The politics of strategic environmental assessment indicators: weak recognition found in Chinese guidelines

The choice and use of indicators is not only technical and science-led, but also a value-laden social process, and thus concerns public participation and political judgement. This article approaches the Chinese strategic environmental assessment (SEA) indicator system from a science–policy interface perspective and aims to: (1) contribute to the general recognition of indicators functioning in SEA; and (2) analyse, through a Chinese case study, to what extent national guidelines address this science–policy interaction. The overall finding is a strong emphasis on technical/science aspects in the Chinese SEA guidance, and a weak explicit recognition that policy plays a role in choosing and using indicators. Recent development, however, indicates a growing recognition of the politics involved and thus also leads to greater involvement of stakeholders.