Some Institutional Barriers in the Application of Transport Strategic Environmental Assessment in China

Abstract

For the past six years, transport SEA has been subject to urban transport plans and road network plans in China. However, there are still limited literatures on transport SEA within the specific context of China. This paper firstly overviews the development of transport SEA, with the focus on the legislation, theoretic researches, approaches and case studies related to the implementation. Followed is a case study from Hubei province to demonstrate the general framework of a typical transport SEA practice in China. Some of the main findings and lessons learned from this SEA process are discussed. Key focuses are to consider the lack of engagement in environmental issue, limited access to good data, lack of transparency in the SEA process and limited traditions for formal consultation process. Finally, several recommendations on the decision-making process, institutional analysis and stakeholder are also proposed to improve the transport SEA process in China.