Ministry of Environmental Protection of the People's Republic of China
Encyclopedia
The Ministry of Environmental Protection of the People's Republic of China , formerly State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA), is a cabinet-level ministry in the executive branch of the Chinese Government (People's Republic of China
). It replaced the SEPA during the March 2008 National People's Congress
sessions in Beijing. http://news.sina.com.cn/c/2008-03-11/152315124637.shtml
The Ministry is the nation's environmental protection department charged with the task of protecting China's air, water, and land from pollution and contamination. Directly under the State Council
, it is empowered and required by law to implement environmental policies and enforce environmental laws and regulations. Complementing its regulatory role, it funds and organizes research and development. In addition, it also serves as China's nuclear safety
agency.http://english.sepa.gov.cn/xztz/jgzn/gszn/200405/t20040513_50000.htm
, held in Sweden
. The next year, 1973, saw the establishment of the Environmental Protection Leadership Group. In 1983, the Chinese government announced that environmental protection would become a state policy. In 1998, China went through a disastrous year of serious flooding, and the Chinese government upgraded the Leading Group to a ministry-level agency, which then became the State Environmental Protection Administration.
Xie resigned in December 2005 amidst an industrial pollution scandal by PetroChina
, a Chinese national oil company, on the Songhua River
in the northeastern province Heilongjiang
; local environmental protection officials were accused of protectionism, while senior officials at SEPA were blamed for their underestimating and ignoring the matter. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-11/24/content_497399.htm http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6179980.stm.
The Vice-Minister, Pan Yue
(潘岳), who has served in SEPA with Xie and is still in power, has been one of the most vocal high-level officials in the Chinese government critical of the current development model. He warned during an interview with the German newspaper Der Spiegel
in 2005 that "the Chinese miracle will end soon" if sustainable issues were not addressed urgently. http://www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/0,1518,345694,00.html.
, Laboratory on Wetland Ecology and Vegetation Recovery, and Laboratory on Biosafety. http://english.sepa.gov.cn/kjbz/index.htm
In addition, SEPA also administers engineering and technical research centers related to environmental protection, including: Center for Non-ferrous Metal Industrial Pollution Control, Center for Clean Coal and Ecological Recovery of Mines, Center for Industrial Waste Water Pollution Control, Center for Industrial Flue Gas
Control, Center for Hazardous Waste
Treatment, and Center for Solid Waste
Treatment and Disposal of Mines. http://english.sepa.gov.cn/kjbz/index.htm
China is experiencing an increase in environmental complaints: In 2005, there were 51,000 disputes over environmental pollution, according to SEPA minister Zhou Shengxian. From 2001 to 2005, Chinese environmental authorities received more than 2.53 million letters and 430,000 visits by 597,000 petitioners seeking environmental redress. http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/show/single/en/745-Environmental-protection-in-China-the-role-of-law
, a former journalist, said in an interview with http://www.chinadialogue.net that the fundamental cause of the worsening global environmental crisis "...is the capitalist system. The environmental crisis has become a new means of transferring the economic crisis." http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/show/single/en/493--The-rich-consume-and-the-poor-suffer-the-pollution-. He believes China's role in the environmental crisis "... has arisen, basically, because our mode of economic modernisation has been copied from western, developed nations. In 30 years, China has achieved economic results that took a century to attain in the west. But we have also concentrated a century’s worth of environmental issues into those 30 years. While becoming the world leader in GDP growth and foreign investment, we have also become the world’s number one consumer of coal, oil and steel – and the largest producer of CO2 and chemical oxygen demand (COD) emissions." http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/show/single/en/493--The-rich-consume-and-the-poor-suffer-the-pollution-.
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
). It replaced the SEPA during the March 2008 National People's Congress
2008 National People's Congress
The 1st Plenary Session of the 11th National People's Congress held its annual meeting from March 5 to March 18, 2008 in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, in conjunction with the 2008 CPPCC....
sessions in Beijing. http://news.sina.com.cn/c/2008-03-11/152315124637.shtml
The Ministry is the nation's environmental protection department charged with the task of protecting China's air, water, and land from pollution and contamination. Directly under the State Council
State Council of the People's Republic of China
The State Council of the People's Republic of China , which is largely synonymous with the Central People's Government after 1954, is the chief administrative authority of the People's Republic of China. It is chaired by the Premier and includes the heads of each governmental department and agency...
