environmental impact assessment in china: present practice and future developments

ENVIRON IMPACT ASSESS REV 1988;8:85-95 85

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT IN CHINA: PRESENT PRACTICE AND FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS

D A T O N G N I N G , H U A D O N G W A N G ,

AND J O S E P H W H I T N E Y

Economic development and environmental protection are interrelated and promote each other. The former gives rise to the environmental problem and the latter constitutes an important condition for developing the economy. Economic development increases the capability to protect the environment and environmental improvement, in time, promotes economic development.

Beijing Review, 1976.

The above quotation indicates that China believes there is an intimate relationship between economic development and the environment in which it occurs. They are interdependent and, given adequate environmental protection measures, it is possible to improve the economy and the environment at the same time. In this process, environmental impact assessment (EIA) plays a key role. In China its major purpose is to predict what changes in the environment may result from a particular development project and to mitigate these changes if they are considered undesirable. EIA is not used primarily to determine whether a particular project should go ahead or not, nor whether alternative sites or project designs should be considered.

Although many writers have pointed to traditional Chinese philosophy, which espouses a harmonious relationship between man and nature, others have com- mented on the lack of concern which has often accompanied economic development in the People's Republic of China since 1949 (Tuan 1968; Murphey 1967). However, in the 1970s increasing official attention was directed to the problems of the environment and especially to the utilization of waste liquids, gases, and solids. The major focus of this interest was the use of such wastes for productive purposes rather than their impact on reducing the quality of the environment (Qu 1984). In 1979, the Chinese government promulgated The Environmental Protection Law of the People's Republic of China (for trial implementation) (National People's Congress 1979).

© 1988 Elsevier Science Publishing Co., Inc. 52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017 0195-9255/88/$3.50

86 DATONG NING, HUADONG WANG, AND JOSEPH WHITNEY

Of particular importance is Article 6 which states

All enterprises and institutions shall pay adequate attention to the prevention of pollution and damage to the environment when selecting their sites, designing, constructing, and planning production. In planning new construction, reconstruction and extension projects, a report on the potential environmental effects shall be submitted to the Environmental Protection Depart- ment and other relevant departments for examination and approved before designing can be started...

Moreover, Article 7 states

In rebuilding old cities or building new ones, assessments shall be made of the potential environmental effects in industrial and residential areas, public utility facilities and green belts by reference to the meterological, geographical, hydrological, and ecological conditions, and overall planning and a rational layout must be made to prevent pollution and other hazards to the public so as to build a clean modern city in a planned way.

In addition to the national legislation, some provinces have additional regu- lations that apply to the construction of large- and middle-sized projects. Many of them require that EIA work should be done at the same time as the feasibility study and before the project is carried out.

The Process of Environmental Assessment in China

In China, the National Environmental Protection Agency takes charge of EIA investigations for projects which belong to state-run and key enterprises. Other enterprises come under the jurisdiction of provincial and municipal environmental protection agencies. The agencies which actually carry out EIA studies include institutes of environmental protection in various provinces and cities, universities, and private or semiprivate consulting companies.

The steps through which an EIA goes before a project can be approved are shown in Figure 1, and the kind of studies undertaken are shown in Figure 2.

The Scoping Stage

The first stage is a scoping stage when a review of the proposed project and its potential impacts on the natural and social environment is made. As a result of this review, those factors most likely to affect the environment adversely are determined. Weights reflecting the importance of various environmental quality parameters are assigned to each of the latter. In China, experience has shown that the more time taken on the scoping phase the better will be the quality of the EIA report that results.

Baseline Studies

In the second stage of the EIA investigation, monitoring and evaluating baseline ecological and environmental systems is undertaken. Study of the latter is carried out primarily in those regions where human activities are minimal and where

Project design

Initial screening co decide whether EIA necessary

@ Yes

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FIGURE 1. The process of environmental impact assessment in China.


the natural environment has not already been seriously disrupted by development. An example of the latter approach was involved in the recent construction of a 300,000-tonne ethylene plant, located near the Daching Petroleum Chemical complex in Heilongjiang province, northeast China. However, in the older industrial districts where little of the original environment remains, such baseline studies are seldom undertaken.

In addition to evaluating impacts on the biophysical environment, there is also some assessment of potential impacts on the social environment. Included in these are impacts that may occur on the historical or cultural sites in the vicinity of a project.

