The nation's top environment watchdog should be upgraded from an agency to a ministry, granting it more powers to combat China's worsening pollution, international experts said yesterday.

The present environmental protection system also needs adjusting, allowing China to diversify measures to facilitate the implementation of environmental policies, said the first Environmental Performance Review of China, conducted by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

"While recognizing the serious engagement of the Chinese Government in addressing environmental problems, we found that these efforts have not been sufficient to keep pace with the environmental pressures and challenges generated by the very rapid growth of China's economy," Kiyotaka Akasaka, Deputy Secretary-General of OECD, told a press conference yesterday in Beijing.

"Overall, environmental efforts have lacked effectiveness and efficiency, largely as a result of an implementation gap."

OECD is an international organization which aims to help governments tackle the economic, social and governance challenges of a globalized economy. Its environmental performance review of China was made in accordance with an agreement between the State Environment Protection Administration (SEPA) and OECD last October, despite China not being a member of the organization.

The recommendation to upgrade SEPA, part of a package of suggestions designed to help China combat its worsening pollution, came together with an evaluation of the nation's environmental performance over the past decade.

SEPA is already a ministry-level administration, but it is still one class lower than other cabinet-ranking ministries like the Ministry of Finance.

Citing examples from Japan, Akasaka suggested elevating SEPA to ministry status, granting it equal footing with the other ministries, to ensure its voice is better heard.

"Environmental protection involves many ministries, unless SEPA has an equivalent rank, it can't discuss with the other ministries," he said.

The failure to achieve some of the major environmental objectives of the 10th Five-Year-Plan (2001-05) and the severity of environmental problems in many parts of the country demonstrates the weaknesses in the present system, the report said.

The biggest obstacles to environmental policy implementation are at local level, it added.

In the face of SEPA's lack of strength when enforcing its environmental laws at local level, many have proposed, especially in academic circles, to elevate the administration to ministry level, endorsing it with stronger powers.

Echoing the report, Pan Yue, deputy director of SEPA, said SEPA needs to strengthen its supervisory capacity over local environment protection bureaux and monitoring, and its inspection and enforcement capabilities throughout the country.

Extending market mechanisms, such as pollution charges, user charges and emissions trading, is also listed among the 51 recommendations raised in the report.

Source: China Daily