, it is empowered and required by law to implement environmental policies and enforce environmental laws and regulations. Complementing its regulatory role, it funds and organizes research and development. In addition, it also serves as China's nuclear safety
Nuclear safety
Nuclear safety covers the actions taken to prevent nuclear and radiation accidents or to limit their consequences. This covers nuclear power plants as well as all other nuclear facilities, the transportation of nuclear materials, and the use and storage of nuclear materials for medical, power,...
agency.http://english.sepa.gov.cn/xztz/jgzn/gszn/200405/t20040513_50000.htm
History
In 1972, Chinese representatives attended the First United Nations Conference on the Human EnvironmentUnited Nations Conference on the Human Environment
The United Nations Conference on the Human Environment was an international conference convened under United Nations auspices held in Stockholm, Sweden from June 5–16, 1972...
, held in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. The next year, 1973, saw the establishment of the Environmental Protection Leadership Group. In 1983, the Chinese government announced that environmental protection would become a state policy. In 1998, China went through a disastrous year of serious flooding, and the Chinese government upgraded the Leading Group to a ministry-level agency, which then became the State Environmental Protection Administration.
Organization
There are 12 offices and departments under SEPA, all at the si (司) level in the government ranking system. They carry out regulatory tasks in different areas and make sure that the agency is functioning accordingly:Department Structure
| Department | Chinese Name |
|---|---|
| General Administrative Office | (办公厅) |
| Department of Human Resources & Institutional Affairs | (行政体制与人事司) |
| Department of Planning and Finance | (规划与财务司) |
| Department of Policies, Laws and Regulations | (政策法规司) |
| Department of Science & Technology and Standards | (科技标准司) |
| Pollution Control Office | (污染控制司) |
| Natural Ecosystem Protection Office | (自然生态保护司) |
| Department of Environmental Impact Assessment | (环境影响评价管理司) |
| International Cooperation Office | (国际合作司) |
| Department of Nuclear Safety | (核安全管理司) |
| Environmental Inspection Office | (环境监察局) |
| Office of Agency & Party Affairs | (机关党委) |
Leadership
| Leadership | ||
|---|---|---|
| Position | Name | Chinese Name |
| Administrator/Minister: | Zhou Shengxian Zhou Shengxian Zhou Shengxian is the first and current Minister of Environmental Protection of the People's Republic of China. Zhou was born in Wuzhong, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. He joined the Communist Party of China in 1972, and is a senior economist... |
(周生贤). |
| Vice-Minister: | Pan Yue | (潘岳) |
| Head of Discipline: | Zhu Guangyao | (祝光耀) |
| Vice-Minister: | Zhang Lijun | (张力军) |
| Vice-Minister: | Wu Xiaochun | (吴晓青) |
| Vice-Minister: | Zhou Jian | (周建) |
| Vice-Minister, Bureau Chief for Nuclear Safety: | Li Ganjie | (李干杰) |
| Former Administrator/Minister: | Xie Zhenhua | (解振华) |
Xie resigned in December 2005 amidst an industrial pollution scandal by PetroChina
PetroChina
PetroChina Company Limited is a Chinese oil company and is the listed arm of state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation , headquartered in Dongcheng District, Beijing. It is China's biggest oil producer, and was the world's most valuable company by market value as of September 28th 2010...
, a Chinese national oil company, on the Songhua River
Songhua River
The Songhua or Sunggari River is a river in Northeast China, and is the largest tributary of the Heilong River , flowing about from Changbai Mountains through Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces. The river drains of land, and has an annual discharge of .As the Second Songhua River, it joins the...
in the northeastern province Heilongjiang
Heilongjiang
For the river known in Mandarin as Heilong Jiang, see Amur River' is a province of the People's Republic of China located in the northeastern part of the country. "Heilongjiang" literally means Black Dragon River, which is the Chinese name for the Amur. The one-character abbreviation is 黑...
