By HENRY SANDERSON Associated Press Writer
Feb 29th, 2008 | BEIJING -- China's government is boosting the authority of its environmental watchdog agency in an attempt to rein in the rampant pollution that has become a byproduct of the nation's rapid economic growth.
The State Environmental Protection Agency, known as SEPA, is to be upgraded to a full Cabinet ministry with a bigger budget and more people, said a former agency official and environmental activists briefed on the plans.
The upgrade is part of a government restructuring approved this week by the Communist Party leadership. The changes, expected to be formally approved by the national legislature in March, are meant to help one of China's weakest agencies grapple with one of the country's biggest problems.
Environmental degradation has fouled the air in Chinese cities and poisoned farmland and water sources, leading to protests at home and drawing criticism abroad. The environmental agency, formed in 1998, has struggled to enforce rules that are often ignored.
"SEPA in recent years has been trying to do a lot with very little," said Alex Wang, director of the China Environmental Law Project at the Natural Resources Defense Council. "The challenge that SEPA faces now first and foremost is insufficient resources and authority."
Under the plan, the agency would become the Ministry of Environment, said Hongjun Zhang, a former agency official and environmental law expert, and Lo Sze Ping of Greenpeace in Beijing.
Zhang said the staff could be increased from 200 people to 300 or 400, and that over time the body would be given more authority over local environmental bureaus, which tend to be beholden to local industries and politicians and often flout the rules.
The environmental agency declined to comment on the changes.
Beijing's filthy air has drawn international attention with the city set to host the Olympics in August. Global warming activists criticize China's emissions of greenhouse gases.
The World Bank, in a draft report with China's environmental agency, estimates the country's air and water pollution cost about $100 billion a year — 5.8 percent of its economic output — mainly through health costs. The government spends 1.35 percent of the gross domestic product on environmental protection.
Even with new powers, the environmental watchdog is likely to face formidable opposition from local governments geared to ramping up economic growth and protecting factories that pay tax revenues.
Local environmental officials also will still answer to provincial or local governments, leaving the new ministry understaffed for the task policing the environment, activists said.
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