{xtypo_alert}Editor's note 20Mar14: Source D142-7.{/xtypo_alert}

In Chinese administrative policy, local administration is the "executive arm" of the central authorities with a clear duty to obey the State.

Overall, managed objects of administrative policies involve every aspect of the field of public administration. They are derived from a variety of laws, regulations, and other policy documents under the framework of the branch managers, and are performed by civil servants. Since the 1980s, the country's public administration policy and objective has been to encourage economic expansion in investment type. according to the economic logic of the State Council.

While the Constitution relies on the lower administrative policies for implementation, actual policy making focuses on problem solving giving rise to inevitable constitutional contradictions.

Finance Law [2006] No. 39 specifically addressed the goal of fundraising for lower administrative levels . These objectives can be summarized as to:

• be in accordance with national regulations regarding implementation;
• function according to the actual situation of local governments regarding preparation and implementation of local budgets;
• be accurate in terms of availability of funding;
• supervise in multiple ways;
• lower management costs appropriately.

Amendment of the Constitution in 1988, 1993, 1999, and 2004 have marked a gradual withdrawal of the Central Government from absolute dominance and increasing local government flexibility. The main actors in the administration are:

• Central authority: National People's Congress has supreme authority; they develop constitutional principles for the division of power structure.
• Local. The State centrally decided that the local government is a performer rather than a decision maker involved in the policy process.
• Civil society. Residents have no direct right to speak of political decision making.

There is no common set of policy procedures and instruments for administration; they vary according to sectoral policy. The following table gives a brief overview of horizontal administrative instruments relating to the administration of the state with special emphasis on regional and local government.

Main horizontal instruments related to administrative policy

Source: authors

Since 2001, the Ministry of Finance encourages local governments to become financially independent, primarily by clearly dividing taxes into central and local. In addition, local governments receive central government funding, loans (using taxing power and property rights as collateral) and municipal services cost recovery (sewage and garbage disposal). Regions with development potential may benefit from assistance for public investment.

{xtypo_alert}Editor's note 20Mar14: Source D142-7.{/xtypo_alert}

The PRC Land Administration Law (Presidential Decree No. 28) is the legal basis for spatial planning policy "in order to strengthen land management, socialist public ownership of land, protection, development of land resources, rational use of land, protection of arable land, and promotion of sustainable economic and social development".

The Land Administration Law responds to the huge demand for land for economic development in China, under the general national policy goals of equalizing the allocation of land resources so that different regions have the equal opportunity to promote their development. It also includes various goals with regard to improving quality of life and available infrastructure as well as various environmental objectives (limits to development, natural and cultural heritage, management of natural resources etc.)

As an attempt at urban planning, the law proved inadequate to reign in subsequent development of the national economy. For example, urban demand for housing spawned the rapid development of real estate despite the Central Government favouring the limitation of urban sprawl and regulating real estate developers. Development on public lands often encroaches on lawful private property.

Formal policy actors are primarily national.

Spatial planning formal policy actors according to governance level

Source: authors

Sustainable development policy has many factors, but generally speaking, regional planning is bound by the country's overall strategy:

• the goods between different regions should exist interdependently;
• the importance of transportation and other infrastructure;
• protection of resources and cultural heritage;
• regional sustainable development strategy must be consistent with national planning.

Seen in this light, policy implementation as a local tool is very limited. A department authorized by the Central Government needs to be established in order to exercise the power to implement the policies. When necessary, this department could exercise power on behalf of the Central Government as well as coordinate between different departments. Regional spatial planning is launched by central ministries, not local governments. Because local authority is at a disadvantage, valid execution may be difficult to achieve. This may result in low efficiency or legal conflict, forcing the central authority to intervene.

Planning and economic policies are closely related because the Constitution obligates support for economic development to promote other policies. Budgets of other central departments (such as education, industry, farming and energy) cannot reduce the prioritization of the economy, and it is difficult to make concessions to economic policy for environmental and social aspects. Thus, it is not surprising that a single land planning policy cannot become a way to mitigate land use conflicts.