; local environmental protection officials were accused of protectionism, while senior officials at SEPA were blamed for their underestimating and ignoring the matter. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-11/24/content_497399.htm http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6179980.stm.
The Vice-Minister, Pan Yue
Pan Yue
Pan Yue was born in 1960 in Jiangsu province, People's Republic of China, is one of the Vice Ministers for the Ministry of Environmental Protection in China.-Biography:...
(潘岳), who has served in SEPA with Xie and is still in power, has been one of the most vocal high-level officials in the Chinese government critical of the current development model. He warned during an interview with the German newspaper Der Spiegel
Der Spiegel
Der Spiegel is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. It is one of Europe's largest publications of its kind, with a weekly circulation of more than one million.-Overview:...
in 2005 that "the Chinese miracle will end soon" if sustainable issues were not addressed urgently. http://www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/0,1518,345694,00.html.
Regional Inspection & Enforcement Centers
In 2006, SEPA opened five regional centers to help with local inspections and enforcement. The five centers are direct affiliates of SEPA:| Region | Head Office | Enforcement Area |
|---|---|---|
| Eastern Center | Nanjing Nanjing ' is the capital of Jiangsu province in China and has a prominent place in Chinese history and culture, having been the capital of China on several occasions... |
Shanghai Shanghai Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010... , Jiangsu Jiangsu ' is a province of the People's Republic of China, located along the east coast of the country. The name comes from jiang, short for the city of Jiangning , and su, for the city of Suzhou. The abbreviation for this province is "苏" , the second character of its name... , Zhejiang Zhejiang Zhejiang is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. The word Zhejiang was the old name of the Qiantang River, which passes through Hangzhou, the provincial capital... , Anhui Anhui Anhui is a province in the People's Republic of China. Located in eastern China across the basins of the Yangtze River and the Huai River, it borders Jiangsu to the east, Zhejiang to the southeast, Jiangxi to the south, Hubei to the southwest, Henan to the northwest, and Shandong for a tiny... , Fujian Fujian ' , formerly romanised as Fukien or Huguing or Foukien, is a province on the southeast coast of mainland China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, and Guangdong to the south. Taiwan lies to the east, across the Taiwan Strait... , Jiangxi Jiangxi ' is a southern province in the People's Republic of China. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze River in the north into hillier areas in the south, it shares a border with Anhui to the north, Zhejiang to the northeast, Fujian to the east, Guangdong to the south, Hunan to the west, and Hubei to... , and Shandong Shandong ' is a Province located on the eastern coast of the People's Republic of China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history from the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River and served as a pivotal cultural and religious site for Taoism, Chinese... . |
| Southern Center | Guangzhou Guangzhou Guangzhou , known historically as Canton or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of the Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. Located in southern China on the Pearl River, about north-northwest of Hong Kong, Guangzhou is a key national transportation hub and trading port... |
Hunan Hunan ' is a province of South-Central China, located to the south of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and south of Lake Dongting... , Hubei Hubei ' Hupeh) is a province in Central China. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Lake Dongting... , Guangdong Guangdong Guangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province... , Guangxi Guangxi Guangxi, formerly romanized Kwangsi, is a province of southern China along its border with Vietnam. In 1958, it became the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China, a region with special privileges created specifically for the Zhuang people.Guangxi's location, in... , and Hainan Hainan Hainan is the smallest province of the People's Republic of China . Although the province comprises some two hundred islands scattered among three archipelagos off the southern coast, of its land mass is Hainan Island , from which the province takes its name... . |
| Northwestern Center | Xi'an Xi'an Xi'an is the capital of the Shaanxi province, and a sub-provincial city in the People's Republic of China. One of the oldest cities in China, with more than 3,100 years of history, the city was known as Chang'an before the Ming Dynasty... |
