Mobilising for environmental justice in China

Abstract

This article assesses the situation of environmental rights in China in terms of political interactions and their implications for Chinese politics. Environmental justice is primarily conceived as equity in access to environmental goods and fairness in social processes dealing with market or government failures to provide environmental security. The argument is that environmental deterioration has a significant influence on the pattern of inequalities in the PRC, occasionally creating situations of extreme injustice. The developments involving legislation, collective action, public participation and litigation over the last decade have served as converging factors to allow for some significant improvements in environmental policymaking procedures. Although these developments have remained far from reversing the general state of the environment in China, they have introduced significant changes in the patterns of interaction among policy stakeholders.

Keywords:

• environmental justice
• environmental policy
• environmental litigation
• China (PRC)

Notes

1. The US Environment Protection Agency (EPA) claims to pursue the principle of environmental justice, defined as “the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, culture, national origin, income, and educational levels with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of protective environmental laws, regulations, and policies”. http://www.epa.gov/environmentaljustice. Accessed August 2013.

2. Fieldwork in Yunnan province, August 2009 and July 2011.

3. Interview in Kunming, 28 July 2011.

4. Some small dams are already constructed on the Nu tributaries.

5. For a more detailed assessment of public participation on public policy in the PRC, see Cai, 2009.

6. Interview in Kunming, August 28, 2009.

7. China has a four-level court system including Basic Courts, Intermediate Courts, Provincial High courts, and the Supreme People’s Court.

8. This case was eventually settled through mediation.