Public Participation in Environmental Enforcement . . . with Chinese Characteristics?: A Comparative Assessment of China’s Environmental Complaint Mechanism

Abstract

In recent years, it has become increasingly clear that China’s rapid economic development has come at a significant environmental cost. Pollution problems are now a source of serious public concern, at times even social unrest. The government has responded with an ambitious reform program that has produced a multitude of major environmental laws and significantly increased resources spent on addressing environmental problems. While environmental activism has risen with the growth in public awareness about environmental issues, the government continues to view such activity, like other organized civil society activity, with suspicion. Within this context, the increasing visibility of China’s environmental complaint mechanism is an intriguing development in the government’s efforts to enhance environmental governance. China’s environmental complaint mechanism allows citizens to report violations by pollution sources and petition the government for appropriate action. It can be likened to an accountability mechanism for polluters and government officials, with some interesting similarities to U.S. environmental citizen suits. Outside of China, this mechanism is not well known, though it has increasingly become the subject of research. In 2008, the top enforcement officer of the Chongqing Environmental Protection Bureau was honored by the Asian Environmental Compliance and Enforcement Network for work in implementingthe complaint mechanism. This article introduces China’s environmental complaint mechanism and seeks to provide an assessment of its effectiveness. Drawing on Chinese and English language research, including newly available statistical data on complaint numbers and the authors’ own practical experiences, the study shows that the mechanism has been heavily used by the general public to voice its concerns and frustrations with environmental problems and has largely been successful in promoting environmental awareness and engaging the public. At the same time, its effectiveness in protecting public health and the environment, strengthening environmental enforcement and compliance, and promoting the rule of law and good governance is much more questionable. More generally, the study also suggests that the role of public participation is greatly dependent on the broader governance framework within which it is embedded and that channeling environmental activism into key governance areas can significantly influence its effectiveness.