Public Participation practices in Chinese EIA: a comparative study of the sphere of influence in five environmental protection cases

Abstract

Despite the increasing attention that Chinese Government authorities have recently given to the public participation practices in the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), the actual influence of these practices on the decision-making process remains open to questions. The purpose of this paper is to appraise the influence of the stakeholders in the EIA process, outline the motives that set off the Public Participation mechanism, assess the changes that sprout from the awakening of people towards environmental issues, explore the channels used, and evaluate the outcomes. It is clear that the public awareness of environmental depletion moves people to engage in battles for a wider political space to influence the decisions that have an impact on the environment. Therefore, this appraisal investigates the dynamics that occur between environmental stakeholders taking five cases that are representative of the new trends of Chinese Public Participation in Environmental Impact Assessment, namely “Xiamen PX Project” in Fujian province; “Dalian PX Project” in Liaoning Province; "Ningbo PX project" in Zhejiang Province; “Kunming PX Project” in Yunnan Province and “Maoming PX Project” in Guangdong Province.