Failing eco-protection bureaus in the firing line

Law enforcement

However, the ministry has conceded that a number of environmental departments have experienced difficulties in enforcing the law, partly because law enforcement offices are understaffed, but also as a result of violent resistance by some polluters.

On Sept 9, seven people, including members of an air protection supervisory team, were attacked by a group of men as they prepared to inspect a factory in Jinan city, Shandong province, that was suspected of emitting pollutants. Five people were injured in the 10-minute attack, according a statement by the ministry.

Chen Jining, minister of environmental protection, said the perpetrators would be identified and punished, and that greater protection would be provided for law enforcement teams.

Huang Desheng, a researcher at the ministry's Policy Research Center for the Environment and Economy, told the ministry's in-house newspaper that cleanup and protection efforts have been hampered by a lack of funding and low staff numbers in some areas.

In a small number of rural areas, those problems have been exacerbated by the failure of the local authorities to coordinate their efforts with other government departments and by uncertainty about their legal obligations. "The result was that some environmental bureaus failed to solve pollution problems, and their lack of understanding of their duties also affected the efficiency of law enforcement," Huang said.

Not every failing environmental department will be prosecuted, according to the Supreme People's Procuratorate, which said some offenders would be issued with judicial warnings before action is taken.

Judicial advice

In January, the top procuratorate published details of three typical environmental public-interest lawsuits brought by local authorities, including the one in Guizhou, and outlined the legal advice given to environmental departments.

According to a report on Infzm, the website of Southern Weekly in Guangdong province, prosecuting authorities will send legal advice to environmental departments before a prosecution is brought, with the aim of conserving judicial resources and to give failing departments a shot across the bows.

By January, warnings and advice had been issued to seven environmental bureaus judged to be reluctant in dealing with pollution, forcing them to act against polluting businesses. The bureaus were also required to submit written explanations of their actions within a month of receiving the warning, the report said.

According to the procuratorate, the bottom line is that environmental departments that fail to rectify their oversights in line with the advice will be publicly criticized and sued.

Luo, the judge, said lawsuits brought by NGOs can also play a role in forcing environmental departments to pay greater attention to law enforcement. "The more diversified the range of litigants becomes, the bigger the effect on environmental bureaus will be. That will ensure they play their full role in environmental protection," he said.

Late last year, two NGOs, including Friends of Nature, an environmental group in Beijing, won a public-interest case they brought to force factories in Nanping, Fujian province, to pay 1.27 million yuan ($198,730) toward the restoration of forests damaged by illegal discharges of pollutants.

Luo said the wider range of litigants will help to effectively protect the environment and make environmental restoration a priority, but he stressed that the use of public-interest cases is still being explored, especially administrative cases brought by local prosecutors.

"How big a role public-interest lawsuits will play and whether the pilot will prove to be an effective measure remains to be seen," he said.