive man-made elements; conversely, it was negatively influenced by the type of topography. Moreover, some suggestions were offered for future rural greening regarding perceived visual beauty.     

通讯基站环境电磁辐射监管平台设计及运用

从移动通信基站电磁辐射的特点及管理要素入手,针对通信基站环境监管环节中存在的问题,设计通讯基站环境电磁辐射监管平台,提出合理有效的环境监管措施,实现历史监测数据、环评、验收资料电子化,信息公开化;通过平台开展电磁知识宣传教育,建立网络互动,有效遏制通讯基站建设违规行为,提高环保监管效率。     

水泥工业项目竣工环保验收监测中应关注的问题

根据建设项目竣工环境保护验收规范要求,结合工作实践,从验收监测工况的控制、废水监测、废气监测、噪声监测、环境质量监测几方面归纳了水泥工业项目竣工环境保护验收监测工作中应注意的技术问题,并从环保法律法规制度执行、污染防治设施、企业环境管理、排污口规范化、卫生防护距离、总量控制、淘汰落后设备、公众参与等几方面提出环境保护检...     

Valuing biodiversity attributes and water supply using choice experiments: a case study of La Campana Peñuelas Biosphere Reserve, Chile

The main objective of this study is to assess public economic preferences for biodiversity conservation and water supply and to analyse the factors influencing those preferences. A survey based on the choice experiment method was carried out at Peñuelas National Reserve, Chile, an area that is threatened by both occasional forest fires and the growing housing market. The input of local administrators was used to define environmental attributes of the area related to biodiversity conservation and water supply. Attributes were selected for analysis by the choice experiment. The selected attributes were the following: existence of endemic orchid species, chances of observing animals with scenic attraction, additional protection for an endemic amphibian, and availability of drinkable water in the future. A monetary variable consisting of an increase in the rate for entry to the area was also incorporated to estimate willingness to pay (WTP) for additional protection for the selected attributes. Three hundred four Chilean visitors to the reserve were randomly selected for interviews. Econometric analysis based on the Theory of Utility Maximization shows that visitors are willing to pay to protect the selected attributes. WTP values for the attributes range from CHP $2,600 ($5.4) to $6,600 ($14) per person per visit. The results of this research provide reserve managers information about tradeoffs that could be used to enhance public support and maximise the social benefits of nature conservation management programmes.     

Subsurface activities and decision support systems: An analysis of the requirements for a social acceptance-motivated decision support system

In this paper, we present a novel perspective on evaluating subsurface activities by increasing the role of social acceptance in the decision-making process. We use the triangle of social acceptance to structure and analyze the decision-making problem in three classes: social–political, market, and community acceptance. This allows the inclusion of strategic and social concerns, beside economical and environmental aspects in the evaluation of subsurface activities. We analyze the requirements of a decision support system for each class according to three aspects: the requirements originating from the context, the requirements derived from the decision-making process, and the extent to which the decision support system can fulfill these requirements. Furthermore, we identify the mechanisms that shape and govern the interactions between the requirements and limitations that result from the context and decision-making process of subsurface activities. We conclude that the requirements of a decision support system for subsurface activities are very different for each class of social acceptance. In addition, we find that several aspects need to be included in an earlier phase of the decision-making process for subsurface activities.     

Social impacts of earthquakes caused by gas extraction in the Province of Groningen,The Netherlands

Gas extraction from the Groningen gasfield in the northern Netherlands has led to localised earthquakes which are projected to become more severe. The social impacts experienced by local residents include: damage to property; declining house prices; concerns about the chance of dykes breaking; feelings of anxiety and insecurity; health issues; and anger. These social and emotional impacts are exacerbated by the increasing distrust Groningen people have towards the national government and the gas company, NAM, a partnership between Shell and ExxonMobil. The earthquakes have reopened discussions about the distribution of benefits from gas production and the extent to which benefits are retained locally. Mitigation of the impacts is attempted, but the lack of trust decreases the effectiveness of the mitigation measures. The extent of this experience of previously-unforeseen, unanticipated impacts suggests that a new social and environmental impact assessment needs to be undertaken, and a new Social Impact Management Plan (SIMP) and Impacts and Benefits Agreement (IBA) developed, so that the project can regain its legitimacy and social licence to operate. In addition to conventional gas, this paper has wider relevance for unconventional gas developments, for example shale gas extraction by hydraulic fracturing methods (fracking).     

