The long way of environmental monitoring socialization: large-scale monitoring industry with more than 1billion only occupied 10%.

Date:2015-07-24 Click:

At present, the whole monitoring industry was mainly small-scale enterprise oriented, fewer large-scale enterprise. Based on the statistics made by environmental monitoring equipment professional board of CAEPI, in 2013, the amount of monitoring enterprises with total assets under 100million was accounted for the proportion of total amount as high as 65%, there are only 7 large-scale enterprises with total assets exceeded 1 billion, accounted for 10%.

In recent years, some areas try to delegate part of the environmental monitoring projects to socialized environmental monitoring institution. In order to ease the imbalance between supply and demand in environmental monitoring business by means of introducing social market force. This is an inevitable requirement of actively explore new model of environmental protection and the construction of advanced environmental monitoring system. However, as for now, there are many problems of environmental monitoring socialization to be solved.

 

At present, with the rapid development of our economic and society, people’s concern on environment and demands for environment information was gradually increased. At the same time, with increased democratization process of related environmental decision and transparency of environmental management, the government and the public has increasingly higher requirements on environmental monitoring information. However, the heavy monitoring task has made the government environmental monitoring department overloaded operation. The present supply of environmental monitoring ability couldn’t meet the increasingly demands of the public and environmental management. In recent years, some areas try to delegate part of the environmental monitoring projects to socialized environmental monitoring institution. In order to ease the imbalance between supply and demand in environmental monitoring business by means of introducing social market force. This is an inevitable requirement of actively explore new model of environmental protection and the construction of advanced environmental monitoring system. 

 

Our environmental monitoring socialization has developed to some extent, some provinces began to introduce social monitoring enterprise with monitoring ability to take the monitoring works and has got some performances. In 2008, Changsha environment protection bureau  has made a socialization operating reform on tail gas detection of motor cycle. It has authorized the professional company as the third part operating pilot company to take the detection. In 2010, Beijing environment protection bureau has made ability cognizance on environmental monitoring institution that has applied monitoring task socialization. In 2011, Shandong Province Environmental Protection Authority has carried out the monitoring socialized pilot work on the completion of construction projects and environmental protection acceptance check. Though some area has made active explore on environmental monitoring socialization system, our environmental monitoring socialization has many problems on the whole, which has restricted the further development of socialized monitoring institution.

What’s the weakness of our environmental monitoring socialization?

Lack of strong administrative license and administrative supervision, it is difficult to do according to the law.

Aimed at the management of socialized environmental monitoring institution, Beijing, Shanxi, Sichuan, Jiangsu and Yunnan had carried out management method on ability cognizance one after another, this will promote professional skill of socialized institution. For instance, in 2009, Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau formulated 《measures for ability cognizance of Beijing socialized environmental monitoring institution(trial implementation)》, aimed to standardized the process of capability certification of socialized monitoring institution engaged in environmental monitoring business, which outside the directly under environmental monitoring institution of environmental protection administrative department in charge. Although stipulated various matters related to ability cognizance, you have to apply for 《Laboratory accreditation certificate of China National Accreditation Service for Conformity Assessment  》or national, Beijing 《certificate of accreditation measurement》, then you have application qualifications. However, because there is no administrative licensing stipulations of related host law when it carried out. Capacity cognizance itself does not have the effect of administrative licensing and only as a voluntary behavior of an enterprise. Up to 2012, there are 70 socialized environmental monitoring institutions, among which only 20 institutions have passed the certification of Beijing socialized environmental monitoring institution. Because of lacking contraints, monitoring standard of socialized monitoring institution couldn’t guaranteed effectively.

 

Related policy support is insufficient, low speed of development of socialized monitoring institution

In 2010, energy conservation and environmental protection industry rank for the first place among 7 strategic emerging industries in《decision of the State Council in regard to accelerate cultivate and develop strategic emerging industry》,  the State Council introduced《opinions on accelerating the development of energy conservation and environmental protection industries》to guide and promote the development of energy conservation and environmental protection industries. Preferential policies were produced one after another from state to local. However, these preferential policies were mainly aimed at fields of energy use and environmental protection. Comparatively speaking, related preferential policies on environmental monitoring industry were insufficient. Environmental monitoring industry was just started and lack of relevant policies support, lead to low process of development of socialized monitoring institution, working capacity of socialized monitoring institution was not effectively excavated.

The scale of most monitoring industry is small, cultivate large-scale monitoring enterprise is in urgent need.

At present, the whole monitoring industry was mainly small-scale enterprise oriented, fewer large-scale enterprise. Based on the statistics made by environmental monitoring equipment professional board of CAEPI, in 2013, the amount of monitoring enterprises with total assets under 100million was accounted for the proportion of total amount as high as 65%, there are only 7 large-scale enterprises with total assets exceeded 1 billion, accounted for 10%

 

　　The quality of environmental monitoring information is crucial important to works of environmental management, this required the socialized institution should have good monitoring ability and potential in further development, this is a request on scale and ability for sole monitoring institution. However, most small enterprises worked on monitoring business were constrained by itself, monitoring quality and process control was comparatively poor and technology research and development was comparatively poor, its monitoring ability and monitoring quality could only meet the initial stage of environmental monitoring requirements, but couldn’t meet higher requirements of more environmental monitoring tasks and higher monitoring technology in the future.

 

How to impel environmental monitoring socialization of our country in the future?