Shaanxi Shaanxi ' is a province in the central part of Mainland China, and it includes portions of the Loess Plateau on the middle reaches of the Yellow River in addition to the Qinling Mountains across the southern part of this province... , Gansu Gansu ' is a province located in the northwest of the People's Republic of China.It lies between the Tibetan and Huangtu plateaus, and borders Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Ningxia to the north, Xinjiang and Qinghai to the west, Sichuan to the south, and Shaanxi to the east... , Qinghai Qinghai Qinghai ; Oirat Mongolian: ; ; Salar:) is a province of the People's Republic of China, named after Qinghai Lake... , Xinjiang Xinjiang Xinjiang is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. It is the largest Chinese administrative division and spans over 1.6 million km2... , and Ningxia Ningxia Ningxia, formerly transliterated as Ningsia, is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. Located in Northwest China, on the Loess Plateau, the Yellow River flows through this vast area of land. The Great Wall of China runs along its northeastern boundary... . |
| Southwestern Center | Chengdu Chengdu Chengdu , formerly transliterated Chengtu, is the capital of Sichuan province in Southwest China. It holds sub-provincial administrative status... |
Chongqing Chongqing Chongqing is a major city in Southwest China and one of the five national central cities of China. Administratively, it is one of the PRC's four direct-controlled municipalities , and the only such municipality in inland China.The municipality was created on 14 March 1997, succeeding the... , Sichuan Sichuan ' , known formerly in the West by its postal map spellings of Szechwan or Szechuan is a province in Southwest China with its capital in Chengdu... , Guizhou Guizhou ' is a province of the People's Republic of China located in the southwestern part of the country. Its provincial capital city is Guiyang.- History :... , Yunnan Yunnan Yunnan is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the far southwest of the country spanning approximately and with a population of 45.7 million . The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders Burma, Laos, and Vietnam.Yunnan is situated in a mountainous area, with... , and Tibet Tibet Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people... . |
| Northestern Center | Shenyang Shenyang Shenyang , or Mukden , is the capital and largest city of Liaoning Province in Northeast China. Currently holding sub-provincial administrative status, the city was once known as Shengjing or Fengtianfu... |
Liaoning Liaoning ' is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the northeast of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "辽" , a name taken from the Liao River that flows through the province. "Níng" means "peace"... , Jining Jining, Shandong Jining is a prefecture-level city in southwestern Shandong province, People's Republic of China. It borders Heze to the southwest, Zaozhuang to the southeast, Tai'an to the northeast, and the provinces of Henan and Jiangsu to the northwest and south respectively... , and Heilongjiang Heilongjiang For the river known in Mandarin as Heilong Jiang, see Amur River' is a province of the People's Republic of China located in the northeastern part of the country. "Heilongjiang" literally means Black Dragon River, which is the Chinese name for the Amur. The one-character abbreviation is 黑... . |
| SEPA headquarters | Beijing Beijing Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's... |
Beijing Beijing Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's... , Tianjing Tianjing Tianjing is the name given to Nanjing by Hong Xiuquan, king of the "Heavenly Kingdom of the Great Peace", during the Taiping Rebellion, in imperial China, from 1853 to 1864.- Brief history :... , Hebei Hebei ' is a province of the People's Republic of China in the North China region. Its one-character abbreviation is "" , named after Ji Province, a Han Dynasty province that included what is now southern Hebei... , Henan Henan Henan , is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "豫" , named after Yuzhou , a Han Dynasty state that included parts of Henan... , Shanxi Shanxi ' is a province in Northern China. Its one-character abbreviation is "晋" , after the state of Jin that existed here during the Spring and Autumn Period.... , and Inner Mongolia Inner Mongolia Inner Mongolia is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China, located in the northern region of the country. Inner Mongolia shares an international border with the countries of Mongolia and the Russian Federation... . |
Areas of activities
SEPA regulates water quality, ambient air quality, solid waste, soil, noise, radioactivity. In the area of R&D activities, SEPA has funded a series of "Key Laboratories" in different parts of the country, including: Laboratory for Urban Air Particles Pollution Prevention and Control for Environmental Protection, Laboratory on Environment and Health, Laboratory on Industrial EcologyIndustrial ecology
Industrial Ecology is the study of material and energy flows through industrial systems. The global industrial economy can be modeled as a network of industrial processes that extract resources from the Earth and transform those resources into commodities which can be bought and sold to meet the...