Spatial planning policy: implementation

Local planning policy is implemented by local governments in cooperation with the Ministry of Land and local land inspectorates. In 2012, the Ministry issued policies to strictly protect arable land titled the "national land remediation plan (2011-2015)", “construction standards of basic farmland", "new construction land use fee funds management act” and other policy documents.

Meanwhile, the planning department expressed the desire for more land use rights by drafting documents for higher-level government departments, and eventually the Ministry of Finance issued a paper for approval. Land use was considerably limited. Based on the current situation, the Zigui case study site has done everything possible within the policy framework.

The Regional Planning Board oversees the implementation of policies and exercises control on local government.

The Sustainable Development Master Plan (outline) is the main planning instrument. With regard to Zigui:

• Difficulties were identified in development of special industries as agricultural product sales depend on consumer demand in other cities.
• Outflow of labor has resulted in a lot of uncultivated land which was then built-up. Although, construction can boost local GDP, this growth cannot be infinitely expanded;
• Local governments in less developed areas generally do not attach importance to the status of agriculture, and the planting area is shrinking. Poor transportation restricts sales of organic crops.
• Special focus is placed upon protection of the local environment, the establishment of a Cultural Tourism Development Zone, housing reform, the management of protected natural areas and the prevention of deforestation and desertification.

Zigui is identified as an exporter of agricultural products, with particular focus on the citrus production, processing and distribution. Idle land is zoned to citrus groves in order to avoid permanent occupation.

Tenure remains insecure: if the Government needs to develop a new plant or a new residential area, agricultural land is likely to be recovered by the Government. This insecurity prevents farmers from contracting land, a common and countrywide problem.

Planning policy will not consider overlap with other policies. For regional development, however, good planning is a basis for transportation, industrial, construction, logistics, tourism, and other fundamental sectors.

Spatial planning policy: impact

Planning policy impact on Zigui is significant: as regional urban agglomeration development plans are implemented, industrial and urban land increases at the expense of arable land. Recent developments in Zigui indicate that industrial and urban land has become a constraining regional economic development problem. Facing the threat of food reduction, China has addressed the problem by increasing imports, while marginal land continues to be converted.

Spatial planning policy: effectiveness

National land policy is intended to mediate land conflicts, but the validity of the law has been challenged in Zigui and policy effectiveness is limited, as environmental objectives are overlooked, particularly during implementation.

{xtypo_alert}Editor's note 20Mar14: Source D142-7.{/xtypo_alert}

Regional policy is a standardized national program: its object, objectives, implementation modalities are regulated directly by the State Council. Economic development policy has been greatly developed in content. For example, "to promote the rise of central planning" policies includes strengthening economic and harmonious development, increasing social and national cohesion, reducing the gap between the central and eastern regions. It specifically stresses the status of agriculture and the issues of regional production, safety, and environmental protection.

Although the policy encourages private economic development, in practice the relevant departments are rendered powerful in order to constrain private actors. How to balance actions performed between these two actors remains difficult, as the Central Government is reluctant to decentralize the rights of investment and management to local governments.

The primary objectives of regional policy are to implement policies promoting harmonious development, to develop regions which are not as economically advanced and to promote development in other regions (such as the western regions) where population density is low but potential is high.

In 2010, the National Government developed the strategy called "Rise of Central China", which was intended to solve the problem of food and energy security and to prevent laborers from flooding the east coast. However, since the 2010 economic downturn the Government's plan to invest in the central region has been disrupted.

Regional policy implementation entails huge state financial commitments, in strategic investments, loans, and private capital.

In some areas of public projects, increased use of banks and private finance is employed. China provides policy support for banks to obtain franchises, including different options such as investment in public projects, covering of operating expenses and subsidies for non-government investment projects
The Government has developed other targeted policies as means of control, in order to ensure a continued voice in a low investment ratio. The main instruments in this regard are the approval mechanism (project selection) and the cooperation mechanisms (with the private sector) and have been particularly successful in transportation, mining, and manufacturing.

