Environmental impact assessment (EIA), a decision-making process for project appraisal and sustainability adopted globally as an administrative process to identify, predict, evaluate, and monitor projects from their f...Environmental impact assessment (EIA), a decision-making process for project appraisal and sustainability adopted globally as an administrative process to identify, predict, evaluate, and monitor projects from their feasibility, preconstruction, construction, and operation stages to mitigate the adverse impacts and enhance the beneficial impacts for the protection of the affected environment, The study objective is to explore global EIA systems and processes and find shortcomings and implications for making the best instrument or tool to protect the natural environment from man-made activities over the project cycle. For this, the relevant literature on the EIA system and process was reviewed and evaluated through the application of quantitative and qualitative approaches, including the assessment of legal instruments and the adoption of EIA methodologies in developing countries. EIA, initiated in the 1970s in the US and Australia, expanded to developing countries and was amended in East and Southeast Asia from the 1970s to the 2000s. The evaluation assessed that the South Asian countries follow UNEP and IAIA guidelines, utilizing national laws and expert consultations, with screening criteria and administrative processes based on established environmental legislation. Ad hoc, checklist, matrix, network, overlay, cost-benefit analysis, and predictive or simulation in EIA practice are used to assess the environmental impacts of development activities. Failure to recommend major projects undermines public trust and prevents mitigation measures from being implemented. Most developing countries have followed EIA to fulfill the legal requirement with shadow-off monitoring and follow-up rather than to upset, reduce, or compensate for the project impacts as per size, location, and severity of the project area. The research and guidelines outlined in the IAIA principles and process have synthesized the best EIA practices worldwide. Public participation, impact coverage, scientific mitigation, transparent evidence-based approaches, monitoring, follow-up, legitimate approaches, and future appraisal opportunities are major concerns to be included in best EIA practice.展开更多
Along with the deepening of China＇s marketization-oriented reform, the widespread corruption of government officials and whether or not the fast economic growth in the last 30 years in China is sustainable have becom...Along with the deepening of China＇s marketization-oriented reform, the widespread corruption of government officials and whether or not the fast economic growth in the last 30 years in China is sustainable have become the two serious problems disturbing the Chinese government and people of all circles in China. This paper argues that something must be done in the construction of China＇s legal system and in its constitutional reform, otherwise the problems of prevalence of corruption will eventually hold back the high economic growth of China. Starting from the discussion of the differentiation of two concepts of ＂the rule by Law＂ and ＂the rule of Law,＂ this paper suggests that laws in China should be restored to their natural role as the incarnation of justice on the basis of jurisprudence reasoning, and instrumentalism, pragmatism and utilitarianism in China＇s current legal theory inherited from the traditional Chinese culture should be discarded. Otherwise, it will be impossible to restore the sacredness and authority of Law in China, and then it will take an unconscionable time to reach the state of ＂the Rule of Law＂ with constitutional democracy in China and there will be no way to tackle the problem of institutionalized corruption in the contemporary Chinese society once and for all.展开更多
文摘Environmental impact assessment (EIA), a decision-making process for project appraisal and sustainability adopted globally as an administrative process to identify, predict, evaluate, and monitor projects from their feasibility, preconstruction, construction, and operation stages to mitigate the adverse impacts and enhance the beneficial impacts for the protection of the affected environment, The study objective is to explore global EIA systems and processes and find shortcomings and implications for making the best instrument or tool to protect the natural environment from man-made activities over the project cycle. For this, the relevant literature on the EIA system and process was reviewed and evaluated through the application of quantitative and qualitative approaches, including the assessment of legal instruments and the adoption of EIA methodologies in developing countries. EIA, initiated in the 1970s in the US and Australia, expanded to developing countries and was amended in East and Southeast Asia from the 1970s to the 2000s. The evaluation assessed that the South Asian countries follow UNEP and IAIA guidelines, utilizing national laws and expert consultations, with screening criteria and administrative processes based on established environmental legislation. Ad hoc, checklist, matrix, network, overlay, cost-benefit analysis, and predictive or simulation in EIA practice are used to assess the environmental impacts of development activities. Failure to recommend major projects undermines public trust and prevents mitigation measures from being implemented. Most developing countries have followed EIA to fulfill the legal requirement with shadow-off monitoring and follow-up rather than to upset, reduce, or compensate for the project impacts as per size, location, and severity of the project area. The research and guidelines outlined in the IAIA principles and process have synthesized the best EIA practices worldwide. Public participation, impact coverage, scientific mitigation, transparent evidence-based approaches, monitoring, follow-up, legitimate approaches, and future appraisal opportunities are major concerns to be included in best EIA practice.
文摘Along with the deepening of China＇s marketization-oriented reform, the widespread corruption of government officials and whether or not the fast economic growth in the last 30 years in China is sustainable have become the two serious problems disturbing the Chinese government and people of all circles in China. This paper argues that something must be done in the construction of China＇s legal system and in its constitutional reform, otherwise the problems of prevalence of corruption will eventually hold back the high economic growth of China. Starting from the discussion of the differentiation of two concepts of ＂the rule by Law＂ and ＂the rule of Law,＂ this paper suggests that laws in China should be restored to their natural role as the incarnation of justice on the basis of jurisprudence reasoning, and instrumentalism, pragmatism and utilitarianism in China＇s current legal theory inherited from the traditional Chinese culture should be discarded. Otherwise, it will be impossible to restore the sacredness and authority of Law in China, and then it will take an unconscionable time to reach the state of ＂the Rule of Law＂ with constitutional democracy in China and there will be no way to tackle the problem of institutionalized corruption in the contemporary Chinese society once and for all.
