Research On The System Of Public Participation In Environmental Impact Assessment

EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment System) is a preventive environmentalprotection system, the core of which is the Public Participation. In other words, itwouldn’t be qualified as EIA if there were no Public Participation. Nowadays, therapid economic development in China results in an enormous increase of consumptionof natural resources accompanied by high-rate occurrence of environmental issues,which in recently years eventually lead to the frequent burst of environmental publicaffairs and the high pressure on the environment itself. Public participation and EIAsystem could act as the collection of all social forces, in which all could be involvedin the environmental decision-making, ensuring the democracy and scientificity of theprocess and maximally limiting the impact of human behaviour on the environment.However, as the fact that Public Participation and EIA system has just beenintroduced into China shortly and the unique social and historical situation of China,the EIA system in China is still developing. Though constant refinements andimprovements have been carried out, there is still a huge gap in between whencompared with EIA systems in western developed countries.Starting with the basic theories of EIA and Public Participation, clear theconcept of EIA, the meaning of public participation as well as the scope of the public.Then to use of the environmental public property theory, the system of environmentalpublic trust doctrine, and environmental rights theory building to find a theoreticalbasis. And pointed out that the system of positive significance to the promotion ofenvironmental decision-making more scientific and safeguard citizens ’environmentalrights and interests, to enhance citizens’ environmental consciousness, and themaintenance of harmonious and stable society. This thesis introduces the relevantadvanced Public Participation system in US and Germany. Through compare andcontrast, this thesis points out the shortages of current China’s Public Participationand EIA system from three main aspects, which are the scope of Public Participation’ssubjects and objects; the process of Public Participation; and the safeguardmechanism of Public Participation. Further, based on the study of other countries’ system and China’s own social and economic circumstances, this paper proposesseveral refinement and improvement suggestions of China’s Public Participation andEIA system mainly focus but not limited in defining the scope of PublicParticipation’s subjects and objects; ensuring the environmental protectionorganisations as the main body; refining the channels of Public Participation;involving Public Participation in earlier stages; setting a clear feedback system ofPublic Participation; providing sufficient environmental information support;improving the judicial protection and locating the role of government in the PublicParticipation.