Establish the system of quality certification and reinforce personnel training and professional socialized environmental monitoring certification.

Standardize socialized environmental monitoring institution is of great importance for reinforcing the management of environmental monitoring. We should strengthen the qualification certification effectiveness of environmental monitoring socialized institutions, in consideration of particularity of environmental monitoring tasks, we should establish professional certification system on environmental monitoring socialized institutions on the basis of existing metrological certification. It is suggested that environmental protection administration or professional technical section make quality certification and investigate on relevant environmental monitoring institution, make clearly stipulations on monitoring scope of project, type of monitored contaminant, validity of qualification accreditation, exit mechanism of socialized monitoring institutions. Guarantee the monitoring quality of socialized monitoring institution by means of strictly regulate access conditions.

 

Meanwhile, reinforce the qualification certification of monitoring personnel. Environmental protection agency of EPA and each state was neglected skill examine of monitoring personnel in early period, then they gradually realized specialty and complexity of monitoring works and required all environmental monitoring personnel and inspector need training before they began to work.As for our socialized monitoring, environmental protection related departments should reinforce training and examine of monitoring personnel, all staff worked for socialized monitoring must pass the examine and then employment with certificates. 

 

Reinforce administrative supervision to guarantee good operation of environmental monitoring socialization.

 

By means of strict supervise to promote institutionalization, systemaltization and standardization of environmental monitoring socialization working. Environmental protection administrative department in charge should reinforce management of socialized monitoring institution, together with related department to make related policies and management methods. Socialized environmental monitoring institution submit materials regularly, on this basis, examine monitoring level and quality regularly and unscheduled on these institutions and then public inspection result, strengthen  the system of information publication and credit record on supervision process. For instance, emphasis supervision and inspection on monitoring institution which has ever been complaints and reports with bad record. Meanwhile strengthen system of accountability, make strict punishment on checked illegal act with wrong monitoring results and falsification, increase its illegal cost, promote monitoring enterprises law-abiding, standardized its monitoring behavior.

Promote existing monitoring department transformation of government functions, fully mobilize monitoring ability of socialized institution

In American, laboratory directly under EPA and laboratory i8n each area department mainly in charge of develop, set standard analytical method and push quality guarantee/quality control etc. With the development of socialized monitoring service, our government environmental monitoring department should quicken transformation of government functions, from participant of specific monitoring works translate to supervisor of method maker and socialized monitoring service.

 

Specifically, our existing government monitoring department should be free from heavy monitoring tasks, on the basis of administrative licensing, monitoring work that could be done by social forces gradually taken by socialized monitoring institution by means of delegation and procurement. In American, EPA even authorized socialized monitoring institution to take supervision monitor on enterprises. This has greatly reduced the pressure of environmental department, meanwhile, supervision monitor is more efficient. The main function of government environmental monitoring department has turned into assume Entry qualification licensing examination of environmental monitoring public services and daily supervision, business examine on monitoring technical staff, evaluate professional skills on socialized environmental monitoring institution, thereby socialized environmental monitoring institution as a marketize operating department under the management of environmental protection department.

 

Put policy guidance and support strength into practice, pay more attention on a batch large-scale socialized monitoring institutions.

For the field of environmental monitoring, there should be more related preferential polices on finance and taxation, help socialized monitoring institution to develop well and take market cultivating on environmental monitoring services. For eligible socialized monitoring institution, provide with finance support and preferential policies on loan and financing from stock market. In 2014, the State Council introduced《opinions on environmental pollution governed by the third party》, it says by means of increase the support of finance and tax, create the mode of financial service to strengthen the policy guidance and support in the field of environmental pollution governed by the third party. In 2015, environmental protection agency introduced《instructions on promoting environmental monitoring socialization》, it says clearly that support the development of socialized environmental monitoring institutions. The issue of these policies has a good guiding function on future development of environmental monitoring service socialization, there need more efforts to take these related policies into practice.

 

     In view of the requirements of environmental monitoring service for monitoring technology and monitoring ability, there should pay more attention on large-scale socialized monitoring institution with relevant business skill, in order to ensure the quality of monitoring data and make it as a center to drive the whole development of this industry. For instance, in different monitoring area like air quality monitoring, smoke online-monitoring, pay more attention on cultivating large-scale enterprises with larger market share respectively. Meanwhile, standardize and normalize environmental monitoring service market, with government environmental monitoring department strengthened qualification certification and administrative supervision, small-scaled enterprises will gradually be eliminated, this has provided convenience for large-scaled enterprise to speed up merger and occupied market.

 

Gradually open socialized environmental monitoring service market.

At the present stage, our environmental monitoring socialization work was at a starting stage, it is not the time for all environmental monitoring works to be socialized. It needs to orderly open the field of environmental monitoring business, stable promote the environmental monitoring socialization work to carry out. Now, we should pay more attention on service environmental monitoring business that are  suitable for social power to participant like pollutant discharging unit monitoring source of pollution by itself, environmental assessment monitoring etc. As for important environmental monitoring link that concerns on social stability and people’s living like environmental quality monitoring, emergent environmental incident monitoring etc, the subordinate monitoring institution to environmental protection administrative department in charge should be responsable for this. In the future, as socialized monitoring system been becoming mature, we can gradually make some business orderly opened to socialized environmental monitoring institution, in order to promote our environmental monitoring system  constantly improving.