In the past three decades, especially in recent years, the environment has unceasingly deteriorated with rapid development of Chinese economy, and the inherent limitations of conventional project EIA have come to l...In the past three decades, especially in recent years, the environment has unceasingly deteriorated with rapid development of Chinese economy, and the inherent limitations of conventional project EIA have come to light. Thus, to pursue a broader course of sustainable development, the Chinese government has attached more and more importance to SEA. Strategic Environmental Assessment （SEA） is a frontier subject in the field of Environmental Impact Assessment （EIA）. This article describes the current situation of SEA in China, discusses major problems with SEA, and then recommends improvements in the system. EIA Act of the People＇s Republic of China was promulgated which explicitly provides SEA is required in regional and sector plans and programs. In order to promote comprehensive development of SEA, a lot of work has been done by SEPA. Some SEA ＂experiments＂ have been implemented, and some research has been conducted on the topic in China. But SEA as applied today in China is confronted with a host of methodological and institutional limitations. Moreover, public participation is often extremely limited, because the system restricts public participation. Policies and strategies are kept secret from the public. Most of the research has been focused on the concept, theory, and framework of SEA. Comprehensive application of SEA in China has yet to occur, and only a limited number of case studies are available. We believe SEA can be improved by the following recommendations： dividing SEA into two stages, formulating legislation to safeguard the funds for SEA, guiding actively the public to participate in SEA, completing basic data bank about SEA, and setting up Hall for Workshop of Meta-synthetic Engineering for SEA.展开更多
文摘In the past three decades, especially in recent years, the environment has unceasingly deteriorated with rapid development of Chinese economy, and the inherent limitations of conventional project EIA have come to light. Thus, to pursue a broader course of sustainable development, the Chinese government has attached more and more importance to SEA. Strategic Environmental Assessment （SEA） is a frontier subject in the field of Environmental Impact Assessment （EIA）. This article describes the current situation of SEA in China, discusses major problems with SEA, and then recommends improvements in the system. EIA Act of the People＇s Republic of China was promulgated which explicitly provides SEA is required in regional and sector plans and programs. In order to promote comprehensive development of SEA, a lot of work has been done by SEPA. Some SEA ＂experiments＂ have been implemented, and some research has been conducted on the topic in China. But SEA as applied today in China is confronted with a host of methodological and institutional limitations. Moreover, public participation is often extremely limited, because the system restricts public participation. Policies and strategies are kept secret from the public. Most of the research has been focused on the concept, theory, and framework of SEA. Comprehensive application of SEA in China has yet to occur, and only a limited number of case studies are available. We believe SEA can be improved by the following recommendations： dividing SEA into two stages, formulating legislation to safeguard the funds for SEA, guiding actively the public to participate in SEA, completing basic data bank about SEA, and setting up Hall for Workshop of Meta-synthetic Engineering for SEA.