The Prediction Stage

After completing the scoping and baseline assessment stage, the third phase is that of prediction. Because of the complexity of the environmental factors involved, a systems approach is generally used in China wherever possible. Usually the entire system is divided into a number of subsystems, each involving teams with the relevant disciplinary experts in them. In EIAs of mining developments, for example, it is usually necessary to predict the potential changes in geological or geomorphological conditions in the region, and especially changes in vege- tation and other biophysical ecosystems caused by large-scale soil erosion and water loss, which are likely to result during the construction and operation of a mine. There may also be potential impacts on adjacent water bodies and groundwater supplies caused by the acidic waste and high concentrations of heavy metals. These, in turn, may also affect agriculture, especially when groundwater or untreated wastewater is used for irrigation.

For example, at the 'Yongping Copper Mine in Jiangxi Province, the EIA revealed that in the early stage of development a greatly increased amount of runoff and soil loss would occur. This would result in increased suspended sediments in the rivers adjacent to the mine area and heavy metals would move toward the lower reaches of the river, resulting in severe water pollution. In this particular case, the major environmental impact to be predicted was the effect of heavy metal pollution on water bodies. This was given special emphasis in the EIA and appropriate steps were then taken to mitigate the problem. In another example, the Guixi Smelter in Jiangxi Province, the predictions concentrated primarily on SO2 emissions and copper, lead, and silver in the water and soil. At another mining project, the Pingsuo Coal Mine in Shanxi Province, the main environmental concern was damage to the ecosystem as a result of dust from the washing and processing of coal from the open-cast mine; this aspect received the greatest attention during the prediction stage.

At the prediction stage, a number of different techniques are common. En- vironmental simulation has already been used in many EIAs in China and includes numerical, physical, chemical, and biological simulation techniques. For ex-

EIA IN CHINA: PRESENT AND FUTURE 89

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design

i[ Define EIA scope and precision

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Social l apacc ~ s e s m a e n c

EIA Statement I

F I G U R E 2. Research design in environmental impact studies.


ample, in the copper mine EIA referred to earlier, the physical/chemical simulation of the transfer of heavy metals in water bodies and the accumulation of heavy metals in the cropping system were simulated for this study. In all of these models, the aim is not only to forecast the developments that will occur but to indicate what the impacts would be under different mitigation scenarios.

The main emphasis in the prediction of social impacts is the effect that developments will have on human society, including the quality of life, the social and historical components of the region, traffic flow, social services, etc., and on the effects of development on the regional economy.

Because the basic data for carrying out EIAs is frequently lacking in China, the most common type of model used is the grey box approach. In addition, where only qualitative analysis can be carried out, fuzzy-set theory is also being applied on an increasingly large scale. Using this approach, it is possible to change the weights of the different environmental components so that they will reflect more accurately the importance of those components at different stages of the development of the project.

The Assessment of Impacts

The fourth stage of the EIA is to analyze the impacts of the predicted changes on human health, ecosystems, and the social system. Previous research has indicated that the impact on human health is often of a chronic variety and becomes manifest only after a long period has elapsed. In order to predict the effects of environmental pollution on health, in the case where there is still inadequate research to establish the relationship, a sensitivity index is being developed so that the health of people in the affected region will be monitored and any clinical changes observed will result in remedial action being taken as quickly as possible.

At present, predictions of the impacts on ecosystems are limited to the analysis of some biotic communities. However, there are only a few studies which have looked at the ecosystemic interactions as a whole. An example of this would be the study of aquatic changes in the ecosystem of the Songhuajiang River in northeast China. Here, a mathematical model was designed to simulate the behavior and characteristics of the affected ecosystem. When predicting the effects of the project on the ecosystem, as a whole, or its subsystems, the internal structure was considered to be a black box, that is, the residuals of the project impacting on the ecosystem were considered as inputs and the changes in the matter exported from the ecosystem as outputs. By looking at the relationship between the inputs and the outputs, the impact on the ecosystem could be ascertained. The mathematical model used to achieve this result was carried out as follows: definition of the model goals; definition of the ecosystem structure; design of the mathematical model; and the use of sensitivity analysis to ascertain its robustness under different assumptions.


In all types of assessments, increasing use is being made of cost-benefit analysis in an attempt to incorporate environmental as well as economic and social values. In this way, the danger of emphasizing economic advantages at the expense of other, more intangible, costs may be avoided.

One of the most effective ways of carrying out assessments is to establish a set of appropriate environmental quality indices for each environmental com- ponent of concern. These will be used to evaluate changes which may occur in the environment as a result of the project. In many parts of the world, ambient and effluent discharge standards are among the most commonly used indices. In China, such standards have not been established for many cities and regions of the country. Therefore, further research is required before the environmental quality index approach can be used in EIA.

