Comparative practice - Introduction to Environmental Impact Assessment - page 317

• the general legislative background;
• the proposed project, including materials consumed and produced;
• the baseline environmental conditions and the surrounding area;
• the short-term and long-term environmental impacts of the project;
• impact significance and acceptability;
• a cost—benefit analysis of the environmental impacts;
• proposals for monitoring; and
• conclusions.
The EIS or environmental impact form is submitted to the competent authority, which
checks the proposal against environmental standards and makes a decision, after
considering the comments of relevant experts. For a controversial project, and for a
project that crosses provincial boundaries, the document is submitted to the higher
authority for examination and approval. If the project is approved, conditions for
environmental protection may be included, such as monitoring and verification
procedures. The competent authority must submit a report that states how the project will
be carried out and how any required environmental protection measures will be
implemented. Once this has been approved by the provincial autborities, a certificate of
approval is issued.
Ortolano (1996) estimates that tens of thousands of EISs or environmental impact
forms are prepared in China every year. The effectiveness of the new, post-1998 EIA
system is not yet clear, but the pre-1998 system seemed to be inadequate in controlling
the effects of economic growth in China. Whereas EISs were prepared for 76 per cent of
large and medium-scale projects approved between 1981 and 1985, and 90 per cent
between 1986 and 1990, this compliance rate plummeted to just over half in the early
1990s, although it was again close to 90 per cent by the late 1990s (Wang et al. 2003). It
was particularly low for foreign investment projects and for the emerging development
zones. Many small local projects that should require EIA are not tracked, so the
compliance rate for those EIAs is not known (Mao & Hills 2002). The quality of EISs has
also been variable, and many were prepared post-construction (China 1999).
This is due in part to the speed of the economic transition and the decentralization of
power. Although local governments have gained much fiscal and administrative
authority, they were—and are—also faced with budget constraints: as such they compete
with each other in trying to attract business, and are unwilling to impose constraints in the
form of EIA (Mao & Hills 2002). Competent authorities are often unwilling to antagonize
other government departments or local leaders who strongly favour the proposed projects.
In some cases, even where an EIA is prepared and environmental protection measures are
agreed, “the mayor…steps in and asks [the competent authority]…whether less money
couldn't be spent on [pollution control] equipment” (Jahiel 1994), effectively cancelling
out the project's environmental protection features. China's EIA process has also been
criticized for its complexity; narrow historic focus on air, water and soil pollution; lack of