The scope of state intervention depends on the number of participants. The initiator of regional policy is the State Department. In fact, it has sole responsibility for the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).

The Central Government oversees local implementation of programs and projects through the leadership team which acts as intermediary between local and central authorities, coordinating implementation.

According to a specified program, the main beneficiaries of policy implementation should be local governments, institutions, individuals, and other agencies involved in financing. For example, although railway policy is vague, it relies on the internal policy of railway construction companies or operators for its actual operation who are the direct beneficiaries.

The auditing and financial sector is also involved in the policy, in order to address concerns over corruption mainly in the engineering sector. Other beneficiaries may include non-governmental companies (such as environmental companies, etc.), other institutions (such as training institutions for workers, project-related service providers) and individuals (for example, providing new employment opportunities).

In the actual operation of economic policy, every direct participant will maximize the efficiency of fund utilization. They will directly or indirectly attempt to obtain the maximum benefit through political influence. Direct interests can be rapidly pushed forward but if one does not have political influence, benefits may be obtained much more slowly.

Implementation, impact and effectiveness

Regional development policy holds a dominant position as the main form of economic policy, employing various instruments such as finance and tax measures, investment in infrastructure, government administrative tools. The National Government is the main Regional policy maker; while policy is implemented by local administrations. The executive agency approves and oversees projects, but have little influence on financing and management. Projects are generally controlled by the Ministry of Finance and NDRC, using the National Development Bank

State assistance is concentrated in infrastructure development projects, such as town reconstruction, roads, and water supply and others. After the Zigui local government received funding, they cooperated with the housing construction sector and the municipal sector to develop towns. This competence however did not extend to transportation. Unofficial participants (consultants, architects, etc.), will participate in the follow-up phase of the project development. This process also involves service providers. Local governments try to seek loans from commercial banks. Private equity funds, accounting firms, and local building consultants will participate in this process; their main job is to determine the amount of financing through scale of engineering and method of repayment.

Financial control of central, regional and local budgets is the primary instrument of regional policy. Financial instruments may prove problematic if the government does not have sufficient budgets; or other implementation costs are not involved in the financial assistance which usually focuses on construction. Regional policy is closely linked with rural development policy. While it is undeniable that further investment would greatly improve the Zigui infrastructure (especially sewage and waste management), the consumers’ role in boosting the local economy is almost negligible, and investment may have a diminishing marginal benefit.

Regional policy investment has had institutional side effects such as corruption or inability of public administration to keep up with the pace of economic development. In addition, the policy overemphasises industry and has adverse environmental effects. Overall, the policy leads to physical and human capital investment, economic growth and job creation.

{xtypo_alert}Editor's note 20Mar14: Source D142-7.{/xtypo_alert}

The agriculture stimulus policy is wide and diverse, covering issues of agricultural production, food security, product quality supervision, market price supervision and the environment. National agricultural policy has always been subject to the most stringent supervision. Large investments have aimed at high-yielding transformation, such as agricultural infrastructure. The National Government maintains direct management of risk and intervention over grain production.

The policy serves four core objectives:

• increasing agricultural productivity;
• improving living quality of farmers;
• ensuring the supply of fertilizers and other agricultural means of production;
• stabilizing food prices.

Since 1950, agricultural policy has encouraged production. In recent years, national agricultural policy has been directed at using agricultural development to lead the rural economy. Therefore, national rural development strategy planning is always focused on sustainable rural development and improvement of the rural environment.

Overall, the strategic objectives of agricultural policy can be summarized as to:

• improve the value and competitiveness of agro-forestry, animal husbandry, and the fishing industry;
• protect the environment and nature and promote the sustainable use of resources;
• improve the quality of rural life and encourage agricultural diversification;
• develop rural secondary and tertiary industries and diversify the rural labor force.

