October 16th, Duke Kunshan University invited Prof. Jia Feng, the director general of Center for Environmental Education and Communications of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, as the speaker for the third Duke Kunshan Salon Series. Prof. Jia has been involved in environmental protection and sustainable development for nearly 30 years, and has served as a consultant expert for the World Bank and Asian Development Bank for many times. He is also the national executive director of China Environmental Awareness Program (CEAP) in the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). Prof. Jia has played an important role in multiple areas in China’s environmental sector, including: legislation and enforcement of environmental law, information disclosure and public participation, environmental emergencies and media relations, production of public information films, sustainable entrepreneurship, climate change and low-carbon economy. The theme of the salon is ‘Information Disclosure and Public Participation’.
The lecture mainly covered three topics: “why should we advocate public participation”, “legal basis and main components of public participation” and “how to promote public participation”. Prof. Jia first gave a brief review of the development of public participation in environmental issues in the United States. According to Jia, the establishment of environmental management system in the United States was largely promoted by events involving public participation. For example, soon after the first Earth Day, the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency was approved. Over the next few years, the government issued a series of Environment Basic Law[WZ1] s that have had significant nationwide impacts. Since China is now faced with similar environmental challenges, information disclosure and public participation can be quite essential in promoting the establishment of legal systems, new governance models and the economic system transformation. Failing to overcome these challenges may lead to decline of government credibility, increase of social conflicts and hindrance in economic transformation.
To inform future problem solving, Prof. Jia Feng cited some successful cases in terms of information disclosure and public participation, including the ‘Blue Map’ App to monitor real-time air quality, projects that are designed to replace the high-polluting small workshops, etc. Finally, Prof. Jia noted that it was necessary to establish laws to provide legal basis for public participation, and ensure people’s right to information???participation and supervision.
The two-hour salon sparked heated discussion among the participants and the speaker, and the participants extended their hope to attend other events organized by Duke Kunshan Salon Series in the future.
This salon event is supported by the Master of Environmental Policy Program and Government Training and Professional Education Program, and hosted by Dr. Wang Shuyi, the director of Government Training and Professional Education Program. The salon was well-attended by participants from the environmental sector, including officials from Kunshan Environmental Protection Bureau, Kunshan People’s Court and other government departments as well as students at Duke Kunshan University.