The Guixi Copper Smelter

The Guixi Copper Smelter is located on a plateau in the middle reaches of the Xinjiang River in the northeast part of Jiangxi Province at the juncture of uplands and the plain. The climate is moist subtropical monsoon with an average annual air temperature of 18.2°C, a relative humidity of 76 percent, and an annual precipitation of 1836 millimeters, mainly in the spring and summer. The average windspeed is 2 meters per second, and there is a 21 percent probability of calm weather.

The air pollutants discharged from the copper mine are primarily sulphur dioxide and dust. During the first phase of operations, SO2 emissions were estimated to be 15.5 tonnes and dust nearly 2 tonnes. During the second phase of development, SO2 emissions would be increased to 37.5 tonnes and dust to 4.3 tonnes.

Figure 3 shows the research process that was used to ascertain the impact of these emissions on regional ambient air quality standards and provide a basis for further research in the second phase of the project (Wang and Ning, 1985). Data on the present levels of air pollution in the region were collected and a wind-tunnel model was designed to examine the diffusion of pollutants at the site. Based on the data from the wind-tunnel experiment, a mathematical model for the simulation of the dispersants has been formulated. When this model was run, it became clear that the annual and monthly ground concentrations of SO2 and suspended particulates from the smelter would not exceed national standards either during the first or second phases of the project. Besides estimating the impact on ambient air quality, a model was designed to show the distribution of ground concentrations of the pollutants. These came from two sources: S02 from the smelter and dust from the chimney for the boiler.

In order to predict the impact of these pollutants on local air quality, the pollution potential of the atmosphere in the region of the smelter was ascertained,

92 D A T O N G N I N G , H U A D O N G W A N G , A N D J O S E P H W H I T N E Y

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the relative potential index of atmospheric pollution Tlrap p was calculated, and Figure 4 was derived from those results.

Figure 4 indicates that from August to January, the average "qrapp values are greater than 1, showing that the purification capacity of the atmosphere at this time is low and there is a possibility of air pollution episodes.

For these calculations:

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As a result of the atmospheric EIA, it was concluded that the proposed location of the Guixi Smelter would not cause harmful impacts on the population of the nearby town of Guixi. The area where the living quarters of the staff and workers are located is also in an area which will not experience air pollution impacts. With the present design standards, the average concentration of long-term air


pollutants will not exceed the national standards even during the second phase of the project. However, despite the precautions and mitigating measures taken, the plant will contribute to the acid rain precipitation problem in the region. Further mitigatory measures are being taken to ensure that the 40,000 inhabitants of the town of Guixi will not be adversely affected by the smelter in any way, especially during calm weather.

Future Developments of EIA in China

Since 1979, EIA has played an important role in controlling pollution and pro- tecting the environment in China. During the last few years, EIA studies have been completed for more than 200 projects, and progress in both the theory and practice of EIA has resulted. The data obtained from these EIA studies can be incorporated in predictions for future projects. To strengthen this work, a national symposium on EIA is to be organized in the near future.

In order to promote EIA work in China, the following should be considered:

1. EIA should be carried out as early as possible in project design to provide information for selecting the best site from among comparable alternatives.

2. Screening processes should be designed to eliminate projects which are too small or too general to be covered by the regular EIA process and to eliminate the duplication of studies of impacts that are already well doc- umented.

3. Greater emphasis should be placed on integrating the various components in an EIA so that both their separate and synergistic effects can be better understood.

4. A wider range of mitigation measures should be considered when predicted effects exceed the established environmental quality standards.

5. The cumulative impacts of a new project on both the local area and the entire hinterland should be considered. It is totally unrealistic to assume that the impacts of single project can be assessed in isolation from all the other impacts that are currently affecting an area.

6. The public affected by proposed projects should have a greater voice in decisions which may have a negative impact upon them. More emphasis should be placed on public consultation and participation, particularly during the scoping and final evaluation phases.

REFERENCES China. 5th National People's Congress. (1979). The Environmental Protection Law of

the People's Republic of China. Beijing. Murphey, R. (1967). Man and nature m China. Modern Asian Studies 0(4):313-333. Qu, G. P. (1984). A preliminary analysis of the strategy of environmental protection in

China. Environmental Sciences in China 4(3): 1-6 (in Chinese).


Tuan, Y. F. (1968). Discrepancies between environmental attitude and behaviour: Ex- amples from Europe and China. The Canadian Geographer 12(3): 177-191.

Wang, H. D., and Ning, D. T. (1985). A Review of China's Environmental Impact Assessment Proceedures. Beijing: Beijing Normal University, Institute for Environ- mental Studies.

environmental impact assessment in china: present practice and future developments

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