Networked governance : China's changing approach to transboundary environmental management

the Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, argued that environmental change is increasing in pace and intensity, and the contemporary assault against the global environmental could risk undermining international peace and security.Most importantly, he asserted that "protecting the global environment is largely beyond the capacity of individual countries'."Whether the challenge was climate change, land degradation, water shortage or loss of biodiversity, Ban argued that sovereign approaches to transboundary environmental management and governance are ineffective; and therefore, only an international networked response could be successful.As China continues to open towards the world as a rising global superpower, her ability to influence global environmental politics is taking on an important new role.Therefore the Secretary General's recent call to fundamentally alter how the international community addresses global environmental threats, although not aimed at any one state, is a de facto invitation to better engage China.China faces serious environmental challenges and increasingly has begun to export these problems to other nations.Unfortunately, China, like most other economically powerful countries, while 'For additional information refer to: http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2007/sgsm 10865.doc.htm' Transnational civil society refers to self-organized advocacy groups that undertake voluntary collection action across state borders in pursuit of what they deem the wider public interest.A transnational advocacy network are border-less interactions among civil society actors that seek to not only influence policy, but also transform the nature of political debate.This is discussed in detail later in this chapter.quite successful in establishing and strengthening environmental linkages with China.This is partially because the program is a non-binding, soft law initiative facilitated by a multilateral organization that does not entail specific compliance requirementsall attractive features to the Chinese state.In sum, it was apparent that a variety of non-state actors, including domestic Chinese non-state environmental groups, international non-governmental organizations, transnational advocacy networks, and multilateral organizations, were all responsible for exerting increasing influence involving China's environmental footprint. Key Assumptions and Research QuestionChina is increasingly integrated and influential in the Mekong Region.Networks of political, social and economic interactions composed of and facilitated by both state and non-state actors are increasing in both number and intensity, while the government, even in a one-party state such as China, has become more horizontally integrated with regional processes.In these settings, the government seems to be slowly relinquishing its role of supreme decision maker.The region is composed of a complex web of interorganizational networks that are reaching out, formally and informally, to China's environmental decision-makers at both the provincial and central levels.I assume that these networks are exerting increasing 'extra-bureaucratic' influence over China's policy and decision-making processes and thereby contributing to the changing nature of environmental governance in the region.For instance, the unitary power of the nationstate system is slowly disaggregating, while simultaneously, the influence of non-state actors inside and outside of China is growing.This is responsible for shifting the " All of these cases are discussed in detail in later chapters.12 China released a new White Paper entitled "China's Peaceful Development Road" on 22 December 2005 emphasizing it will maintain collaborative relations with other states and prioritizes mutual benefit and 'win-win' cooperation.

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