The main policy actors in Chinese agricultural policy are summarised int he following table:

Agricultural policy actors in China

Source: authors

The main instruments of agricultural policy at the state level are economic and financial, objectives which dominate all other aspects and instruments.

Agricultural policy instruments in China

Source: authors

Implementation, impact and effectiveness

Agricultural and rural development policies have a variety of policy forms. The primary issues are:

• property rights of land contracting and agricultural income;
• farmers tax reform;
• impact of agricultural price subsidies; and
• impact of agricultural infrastructure.

Formal agricultural policy makers are the State Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Agriculture.

In Zigui, the implementation of agricultural policies with Ministry of Agriculture agencies. Ministry agencies develop technical standards for various industries of agriculture, but do not intervene with prices. Even though the Ministry is responsible for agricultural production, building agricultural infrastructure requires cooperation with other departments.

The main target of farmer cooperatives is the purchase of agricultural production, agricultural marketing, processing, transport, storage, and agricultural production and management. This role was confirmed with the 2006 PRC Farmer Cooperatives Act.

The main agricultural policy instrument is agricultural subsidies. Starting in 2000 the subsidy system was progressively reformed with a view "to protect farmers’ enthusiasm for growing grain" and establish a simple and effective means for controlling grain subsidies, though banks and the "One Card" system.

Since 2003, the basic subsidy priciples are:

• subsidies are paid directly to the farmers who are farming;
• abandoned land and non-agricultural land shall not be subsidized;
• subsidies may not be paid for land which is converted to agricultural facilities.

Rural development and planning policies intersect with water policy and environmental protection policies. The interaction with planning policy is problematic as the provision of stable agricultural land tends to be overlooked by planners and the construction industry.

Agriculture is exposed to market risk and natural disasters. Agricultural development depends on the government to provide protection. On the one hand, the government provides low-interest subsidies for investment in infrastructure, helping to withstand natural hazards and improve productivity. On the other hand, interest subsidies and other financial measures through the production and marketing of agricultural trade improve income. The local government is successful in using price instruments to stabilize the price of agricultural means of production to ensure that farmers are able to gain a return. However, local government is powerless in the face of price volatility caused by market speculation.

{xtypo_alert}Editor's note 20Mar14: Source D142-7.{/xtypo_alert}

As an important fulcrum of economic growth, tourism has undergone no shortage of clear development strategy since reform. Currently, the first "Tourism Law" promulgated by the State is in effect and will require time to test. The Tourism Law is intended to set legal limits for travel behavior and various legal relationships.

The tourism industry began to grow since 1978 and, in 1986, the State Council decided to integrate tourism into the national economic and social development plan. The Central Economic Work Conference made tourism a new economic growth point in 1998. Thereafter, the State Planning Commission incorporated tourism projects into bond projects; the railway sector opened the opportunity of hundreds of train travel options. On the one hand, opening up and regulating the rail sector to travel ensured consideration of economic perspective; on the other hand, security and oversight.
The economic development strategy of the tourism system is a government-led strategy. The essence of the economic growth strategy is to expand the industry.

The policy involves several actors. The National Tourism Bureau is the institution responsible for the regulation and management of tourism policy. The Ministry of Transport is responsible for developing roads, planning travel routes, and optimizing road design to attract tourists. This type of decision-making body has clear goals for the sector, to hold a strong position in the governmental policy scheme, and formulate policies according to their own sectoral interests. The cultural sector is not only responsible for managing the cultural heritage, but it is also the official interpreter of folk traditions. They manage, develop, and protect domestic tangible and intangible cultural heritage. In addition, some non-governmental organizations and industry organizations also play an active role in promoting tourism development including, a national chain of travel agencies, guide service agencies, Tourist Association, Explorers' League and others.

Tourism policies mainly use regulation of development policies and a regional development fund to exert influence. Another aspect of tourism development is infrastructure investment. Both policy support and investment are equally important.