, Laboratory on Wetland Ecology and Vegetation Recovery, and Laboratory on Biosafety. http://english.sepa.gov.cn/kjbz/index.htm
In addition, SEPA also administers engineering and technical research centers related to environmental protection, including: Center for Non-ferrous Metal Industrial Pollution Control, Center for Clean Coal and Ecological Recovery of Mines, Center for Industrial Waste Water Pollution Control, Center for Industrial Flue Gas
Flue gas
Flue gas is the gas exiting to the atmosphere via a flue, which is a pipe or channel for conveying exhaust gases from a fireplace, oven, furnace, boiler or steam generator. Quite often, the flue gas refers to the combustion exhaust gas produced at power plants...
Control, Center for Hazardous Waste
Hazardous waste
A hazardous waste is waste that poses substantial or potential threats to public health or the environment. According to the U.S. environmental laws hazardous wastes fall into two major categories: characteristic wastes and listed wastes.Characteristic hazardous wastes are materials that are known...
Treatment, and Center for Solid Waste
Municipal solid waste
Municipal solid waste , commonly known as trash or garbage , refuse or rubbish is a waste type consisting of everyday items we consume and discard. It predominantly includes food wastes, yard wastes, containers and product packaging, and other miscellaneous inorganic wastes from residential,...
Treatment and Disposal of Mines. http://english.sepa.gov.cn/kjbz/index.htm
China is experiencing an increase in environmental complaints: In 2005, there were 51,000 disputes over environmental pollution, according to SEPA minister Zhou Shengxian. From 2001 to 2005, Chinese environmental authorities received more than 2.53 million letters and 430,000 visits by 597,000 petitioners seeking environmental redress. http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/show/single/en/745-Environmental-protection-in-China-the-role-of-law
In the media
Vice minister Pan YuePan Yue
Pan Yue was born in 1960 in Jiangsu province, People's Republic of China, is one of the Vice Ministers for the Ministry of Environmental Protection in China.-Biography:...
, a former journalist, said in an interview with http://www.chinadialogue.net that the fundamental cause of the worsening global environmental crisis "...is the capitalist system. The environmental crisis has become a new means of transferring the economic crisis." http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/show/single/en/493--The-rich-consume-and-the-poor-suffer-the-pollution-. He believes China's role in the environmental crisis "... has arisen, basically, because our mode of economic modernisation has been copied from western, developed nations. In 30 years, China has achieved economic results that took a century to attain in the west. But we have also concentrated a century’s worth of environmental issues into those 30 years. While becoming the world leader in GDP growth and foreign investment, we have also become the world’s number one consumer of coal, oil and steel – and the largest producer of CO2 and chemical oxygen demand (COD) emissions." http://www.chinadialogue.net/article/show/single/en/493--The-rich-consume-and-the-poor-suffer-the-pollution-.
See also
- Environment of ChinaEnvironment of ChinaThe environment in the People's Republic of China has traditionally been neglected as the country concentrates on its rise as an economic power. Chasing the political gains of economic development, local officials in China often overlook environmental pollution, worker safety and public health...
- China water crisisChina water crisisThe Chinese water crisis threatens the stability and prosperity not only in People's Republic of China but globally as well, according to John McAlister from the film Aquabiotronics. According to the World Bank forecast, Mainland China has only a per-capita share of 2700 cubic meters per annum,...
- Ministry of Water Resources of the People's Republic of ChinaMinistry of Water Resources of the People's Republic of ChinaThe Ministry of Water Resources of the People's Republic of China is the executive government agency of the Central People's Government responsible for managing the water resources in China....
- Organic Food Development CenterOrganic Food Development CenterThe Organic Food Development Center is an organic certification organization in China. It was founded in 1994 and is based in Nanjing. It is a branch of China's State Environmental Protection Administration, or SEPA...
- Ministries of ChinaMinistries of China-List of ministries of the People's Republic of China:There are 22 ministries in the State Council of the People's Republic of China.-Other agencies under the State Council:-See also:*State Council of the People's Republic of China-External links:**...