During the past three decades of rapid industrial growth, China has suffered from devastating environmental degradation. Most scholarly and popular publications have painted a rather pessimistic picture about the worrisome trend. Yet a somewhat more optimistic view has emerged in the past decade given the Chinese governmentâs increased commitment to fighting industrial pollution, the publicâs increased concerns regarding the adverse effects of pollution, and domestic and international civil societyâs increased involvement in promoting environmental protection in China. Drawing on the authorsâ extensive research on Guangdong Province and a few large cities in other provinces, this book provides an in-depth study on Chinaâs environmental governance and regulatory enforcement in the past two decades. Section 1 examines various institutional constraints for environmental regulation enforcement at the local level and how governance reform efforts in the past decade have contributed to the lessening of those constraints. Section 2 draws on data derived from surveys and interviews conducted in multiple cities and times; it examines the dominant regulatory enforcement styles of local environmental protection bureaus and how these styles vary across different regions and over time. Section 3 examines how various stakeholdersâthe general public, environmental groups, government entities, and corporationsâaffect the environmental governance process. Overall, the book presents a cautiously optimistic view on the evolution of environmental governance in China. While highlighting many political, institutional, social, and economic constraints, it also documents many changes that have taken placeâincluding reform efforts from within the government administrative system, increasingly societal concerns and actions, and changing attitudes among corporate executivesâpotentially paving the way for more effective environmental governance in the future.
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