Tourism is regulated by a variety of specially adapted instruments such as "travel management organization", "well-organized tour personnel management", "provisional regulations on scenic area management", "travel quality deposit interim provisions", "hotel industry security management approach", "travel complaints interim provisions", "entertainment management regulations", and "travel safety management measures".

{xtypo_alert}Editor's note 20Mar14: Source D142-7.{/xtypo_alert}

The basis of environmental laws stems from the Constitution where Article 26 states the responsibility to "protect and improve the living environment” (1982). The Environmental Protection Act was introduced in 1989 with the principal purpose is to enhance the protection through both national responsibility and citizens' obligations. The law only regulates and punishes pollution caused by enterprises. The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Law was created in 2002 in order to achieve prevention.

The general goal of horizontal environmental policy (environmental assessment and licensing) is the protection of the natural environment, particularly with regard to air, water quality, and the conservation of wild flora and fauna.

A specific goal of this policy is the timely consideration of the environmental impacts of policies, programs, and projects. Through this consideration, the Central Government’s prevention and precautionary principles, specific measures, terms, and restrictions may be applied to the case under consideration.

Objectives of horizontal environmental policy in China

Source: authors

At the national level, the Ministry of Environmental Protection is the main policy maker and promoter. The Environmental Protection Department was established in 2008 (to replace the SEPA) with the responsibility of formulating environmental policies, supervising environmental issues and issuing environmental permits.

In recent years, the problem of energy and climate change has been brought onto the agenda as well, causing discussions on energy conservation and policy, as the deterioration of the environment has begun to slow the rapid development of the economy.

In the process of environmental impact assessment, local government organizations hold public hearings, conduct opinion polls, and obtain advice. These conclusions will serve as an important reference for the EIA. The Environmental Protection Department may defend the public interest through participation in the EIA; it is particularly positive that the Department uses legal means to seek the intervention of the EIA process as the public may not be involved.

The primary policy instruments of horizontal environmental policy are administrative and consist of procedures for the issuing of an environmental license to carry out any economic activity.

Horizontal environmental policy instruments in China (summary)

Source: authors

Implementation, impact and effectiveness

At the local level, the Ministry is the key policy maker and promoter responsible for implementation of the policies for environmental improvement, supervision of pollution prevention and issuing of environmental permits. For a certain scale of national projects, the EIA results will be submitted to the higher levels of government.

Interestingly, the county environmental departments have more enforcement rights than the higher levels of government in the issuing of administrative penalties for specific actions. The county government has better insight into implementation details than higher authorities. Although lower government levels have very limited power, their role in local policy implementation can help decision makers to assess practical implications and modify the policy implementation framework.

Banks are a platform for financing and disbursement of funds and are official participants in policy implementation, through green credit. Private equity funds and investment companies are also important participants as investment decisions affect the region's environment. In recent years, the Zigui government has greatly developed small and medium enterprises mainly in small-scale agricultural machinery and comprehensive supporting industries for citrus.

Aside from the problems in planning and resource allocation, the most important issue is the treatment of wastewater and waste. In addition, old industrial enterprises whose equipment is aging will inevitably result in greater pollution. They need to upgrade their equipment. Although the performance of the government on combating pollution is inadequate, NGO environmental groups have formed spontaneously to respond to continuing pollution issues. World Wildlife Fund and Greenpeace have repeatedly been involved in ecological protection of the Three Gorges Reservoir. The legitimacy of their activities has not been unquestioned.

