Planning Environmental Impact Assessment Orienting Sustainable Development:Opportunities and Challenges

1 INTRODUCTION Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is a useful and effective instrument for sustainable development. Most countries require instruction projects to carry out EIA. EIA of our country began at the end of the 1970s; Chinais one of the earliest countries that carried out Project EIA. Through the fulfillment of more than 20 years, this system has been improved gradually and is playing a significant role in facilitating the enterprise reasonable layout and optimal addres…     

Study Progress and Trends of Strategic Environmental Assessment in China

Abstract

Strategic environmental assessment (SEA) in China has developed rapidly since it was introduced into China in the 1990s. Chinese government promulgated the Environmental Impact Assessment Law of China (hereinafter referred to as the EIA Law) in 2002. In this law, it is stipulated clearly that regional and sector plans should be assessed. Through investigating materials and analyzing literatures, this article analyses the practical and academic study achievements of SEA in China that have been achieved since the EIA Law was implemented, probes into the current situation of the main level of SEA in China—plan EIA, then summarizes the development characteristics, and eventually, puts forward the development trends of SEA in China. The research conclusions can offer the foundations for comprehending systematically the progress of SEA in China.     

Study Progress and Trends of Strategic Environmental Assessment in China

Strategic environmental assessment （SEA） in China has developed rapidly since it was introduced into China in the 1990s. Chinese government promulgated the Environmental Impact Assessment Law of China （hereinafter referred to as the EIA Law） in 2002. In this law, it is stipulated clearly that regional and sector plans should be assessed. Through investigating materials and analyzing literatures, this article analyses the practical and academic study achievements of SEA in China that have been achieved since the EIA Law was implemented, probes into the current situation of the main level of SEA in China-plan EIA, then summarizes the development characteristics, and eventually, puts forward the development trends of SEA in China. The research conclusions can offer the foundations for comprehending systematically the progress of SEA in China.     

基于生态系统服务功能价值评估的土地利用总体规划环境影响评价研究

随着全国性、地区性土地利用总体规划的制定与实施，探讨适台于土地利用总体规划环境影响评价的技术方法显得相当重要。在对生态系统服务功能价值评估研究进展进行评述的基础上。分析了生态系统服务功能价值评估在土地利用总体规划环境影响评价中应用的必要性．并结合实例对其应用方法进行了探讨．实例分析表明，生态系统服务功能价值评估在土地利用总体规划环评中的应用具有把土地利用的生态效益转化为简单易懂的货币形式．可为决策者提供直观的生态信息及生态系统服务功能价值。可作为一项量化指标。对土地利用总体规划目标及规划方案的生态效益进行综合评估，且核算简单。有助于节省规划环评的时间和资源等优势，本文还指出了进一步研究的方向。     

Strategic Environmental Assessment： A New Tool for Ecological Urbanization of Coastal Cities in China

Recently, there has been growing concerns about environmental issues related to urbanization in China. The intense natural resources utilization and increasing population has brought great pressure, especially in coastal areas, consequently affecting the sustainable development of coastal cities. In 2002, Environmental Impact Assessment Act （EIA Act） was enacted in China. Environmental impact assessment targeted at planning, one level of strategic environmental assessment （SEA）, thus became a legislative requirement. This paper considers SEA to be one of the important approaches not only to control coastal pollution, but also to conserve coastal ecosystems and finally to achieve sustainable development during urbanization, thus it will be a set an example for other areas of China. The experience of SEA in Xiamen, a coastal city in southeast China, illustrates the potentials of SEA. This paper first briefly introduces the concept and potentials of SEA, then compares two SEA cases and a project EIA case in Xiamen, and finally identifies the key characteristics of SEA.     

环境影响评价需要新的突破

中国环境影响评价已取得巨大成绩，在项目建设、区域发展中起着重要的作用，成为环境保护的重要保证手段。但中国环境影响评价依然存在十分突出的问题，还不能充分发挥其应有的功能。为此，环境影响评价应坚持正确的价值观，要打破环评单位隶属于项目建设单位的主从关系，环境单位要有独立行使调整、考察、分析、评价和下环评结论的权利；环境影响评价的时间要适时、充分，杜绝项目先上马后补环评，或项目要上马临时补环评的做法；战略环评应在宏观发展战略发挥更大的作用，成为国家宏观调控的有力工具之一；要构建环评的公共服务信息平台，反对信息部门垄断和数据虚假；环评方法贵在创新、重在实用，要积极应用新方法、新技术，反对数学方法与模型的滥用。     

旅游规划的环境影响识别探讨

2003年《中华人民共和国环境影响评价法》的实施,标志着我国的规划环境影响评价开始进入制度化阶段,旅游规划也是其中要求进行环境影响评价并编写环评报告书的10个专项规划类型之一。但是目前我国旅游规划的环境影响评价工作尚处于起步阶段,其理论与技术性问题都需要进一步改进。例如,处于旅游规划环境影响评价过程中承上启下重要环节的环境影响识别就缺乏成熟的技术方法。在阐释旅游规划环境影响识别的定义及重要性的基础上,通过对已有文献资料及实践案例的分析与研究,总结与探讨了旅游规划环境影响识别的主体、受体和效应。最后以青海湖景区旅游规划为例,应用矩阵法识别了所规划项目与活动对青海湖地区自然资源、景观资源、生态环境、环境敏感区及社会经济文化的可能影响,以给类似旅游规划的环境影响识别工作提供经验借鉴.     

