The quest for environmental justice in China: citizen participation and the rural–urban network against Panguanying’s waste incinerator

Abstract

Environmental distribution conflicts (EDCs) related to the construction and operation of waste incinerators have become commonplace in China. This article presents a detailed case study of citizen opposition to an incinerator in the village of Panguanying, Hebei Province. Drawing on in-depth fieldwork, we show how this case was notable, because it transcended the local arena to raise bigger questions about environmental justice, particularly in relation to public participation in siting decisions, after villagers exposed fraudulent public consultation in the environmental impact assessment. An informal network between villagers and urban environmental activists formed, enabling the Panguanying case to exert influence far beyond the village locality. This network was critical in creating wider public debate about uneven power and substandard public participation in siting disputes, a central feature in many Chinese EDCs. By transcending local specificities and exposing broader, systemic inadequacies, this case became instrumental in supporting “strong sustainability”.

The Global Environmental Justice Atlas (EJAtlas): ecological distribution conflicts as forces for sustainability

“…Overview and conceptual framework (Scheidel et al 2018, this feature); 2. Transversal articles: worldwide conflicts related to wind energy (Avila 2018 (Johnson et al 2018, this feature); 6. Resistance-centered perspective on transformation , this feature).…”

Explaining Public Participation in Environmental Governance in China

“…We can interpret this as an indirect corroboration of Johnson's (2010) distinction between 'rules-based' environmental activism, which has worked with the spirit of government legislation to institutionalise public participation, and NIMBYism, which has occasionally adopted more contentious tactics to force local officials to adhere to procedural rules allowing participation. However, just as 'environmental distribution conflicts' have from time to time exposed sub-standard forms of participation which aim to frustrate rather than facilitate genuine public input into decision-making (Johnson et al 2018), we can also interpret the finding to mean that those who give a low evaluation to government capacity may stay away from public participation.…”

Public participation in China's EIA process and the regulation of environmental disputes

“…In this sense, and as Brombal and colleagues (2017) argued, it corresponds to an instrumental rationale. In some documented cases, fake public consultation data has been inserted into EIA reports (Johnson, Lora-Wainwright and Lu, 2018). In other cases, public consultation channels are opened but are limited to carefully selected people, with local governments and developers controlling the process.…”

“…Communities are often kept in the dark about incinerators and other similar projects slated for construction near their homes and are denied the opportunity to voice their concerns (see for example Lang and Xu, 2013;Sun, Huang and Yip, 2017;Johnson, Lora-Wainwright and Lu, 2018;Wang et al, 2019). This then becomes a source of grievance.…”