One of the primary instruments of horizontal environmental policy is approval policy of environmental projects. The development of this type of policy instruments can be divided into two stages:

• Prior to the 1990s: command-and-control tool. This form of policy was based on a mandatory system of licensing and prohibition, governed by a series of administrative decrees and regulations. Interim Measures Sewage Charges (1982) established a pollution levy system on waste gas, wastewater, waste, and noise. Local implementation results are low.
• Post 1990s: blend of old and new environmental policies. From the 1990s, environmental policy instruments have taken on a hybrid form. Environmental regulation has become increasingly more powerful. In addition, the state has implemented a series of economic governance principles, such as protection for development, restoration, and gradual increase of the sewage charging standard, improve the sewage charge instruments, and expand the emissions trading pilot projects. The concept of clean production and circular economy has been widely accepted and environmental practices began to change from treatment at the end of the process, focusing on the production source, process, and control over the whole process. Since the early 2000s, the State Environmental Protection Department put forward the "policy to accelerate the introduction and implementation of conducive price, tax, financial and other incentives". Local government however has responded negatively to the national decree.

The impact of the policy for Zigui is limited as responsible public services are weak and often too bureaucratic. The following issues have become very significant:

• Due to tourism development and housing construction, the relevant environmental impact assessment threshold projects must meet is very low. As a compromise for economic growth, potential environmental risk is significant.
• Contamination of groundwater is prevalent but sewage companies only exceed the scope of their license subject to effective supervision. There is no guidance document on supervision and law enforcement, which leads to a disadvantage of the environmental protection department.
• Citrus processing enterprises have also become a source of pollution which cannot be ignored. Such companies need to have separate sewage treatment facilities, but their short and long-term effectiveness has not been adequately supervised.

{xtypo_alert}Editor's note 20Mar14: Source D142-7.{/xtypo_alert}

The Water Act is based on Article 26 of the Constitution, which requires the State to "protect and improve the living environment and ecological environment" (1982). The Water Act was formulated in 1987, but its implementation has been challenged by competing economic demands, despite the fact that enforcement of the Water Law are incorporated into the Environmental Protection Act.

The Ministry of Water Resources is the most senior legal water administrative department, which is responsible for the formulation and implementation of national water conservation, management, and development policies. It is also responsible for policies related to aspects of approval and supervision. The country is divided into seven major river basins. The Department of Water Resources is the regional level of water administration, which can be viewed as a special government department with authority to develop and implement water management plans.

The regional water allocation plan is jointly developed by the water authority and water companies. The agricultural water rationing program is prepared by the Water Authority Irrigation Department.

The construction of sewage treatment plan was developed by the local Bureau, Water Department, and EPA.

The main instruments of water policy, include:

• watershed management plan;
• water environment monitoring infrastructure;
• water pollution prevention program;
• water distribution plan;
• development permit and quality control of water conservancy.

The water use and project approval system are the primary administrative instruments. The distribution of water resources is extremely uneven in China. Several large industrial cities upstream have strong demand for water causing severe shortages downstream. Therefore, a unified water allocation system has become very important.

It should be noted that the widespread presence of mine drainage in northern China was once practiced without strict supervision. The large number of unrecorded small coal mining wells had depleted aquifers, making the original shallow groundwater, that was available and supervised, disappear. Local government acquiesced to the practice for economic development, and the MWR had no authority to close the small coal mines. The number of such "illegal” coal mines was over four thousand in West Shanxi.

In this case, even if interventions in local water resources management could be made, water administration has limited available options such as penalties or compensation of affected residents

Local authorities are active in checking the sewage pollution of enterprises, publishing regular surface water quality monitoring bulletins, publishing source water quality (2013) and publicizing emission standard rates of corporations. The above methods are dependent on the State's expectations for sustainable economic development.

Implementation, impact and effectiveness

The main participants in water policy are the MWR and NDRC. Aside from the impact of the Three Gorges Project, water itself is an important resource to farmers’ activities. The Zigui Water Authority is the regional administrative authority responsible for the deployment of regional water resources and water quality monitoring, especially from the time that the Three Gorges Project began storing water. The importance of water quality monitoring and water storage capacity is rising year by year. Simultaneously, the lack of regional waterworks design in Zigui has led to the Zigui Water Authority naturally assuming the regional water policy advisory role.

