Abstract
Public participation in environmental decision-making (EDM) has been broadly discussed. However, few recent studies in English have focused on the participation subject, scope, ways, and procedure in the EDM of developing countries such as China in the worldwide governance transformation. This study aims to provide an overview of public participation in EDM in China, thus elucidating both the legislation and practice of public participation in EDM in China to a broader audience, as such an overview has not yet been provided. At the beginning of this article, we clarify the key definitions of EDM, public participation and the public, and establish an analytical framework for analyzing public participation in EDM in China. We analyze the scope of the public, the participation scope, ways of participating, and participation procedure in EDM in legislation and practice, through document analysis and empirical survey. We then comment on challenges for public participation in EDM in China—including low public participation in EDM, narrow scope of participation, unbalanced ways of participation, and unreasonable participation procedure. In conclusion, we draw wider implications for public participation in EDM in China, arguing for a transformation from a decision-maker-oriented mode to a collaboration mode.
Highlights
Public participation has been broadly discussed by scholars and policy makers [1,2,3,4]
Based on the illustration of legislation and practice of public participation in environmental decision-making (EDM), this study aims to provide an overview of public participation in EDM in China, to be understood by a broader audience, based on primary and secondary data, with a focus on different representatives of the public in participation in EDM
Based on the governance theory, public participation in EDM in China was divided into the decision-maker-oriented mode and the collaboration mode, which serves as the analytical framework
Summary
Public participation has been broadly discussed by scholars and policy makers [1,2,3,4]. The worldwide governance transformation creates a governance framework of complex dynamics [16], challenging both researchers and practitioners to look for better institutional arrangements and foster an interdisciplinary dialogue to identify better practices [17]. In this context, China is an interesting case to study public participation in EDM for multiple reasons. Less is known about public participation in EDM of developing countries such as China during the worldwide governance transformation.
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