Public participation and access to environmental justice

Public participation has long been recognised as an essential ingredient in environmental regulations, given the immediate and often severe impact that poorly framed regulations can have on communities. The low-income groups are often disproportionately affected.

In 1998, 35 countries from Europe and Central Asia signed the Aarhus Convention in Demark, specifically to address public participation in decision-making and access to justice on environmental issues. As of November 2009, 44 countries had ratified the convention, not including China.

Despite its reluctance to sign the Aarhus convention, the Chinese government is fast realising the economic and social ramifications of the country’s burgeoning environmental threats and in particular those affecting water. Pan Yue, formerly deputy director of the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) and now vice minister of the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP), openly advocates for greater public participation when it comes to environmental protection. Pan has said that¹ public participation is the right and interest of the people endowed by law and that the government has the obligation to respond to and to protect this right. In other words, it is in the interests of the government as well as the public to encourage participation since continuing environmental degradation is clearly a threat to social stability.

Increasing transparency in China, on the agenda for both goverment and industry

A central tenet of successful public participation is transparency, with respect to both government authorities and the corporate sector. Recent Government legislation in China clearly recognises that people have a right to be informed when it comes to their environment and that both government officials and corporate management are accountable. This effectively introduced public participation into the decision-making process, granting civil society new rights. It has also laid the groundwork for collaboration among communities, NGOs, government officials, media and the corporate sector toward bringing otherwise largely unregulated industries into compliance. Facing increasing unrest and protests, polluting companies that maintain the status quo may well be placing their license to operate at risk.

New laws enhancing public participation via transparency and litigation measures are already:

• increasing the visibility of polluting companies (IPE’s Water Website is testament to this);
• increasing scrutiny of companies by a growing and more educated middle class; and
• increasing pressure on government agencies to enforce existing environmental laws.

As a result, investors and companies alike would be wise to anticipate greater reputational as well as regulatory risk. Leading companies will engage local communities, safeguard local water supplies in areas where they operate and ensure that they, and their suppliers, comply with environmental regulations.

This section of the website expands on the development of public participation in China with specific reference to the water crisis and the implications for companies and investors. It covers:

• how communities are being directly impacted by persistent abuse of China’s water resources: Severe water pollution and scarcity threatens communities;
• actions these communities are taking to safeguard their health and livelihoods as well as the existing barriers to public participation: Public unrest stems from inaction;
• government efforts to support public participation:The Chinese government provides avenues for public participation ; and
• the role NGOs are playing in engaging the public and pressuring companies to comply with environmental laws: NGOs play a critical role.