International Workshop on Environmental Supervision Capacity

On January 22, 2008, with the support by Energy Foundation, the Environment and Resources Protection Committee of the National People’s Congress held the “International Workshop on Chinese Environmental Supervision Ability” in Beijing. Nearly 70 representatives and experts from the Development Research Center of the State Council, the Research Office of the State Council, the National Development and Reform Commission and the State Environmental Protection Administration as well as other Chinese and international research institutions attended the conference. Mr. Mao Rubai, Director of the Environment and Resources Committee of NPC, and Mr. William K. Reilly, former Administrator of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, attended the workshop and delivered speeches respectively.

Dr. Wang Jinnan, Vice President of CAEP made a presentation on “Reform of Chinese Environmental Management System in the New Era”, which has drawn on the experiences of European environmental management systems and suggested recommendations on the targets, functions adjustment and four major mechanisms of the environmental management system and institutional reform to the government of next terms of office. Dr. Xia Guang, Director of Environmental and Economic Policy Research Center under SEPA and Prof. Ma Zhong, President of the Environmental Institute of Renmin University of China uttered their viewpoints on the challenges faced by Chinese environmental management system and the reference of U.S. environmental management system respectively. Hot discussion was carried out by the participants.

International experts from EU, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, California Environmental Protection Bureau, UK, Germany and Italy  introduced the experiences on environmental management systems in their own countries respectively.