Failing eco-protection bureaus in the firing line

Three recent public-interest cases

1. On Dec 18, authorities in Jinping county, Guizhou province, brought an administrative public-interest lawsuit to force the local environmental protection bureau to deal with pollution caused by illegal discharges from seven stone-processing plants.

The county court ordered the bureau to enforce the law, supervise the plants and clear up the pollution as quickly as possible.

2. On Dec 16, prosecutors in Qingyun county, Shandong province, filed a case against the local environmental department, alleging that it had ignored illegal discharges from business premises, which polluted local water resources.

Although the department has been issued with notices warning of potential prosecution, the problem has remained unsolved.

The case has been accepted by the county court and will be heard at a later date.

3. On Dec 21, prosecutors in Qingliu county, Fujian province, brought a case against the local environmental department, claiming that it had failed to impose fines on businesses that burned garbage in contravention of the environmental laws. The case will be heard by a court in Mingxi county.

Smoke rises from a coal-fired factory in Binzhou, Shandong province. ZHANG BINBIN/CHINA DAILY

What they say

The lawsuits brought by local procuratorates against environmental protection bureaus will encourage other government departments to perform their duties in accordance with the law.

However, the pilot programs in 13 municipalities and provinces may not prove effective because the two-year time frame is very short, so procuratorates may find it difficult to obtain sufficient proof of malpractice. In many cases, they are unwilling to file lawsuits against the environmental authorities or other government departments because they fear souring their relationships, which may affect the results of their annual work performance review.

Wang Canfa, director of an environmental research body at the China University of Political Science and Law

I don't think there will be a large number of lawsuits filed against environmental agencies because that would involve expending a huge amount of energy and the cost would also be prohibitively high, especially as many of the procuratorates are not experts in environmental protection issues.

I suggest the country should formulate more policies to encourage the participation of social organizations in such lawsuits, which would provide better supervision of the activities of environmental watchdogs. Greater supervision by environmental NGOs would reduce the amount of money the central and local governments have to spend, and their deep experience of environmental issues would make the investigations more professional and efficient.

Ma Yong, secretary-general of the legal sector committee of the China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation

Administrative public-interest lawsuits brought against environmental departments to force them to apply the law have a greater effect than financial punishments. These lawsuits are brought to make government departments enforce the law, and to encourage a wider range of parties, including procuratorates and member of the public, to participate in environmental protection, monitoring polluters and supervising law enforcement teams.

Zhang Shijun, professor of environmental law at Shandong University