战略环境评价在中国的发展及方法学探讨

本文在回顾和评述战略评价（SEA）的发展状况的基础上，从概念和实践的角度，对SEA方法学作了初步探讨，并提出SEA方法学研究的一般思路。     

Environmental impact assessment application in infrastructural projects in Malawi

The current increase in the number of development projects in Malawi is leading to loss of natural resources and the general degradation of the environment. Both the Malawi Environmental Management Act of 1996 and the Guidelines for Environmental Impact Assessment of 1997, prescribe a list of infrastructural projects that must undergo environmental impact assessment (EIA) before their implementation. This study identifies the key limitations of EIA application to infrastructural projects in Malawi. A desktop study used to gather information in this study involved a review of several documents such as EIA reports, policies and laws, books, journals and internet articles. Primary data was obtained from policymakers, contractors, EIA practitioners and the general public using both structured and unstructured interviews, as well as through questionnaires. Focus group discussions and direct observations were employed wherever necessary in the study. Major limitations to successful EIA in infrastructural projects in Malawi include: (1) limited experience and practice of EIA practitioners; (2) cost of EIA process; (3) limited links between EIA and urban planning procedures; (4) lack of political will; (5) project delays; (6) lack of effective monitoring and auditing, (7) lack of data, especially those to be used in predictive models. This violates the principles of sustainability science and the international best practices for EIA that were developed by the International Association for Impact Assessment. It is recommended that active environmental management should actively involve the interests of all stakeholders, and that follow up of predicted environmental impacts resulting from any project should entail monitoring, auditing and reporting.     

城市开发区大气环境影响评价研究--以扬州市经济技术开发区为例

对开发区进行环境影响评价是开发区可持续发展的需要。大气作为环境的重要要素，其状况优劣对开发区的发展及布局都产生较大的影响，因而大气环境影响评价是环境影响评价体系中不可缺少的组成部分。如何进行开发区的大气环境影响评价，国内已取得了不少经验，但仍在探索之中。对城市开发区大气环境影响评价的内容和方法进行了探讨；以扬州市经济技术开发区为例，进行了分析、预测和评价，对环境评价中的公众参与环节进行了有益的探索与尝试；对开发区进行了大气功能区划分，给出了开发区大气主要污染物总量控制方案；最后，针对扬州市经济技术开发区的实情，在产业发展方向、项目规划布局、能源使用、绿化、环境管理以及土地管理等方面提出了环境保护的对策和建议。     

Ecological Approaches to Urban Migration of the Three Gorges Reservoir Region

Abstract

With the approach of the second water storage of the Three Gorges Project, urban migration has become a great concern. However, being influenced by economical, social or other factors, ecological problems have apparently become pressing. All these problems are exerting great impact upon the speed and quality of new city's or town's construction. By means of ecology, urban ecology, landscape ecology, human settlement science as well as the principle of sustainable development, this paper analyzes the ecological problems in urban migration, and the corresponding approaches in order to promote ecological environment construction of new cities and give an impetus to sustainable development of the whole human settlements in the Three Gorges Reservoir Region.     

论可持续发展观的贯彻与水资源论证制度的完善

可持续发展理念要求以环境资源承载力为依据规范人们开发、利用自然资源的行为。水资源论证制度是贯彻、实施可持续发展理念的良好制度形式,对于促进经济社会可持续发展意义重大,但我国现行立法中规定的水资源论证制度还不完善,影响了制度作用的充分发挥。完善相关立法,提高水资源论证制度的法律地位,是在水资源管理与保护方面贯彻可持续发展要求的关键任务。     

Scientific Basis and Technological Path of Regional Strategic Environmental Assessment

Abstract

The study tries to set up a system to extract strategic environmental assessment (SEA) in exploitation of regional development based on the present situation of environmental assessment in China. First, the article summarizes the emphasis and deficiency of international academic community’s SEA research in the past 10 years. Based on this, the article puts forward the concept and evaluation principles of regional strategic environmental assessment (RSEA). Then the article expounds the necessity of carrying out RSEA. After that, the article discusses in detail the process of RSEA, which includes defining evaluation scope, describing regional background, combing strategic behavior, designing development scenarios, predicting the pressure on environment, assessing environmental impact, screening alternatives and proposing regulation and control schemes.     