Assessment of online public opinions on large infrastructure projects: A case study of the Three Gorges Project in China

Public opinion becomes increasingly salient in the ex post evaluation stage of large infrastructure projects which have significant impacts to the environment and the society. However, traditional survey methods are inefficient in collection and assessment of the public opinion due to its large quantity and diversity. Recently, Social media platforms provide a rich data source for monitoring and assessing the public opinion on controversial infrastructure projects. This paper proposes an assessment framework to transform unstructured online public opinions on large infrastructure projects into sentimental and topical indicators for enhancing practices of ex post evaluation and public participation. The framework uses web crawlers to collect online comments related to a large infrastructure project and employs two natural language processing technologies, including sentiment analysis and topic modeling, with spatio-temporal analysis, to transform these comments into indicators for assessing online public opinion on the project. Based on the framework, we investigate the online public opinion of the Three Gorges Project on China's largest microblogging site, namely, Weibo. Assessment results present spatial-temporal distributions of post intensity and sentiment polarity, reveals major topics with different sentiments and summarizes managerial implications, for ex post evaluation of the world's largest hydropower project. The proposed assessment framework is expected to be widely applied as a methodological strategy to assess public opinion in the ex post evaluation stage of large infrastructure projects.     

The health impacts of transformative infrastructure change: Process matters as much as outcomes

BackgroundMajor infrastructure development is often transformative for society, including its health. In this realm, there is a growing trend to view airports as drivers for health. By linking airport, urban and health planning, airports can become settings for health. Engaging stakeholders and those affected by such major change in health assessments is essential. This paper demonstrates that health and health equity impacts of major infrastructure developments such as airports extend to the planning processes for these developments; it argues that building a Healthy Airport requires greater consideration of how communities are engaged in these processes.MethodsWe carried out a Health Impact Assessment of community engagement practices for the planning processes of a new greenfield airport in Australia. The standard step-wise process for completing an HIA was followed.Results151 stakeholders participated in the study. Overall, participants were dissatisfied with community engagement for the proposed airport. While there were some unanticipated positive community level impacts resulting from the engagement process (community members becoming involved in community activism), by and large community members identified mostly negative impacts including anxiety, disempowerment, poor social connection, lack of trust and aggravation of health inequities.ConclusionPotentially affected individuals and communities may feel disenfranchised by transformative infrastructure change ‘over their heads’. Missed opportunities to achieve benefits of well-executed community engagement not only lead to feelings of disempowerment and frustration among stakeholders but can potentially negatively impact on individual and community health and well-being. Health impact assessments that effectively assess planning and engagement processes can play a role in mitigating these impacts.     

由空气质量周(日)报看面向公众的环境信息体系的建立

1997年6月5日,大连市成为全国首批在新闻媒体中发布城市空气质量周报的城市之一,1998年5月15日又在全国率先发布城市空气质量日报.文章以空气质量周(日)报的发布为切入点,全面论述其良好的社会效益、明显的环境效益及潜在的经济效益.根据环境质量的消费性,结合大连的实际,提出环境信息网络是建立面向公众的环境信息体系最便捷的途径.     

Effect of high sulfate concentration on the corrosivity: a case study from groundwater in Harran Plain, Turkey

Corrosion, which tends to increase the concentrations of certain metals in tap water, is one of the most important water quality problems as it can affect public health and public acceptance of water supply and the cost of providing safe water. In this context, this study aimed at investigating the scale formation tendency or corrosivity of groundwater in the semi-arid Harran Plain. The degree of scale formation tendency/corrosivity of water was determined considering pHs, Langelier Index, and Ryznar Index of groundwater samples. Except for well no.4, which is close to a local hot spring, all the wells had corrosive characteristics. The amount of CO₂ from the soil zone respiration and high sulfate concentration in the wells are important factors affecting corrosiveness. Results showed that precipitation, excessive irrigation, and change in groundwater level caused seasonal variation in corrosive characteristics.     

发光菌毒性试验在项目竣工环保验收监测中的应用

某敏感化工技改项目曾因超标排污引发跨地区厂群纠纷被责令停产整改,为考察该项目整改后废水处理设施的运行效果,保障水生生物安全,在该项目竣工环境保护验收监测时,采用发光细菌毒性试验检测废水的急性毒性.结果表明,达标排放的废水对生物的急性毒性为低毒,试验结果与常规验收监测结果有可比性,发光细菌毒性试验可用于必须公示的敏感项目竣工环境保护验收监测.     

张家港市声环境相关问题问卷调查

对张家港市7个镇176名居民进行了有关声环境保护的问卷调查.结果表明,张家港市声环境质量近年来得到改善,57％的调查对象对声环境质量感到满意,市民对声环境的关注度较高.调查对象认为主要噪声污染源为建筑施工源,其次为工业源,然后是交通运输源,最后为社会生活噪声.4种噪声源实际导致的噪声污染事件数量间没有明显差别,其中社会...