News Report “Let me give an example: heavily polluting electroplating enterprises have always been a key focus of environmental supervision. Zoning control clearly encourages such enterprises to gather and develop in specialized industrial parks. These parks are equipped with comprehensive pollution treatment facilities as required by planning environmental impact assessments. When enterprises move in, their project environmental assessments can be simplified, allowing them to share pollution treatment facilities and operate under emission permits. Shenzhen and Changzhou have already implemented good practices in this regard. For industries with lighter pollution, we are experimenting with canceling environmental assessment approvals. By formulating industry environmental guidelines, management requirements are directly incorporated into emission permits, reinforcing primary responsibility. Currently, 31 industries, including plastic products and electronic materials, are being piloted in various regions.”
On September 19, a press conference was held on the theme of “High-Quality Completion of the ’14th Five-Year Plan'”, introducing how high-level ecological and environmental protection promotes high-quality development. In response to a question about innovative practices in ecological and environmental zoning control, it was mentioned that Shenzhen, Guangdong, has already implemented good practices in this area.
Transformation of Environmental Assessment Management from Administrative Approval to Government Proactive Services
In October 2020, the General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the General Office of the State Council issued the “List of First Authorized Items for the Comprehensive Reform Pilot of Building a Socialist Pioneering Demonstration Zone in Shenzhen”, authorizing Shenzhen to implement reforms in the environmental assessment system. In 2021, the Second Meeting of the Seventh Standing Committee of the Shenzhen Municipal People’s Congress passed the “Shenzhen Special Economic Zone Ecological and Environmental Protection Regulations”, explicitly proposing the implementation of classified management for regional spatial ecological and environmental assessments.
To implement the first batch of comprehensive reform measures for the socialist pioneering demonstration zone, deepen the “delegation, regulation, and service” reform, and comprehensively optimize the business environment, in 2022, Shenzhen implemented reforms in the environmental assessment system based on ecological and environmental zoning control and supported by special zone legislation. This established a classified management system for regional spatial ecological and environmental assessments (hereinafter referred to as regional assessments). The innovation involves the government organizing professional teams to conduct regional assessments and form management lists, shifting environmental assessment management from administrative approval to government proactive services. This strengthens the effective implementation and application of ecological and environmental zoning control, jointly promoting high-level ecological and environmental protection and high-quality economic development in the region.
So far, 18 areas in 9 administrative districts of Shenzhen have received municipal government approval to issue and implement management lists, covering a total area of approximately 810 square kilometers, accounting for 41% of the land area. The goal is to achieve full coverage of regional assessments by 2026. The Shenshan Special Cooperation Zone has already issued and implemented management lists in two advanced manufacturing industrial parks, covering a total area of approximately 50 square kilometers. The management lists were issued and implemented in February 2025.
Regional assessments are an innovative environmental assessment reform system designed by Shenzhen. Focusing on improving regional ecological and environmental quality and ensuring regional ecological security, the system is based on the ecological and environmental zoning control framework. It aligns with national economic and social development plans, territorial spatial planning, and industrial planning, delineates regional assessment units, conducts comprehensive ecological and environmental evaluations, proposes regional environmental management requirements, and formulates management lists to guide rational regional spatial development. Regional assessments differ from the national environmental impact assessment technical system in terms of technical routes and evaluation methods, placing greater emphasis on integrating ecological and environmental zoning control, coordinating territorial spatial and industrial development planning, and achieving differentiated and refined regional management.
Release of the Nation’s First Local Standard for Regional Assessments
To standardize and guide regional assessment work, the Shenzhen Municipal Ecological and Environmental Bureau, drawing on the foundation of regional assessment reforms and practical case experiences, spent two years releasing the Shenzhen local standard “Technical Guidelines for Regional Spatial Ecological and Environmental Assessment” (DB4403/T595-2025) (hereinafter referred to as the “Technical Guidelines”) in February 2025. The “Technical Guidelines” aim to further enhance the scientific nature of regional assessment work and the standardization of its outcomes, ensuring the solid implementation of the expected effects of regional assessment reforms.
The “Technical Guidelines” focus on scientific rigor and standardization, highlighting three major innovations: First, fully integrating the ecological and environmental zoning control system to implement differentiated and refined management. Second, deeply aligning with territorial spatial and industrial development planning to promote multi-departmental management coordination and联动. Third, exploring the inclusion of carbon emission assessments and GEP assessments into regional assessments to form a comprehensive and systematic evaluation system.
A relevant official from the Shenzhen Municipal Ecological and Environmental