International Legal Instruments and Regional Environmental Protection

Efficient environmental protection requires global, as well as regional ecological strategies. During the last decade numerous attempts at regional and global environmental protection have been made. But industrial environmental protection is still, above all, a national matter. National emission limit values and international technological standards still neglect to a large extent the regional aspects of pollution prevention. Recent normative texts (international standards, European directives) can be seen as the first step to filling this gap. They represent different evolutionary stages on the way from merely technocentric to regionally integrated environmental protection. We investigate the potential of some of these normative texts to operationalise regional environmental strategies. For this purpose we will provide a framework for evaluation centred on the following questions: ? Is the installation/project/organisation perceived as part of its specific environment? ? Can local immission standards be developed on the basis of a functional classification of ecosystems? ? Are methods of integrated ecological evaluation supported? The framework will be applied to examine the European directives on Environmental Impact Assessment and Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control and two ISO (International Standardisation Organisation) standards on Environmental Management Systems (ISO 14001 and 14004) with regard to basic requirements for operationalising integrated regional environmental protection.     

Identifying implementation gaps in water recycling policy of Beijing municipality

ABSTRACT

Due to its dry climate, growing population, and overexploited groundwater, China’s capital is plagued by water scarcity. Since the late 1980s, Beijing has adopted water reuse solutions to bring relief; today, however, the intentions of these reuse policies are often not reflected in practice. Three significant implementation gaps exist: lack of use of installed decentralized reuse systems, limited understanding of the operation of decentralized treatment plants by operators, and inadequate service of centralized reuse treatment systems. By understanding the cause, impact, and severity of these gaps, Beijing’s policymakers can work to meet existing needs via a range of municipal and national policy-driven actions.

AbbrevationBWA Beijing Water AuthorityCECEPChina Energy Conservation and Environmental Protection GroupCNY Chinese yuanIPEInstitute of Public and Environmental AffairsENGOEnvironmental non-governmental organizationMACMunicipal Action CommitteeMEEMinistry of Ecological Environment MEP Ministry of Environmental ProtectionMEPBMunicipal Bureau of Environmental ProtectionMNRMinistry of Natural ResourcesOECDOrganization for Economic Cooperation and DevelopmentO&MOperation and maintenanceSNWTPSouth-North Water Transfer ProjectSOEState-Owned Enterprise     

Uncertainty,Irreversibility and the Timing Problems of Environmental Policy

Abstract

Most environmental issues and policy designing are uncertain and irreversible; therefore, the timing of environmental policy implementation becomes especially important. This paper establishes a random dynamic programming model and analyzes the optimal timing problems in environmental policy under uncertain variables. This model results indicate that two variables have a significant impact on the timing of environmental policy implementation and they work in opposite directions: on one hand, the more uncertain the economy is, the higher the cost of policies implementation will be, and consequently the incentive to immediately adopt the policy will be stronger. On the other hand, the higher the uncertainty of the environment is, the stronger the irreversibility of ecological harm caused by pollutants per unit will be. Therefore, the government should implement new environmental policies as early as possible in order to gain more ecological benefits.     

三峡库区生活垃圾的重金属污染程度评价

长期以来,我国的城市生活垃圾处理与处置主要以填埋为主,且大部分为简易填埋或堆放,形成众多的垃圾堆放场。它们不仅影响周围的生态环境,而且威胁到居民的身体健康,特别是不少堆存的生活垃圾受到重金属元素不同程度的污染,任意放置可能会产生严重的后果,所以评价生活垃圾的重金属元素污染程度有助于垃圾堆放场的环境影响评价以及污染防治措施的提出。以三峡库区为例,通过测定三峡库区各个区县主要垃圾堆放场堆存生活垃圾的重金属元素含量, 包括砷、铅、铬、镉和汞,采用单因子评价和综合评价法确定三峡库区堆存生活垃圾的重金属污染程度,为库区的环境保护提供决策支持。     

An Empirical Study on the Environmental Kuznets Curve for China’s Carbon Emissions: Based on Provincial Panel Data

Abstract

Based on the Environmental Kuznets Curve theory, the authors choose provincial panel data of China in 1990–2007 and adopt panel unit root and co-integration testing method to study whether there is Environmental Kuznets Curve for China’s carbon emissions. The research results show that: carbon emissions per capita of the eastern region and the central region of China fit into Environmental Kuznets Curve, but that of the western region does not. On this basis, the authors carry out scenario analysis on the occurrence time of the inflection point of carbon emissions per capita of different regions, and describe a specific time path.     

A Spatiotemporal Analysis of Urban Growth: A Case Study for Jinan Municipality,China

Abstract

China is experiencing a process of rapid industrialization and urbanization at the cost of agricultural land and environment, particularly in the costal areas. This study takes Jinan as a case presenting a time-series analysis of urban land expansion from 313 to 2003. The results show that the urban expansion of Jinan city mainly took place in the last 100 years, especially after the economic reform in 1978. Social development and economic growth, urban population growth and migration policies were factors driving the urban land expansion. Urban sprawl resulted in a disappearance of wetlands and a great loss of agricultural land, and over-pumping of ground water that led to disappearance of the city's feature, namely “the city of springs”.