The water department is responsible for the construction of irrigation facilities, which are organized under the framework of the Water Authority. These projects are overseen and approved by the NDRC, also active in the process of constructing the pipe network for water supply in Zigui. This is because the establishment of a water supply network not only means converting the water from natural water into rough water, but also ensuring that urban sewage water does not affect water quality and safety: in some areas clean water is unavailable. The increasing price of water is also disaffecting residents.

Water policy is a command-and-control policy, and it is no exaggeration to say that this is one of the most important and widely used policies in China’s water pollution control and management. The main water policy instruments are water monitoring, issuing water permits and controlling reservoir construction. Standards, environmental standards and targets related to water have not yet passed through legislation. Permits, registration and annual emissions reporting lacks coercive power. Despite instructions by the State Environmental Protection Administration and the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, cooperation between industrial/commercial administrative departments and environmental protection departments is weak. The latter department also unable to intervene for a business license or annual emissions permit.

The Zigui administration has increased its water pollution information disclosure in recent years, and there was also increasing public participation in water governance. Environmental information, however, is ad hoc and public participation in oversight mechanisms very limited. Government investigations and civil litigation mechanisms are largely absent.

Water policy tools are similar to environmental, agricultural, and other policy tools, and can even be considered to be the same type of policy instruments. However, the special status of water relates to the determination that water shortages will directly affect the implementation of other policies. Although water policy holds a subordinate position in the policy scheme, water shortages directly affect the development of agriculture and industry.

The public water administration is understandably strong: tourism and agro-industry are the local government’s main source of income and lack of water will affect the revenue of both industries. However, a severe drought in 2011 exposed the vulnerability of the local government with respect to ensuring water resources. Importance was attached to the construction of new pipelines but was not attached to maintenance of the old pipelines.

As in environmental policies, local authorities may fear the implementation of water policy for fear of loss of fiscal revenue. Simultaneously, Government’s indifference to farmland infrastructure maintenance has weakened farmland water supply and affected food production.

{xtypo_alert}Editor's note 20Mar14: Source D142-7.{/xtypo_alert}

Biodiversity policy is a collection of an evolving set of policies originating in the forest code and horizontal environmental protection legislation.

Goals and objectives of biodiversity policy

Source: authors

Although ecological and environmental protection is a national policy, its implementation involves the departments for environment, energy and climate. Agents may need to be commissioned to perform the policy objectives. The administrative units are under the MEP, which is theoretically the only competent authority in this field and also the coordinator for other institutions of cross-functional collaboration.

The competence for planning ecological protection zones lies with the FDA, with the Ministry of Environmental Protection (previously EPA) having only a technical role. The FDA is also responsible for coordinating units for forest development. Non-governmental environmental organizations, act as important promoters of environmental protection policy.

Response to policies, such as emission reductions and increases in environmental protection facilities, is generally lukewarm. Local governments may lower environmental issues’ priority in exchange for consistent tax income. Means of implementation are also limited.

Biodiversity policy instruments in China

Source: authors

{xtypo_alert}Editor's note 20Mar14: Source D142-7.{/xtypo_alert}

The Forest Law (1984, 1998) aims to develop protected forest resources, forest ownership attributable to the State, and national and individual forestry and forest resources protection.

Article 1 of the Forest Law clearly states the overall objective of forest policies is to "protect, nurture and rationally utilize forest resources", but in fact, the very simple goal is to continue to provide forest products, through an adequate enforcement system ultimately vesting property rights and product ownership in the Forest Products Division.

Therefore, the core issue of the forest policy is how to ensure national interests are promoted under the premise of safeguarding or not infringing on the legitimate income of individuals. In recent decades, the concerns about environmental degradation prompted the environmental sector to become involved in the development of forest resources.

The State Forestry Administration (SFA) is the national authority for natural and secondary forest responsible for policy formulation. The local forestry bureaus are the forestry resources management institutions responsible for supervision. The SFA is responsible for: organization and management of forest resources surveys, zoning, planning, design and results of examination; auditing and logging permits for cutting areas; supervising the implementation of the forest management plan and the state-approved implementation of forest-cutting quotas, as well as reforestation, updating and tending. Forest management plans are legally binding, giving the Forestry Department certain powers of investigation and oversight.

