Voices Should be Heard to Solve Urgent Problems
Internationally, this is known as the Access Principle, or the Public Participation Principle, and it sets out a framework for citizen engagement in environmental management of mobile crusher. On the declaration’s 20th anniversary, as world leaders once again assemble in Rio de Janeiro, it’s worth taking a moment to look back at the past two decades of public participation in China.
After the first line, the Access Principle continues like this: “At the national level, each individual shall have appropriate access to information concerning the environment that is held by public authorities, including information on hazardous materials and activities in their communities, and the opportunity to participate in decision-making processes. States shall facilitate and encourage public awareness and participation by making information widely available. Effective access to judicial and administrative proceedings, including redress and remedy, shall be provided.”
In the 20 years since this principle was formulated, China has seen the advent and growth of public participation in the sustainable development field, at both national and local level. The past few years have been as significant as any: new technologies have taken citizen engagement to new heights online, while government action has brought public participation into mainstream political thought.
More specifically, the stronger public voice in China has been propelled by three main forces. First among these has been the formation and development of independent NGOs, from early national pioneers like my organisation Friends of Nature (the first officially recognised NGO) to specialist outfits including the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs – led by open information campaigner Ma Jun – to local bodies such as Green Anhui, based in eastern China.
Influential cases in which NGOs have been involved include efforts to protect the Tibetan antelope, the campaign to save the Nu River and a public hearing on a controversial project to lay an impermeable membrane on the bed of the Old Summer Palace lake in Beijing. iron ore concentrator:http://www.hx-china.com/36.html
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High-profile campaigns in the late 1990s to protect the Tibetan antelope and the Yunnan snub-nosed monkey shared a pattern: though idealistic government or Party workers were crucial at the start, these campaigns were later powered by widespread public support – and taken more seriously as a result. But still, most environmental campaigns during this period were based around heroic individuals; environmental groups were not yet bringing their influence to bear.
The second driving force has been government innovation. Governance by rule of law is written into China’s constitution and, in 2004, guidelines on administration by rule of law were released which protected and affirmed the value of open information and public participation. This in turn triggered regulations on public participation in environmental impact assessments and legislation enshrining the right of the public to access environmental data, along with trial environmental courts in many places.
Thirdly, China has seen a growth in action and campaigning by members of the public outside of formal organisations. This is a more recent development than the growth of NGOs or government reforms. It emerged gradually after the country reached certain educational and economic levels, and has been propelled forward by the advent of modern information technology.
People directly affected by pollution or construction projects or a host of other local concerns have acted to protect their interests and, in so doing, worked to protect the interests of the wider public too. The “walking” protest against a PX chemical plant in Xiamen, south China, in 2007 is perhaps the most famous example. Tens of thousands of residents marched through the city’s streets to make their views heard, and eventually a decision was taken to relocate the planned factory at the centre of the controversy.
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