Workshop Conclusions and Recommendations

  To establish a responsibility system for EIA management and enhance the accountability of government officials in environmental management.   To establish a new system, make sure environmental inspectors and supervisors can work in an independent and impartial way.

  To improve the sharing of EIA information and the effectiveness of the communication.   To provide western China with environmental information in time   Community-focused public participation should involve more people at grass roots and all stakeholders and take a bottom-up approach.

  The essential part of environmental “mainstreaming” is to encourage construction units to well manage the environment as their own initiative. “Own initiative” indicates “mainstreaming”.   To strengthen developers’ environmental awareness, which forms the basis of environmental management for construction projects.

  Implementation of environmental management plans requires financial resources at an appropriate level.   To establish effective environmental management mode, e.g. the “four-in-one” approach of environmental management in the construction project of Qinghai-Tibet railway, in which environmental management consists of environmental supervision and engineering supervision.

  EIA reports should give more emphasis on the concrete preparation of environmental protection measures.   Environmental standards and measures in EIA and the contents and funding arrangements in environmental management plans should accord with actual situation and needs of the project.

  Environmental supervision and management should start as early as the construction design begins. Before construction, the professionals responsible for environmental supervision and management should be in place.   As a part of engineering supervision and management, environmental supervision and management should be responsible for both developers and the society. Independence and authority should be guaranteed.

  People who engage in environmental supervision and management should be qualified and certified.   To improve professional ethics and skills of EIA practitioners. Some measures taken by SEPA help to improve the quality and level of EIA, such as encouraging foreign EIA institutions to participate in China’s EIA and the qualification and certification system of EIA practitioners.

  In the economic development of western China, environmental protection, poverty alleviation and aids for the-poor should be integrated to ensure mainstreaming the environment and sustainable development.   Environmental issues in urbanization should be incorporated fully into city master planning and address land use balance between cities and towns, conservation and protection of natural landscapes and open spaces.

  Sustainability assessment should be at the higher level of SEA and be more critical to development planning.   Environmental concepts and good practice should be introduced into the non- environment sectors.   To take environmental factors into consideration as early as possible, China’s EIA need to be more detailed, specific and technical.

  It is recommended that public participation should be more bottom–up.   Need to further build and improve the base and experts groups of SEA   China should strengthen international communications in EIA, learn new ideas, and draw lessons from international experiences   Need to strengthen the coordination with international organizations and the donor community