The Forest Engineering Institute is an advisory body, responsible for providing advice on forestry planning, technical support and the interpretation of policy and regulations.

Aside from collective farms, all forest land belongs to the State. In general, the State-owned collective farms and forests are the main providers of wood and forest products, but recent years have seen the rise of private forests. Police and fire authorities are also seen as important participants due to the need for forest fire fighting and fire prevention actions. Conservation areas are the responsibility of the local forestry sector to manage, but environmental protection and wildlife conservation are the responsibilities of the environmental protection department. Institutional coordination between levels and focus areas is difficult.

The main instruments at the Government and Forest Service's disposal are:

• Local forest management planning to determine the scope of the jurisdiction and the use of woodland and forest.
• Licensing system (bamboo forest-felling permits, grazing and hunting licenses, and tree seedling production land applications and permits) following form the plan.
• Forestry fund. Special funds for the development of timber, forestry, and other commodities; the implementation of paid working capital; and recycling. It must be noted that funding for forestry is usually indirectly obtained from national and community sources. The purpose is to increase the species diversity, rather than simply increasing forest cover.

Collective forest farms participate in the harvesting contracts system whereby part of state-owned forest woodland payments return to village group collectives due to forest use rights. As long as the harvesting contracts do not exceed the scope of the specification limit, the State has no direct powers to intervene.

{xtypo_alert}Editor's note 20Mar14: Source D142-7.{/xtypo_alert}

The general objectives of the Soil and Water Conservation Law are the prevention of soil erosion; changes in the landscape of mountainous, hilly, or sandstorm areas; governance of rivers; reductions in water, drought, and sandstorms; establishment of a good ecological environment; and development of agricultural production. It is the legal basis for combating desertification, and the law provides instructions on some specific permissions. Amendments of the law address soil erosion and its consequent environmental issues, impacting the development of the national economy and security.

As early as 1957, China issued the PRC Interim Soil and Water Conservation Program, and promulgated the Regulations on Soil and Water Conservation in 1982. Thereafter, the State Council and relevant departments and local governments also developed a number of specialized soil and water conservation requirements, specifying soil and water conservation tasks, measures, and organizational management.

The Ministry of Water Resources is directly responsible for soil and water conservation policy. It organizes national soil and water conservation; studies and proposes measures for soil and water conservation project planning; and organizes and monitors prevention and control of soil erosion. The Ministry of Water Resources was established in 1949 and reorganized in 1988 and has been mainly occupied with hydropower and irrigation facilities. Little attention had been paid to agricultural non-point source pollution and soil erosion caused by production and construction projects. Basin-wide flooding in 1998 caused the MWR to begin focusing on water and soil conservation and to start comprehensive soil erosion control within small watershed units. Local institutions for watershed management and specific policy enforcement were also set up.

Water Resources Departments have also been established in the provinces. Soil and water conservation monitoring stations have been set up for investigation, evaluation, and primarily for implementation and effectiveness of soil and water conservation policy.

The Hydraulic Research Institute is responsible for providing technical support and the professional interpretation of policy and regulation.

In this process, many people engaged in the agricultural production and construction may be involved, including roads, railways, power generation, transmission, well mining, open-pit mining, etc. If an activity is likely to cause soil erosion, it will likely be subject to oversight and approval.

Although there are a lot of soil and water conservation administrative policies, the content always stems from the Soil and Water Conservation Law.

Currently, policies and systems of soil and water conservation contain:

• Regularly national surveys of soil erosion by the State water administration department;
• Prevention and control of soil erosion measures at national, provincial, municipal, and county levels;
• Unified coordinated planning for delineated regions;
• According to regional development priorities and principles, protection of water conservation planning.

Soil and water conservation planning overlaps with other policies in the implementation process.