Chapter 2
Formulation and
Implementation
of the Sustainable Development Strategy
Section 4 Legislation on Sustainable Development and Its Enforcement
2.17 With a view to promote the legal system for sustainable development, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress and the State Council have approved a number of laws and administrative regulations in the field of sustainable development within the short period of four years. They have also made amendments and supplements to many laws and regulations currently in force on environmental protection and resource management in the spirit and on the principle of sustainable development. They have also reinforced supervision on the enforcement of these laws and regulations.
I. Legislation Related to Sustainable Development
2.18 Promotion of legislation on sustainable economic development
In order to achieve the sustainable development of its economy, China has accelerated the formulation of its legislation on restructuring of industry, energy conservation, and comprehensive utilisation of resources. The draft version of the "Law of the People's Republic of China on Energy Conservation" was completed in 1996 and submitted to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) for deliberation and approval. Drafting of supplementary regulations on energy-saving was also completed in 1996 in support of the promulgation and the enactment of the above-mentioned law. In 1992, the State Economy and Trade Commission, together with other relevant departments, promulgated the "Decision on Adding Sections to Energy Conservation Projects of Infrastructure Construction and Technical Renovation". In 1996, the Commission revised the "Provisions by the State Council on Further Conservation of Electricity". The Commission, together with the Ministry of Finance and the State Taxation Bureau, put forward the "Decisions on Promoting the Comprehensive Utilisation of Resources", which gives a clear definition of the preferential policies made by the Central Government for comprehensive utilisation of resources. This has been approved by the State Council and disseminated to lower levels (provinces and ministries) for enforcement. In March of 1997, the Criminal Law was revised and approved in the Fifth Session of the Eighth National People's Congress in which polluting the environment and damaging natural resources were included as criminal offences.
(updated in October of 1996)
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2.19 Promotion of legislation on environmental protection and resource management
On the basis of the laws and regulations currently in force on environmental protection, China has stepped up its efforts to develop legislation on environmental protection and resource management in the spirit and on the principle of sustainable development. The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress considered and adopted the "Law of the People's Republic of China on the Prevention and Control of Environmental Pollution by Solid Waste (1995)" and the "Law of People's Republic of China on Prevention and Control of Noise Pollution (1996)". In addition, the "Law of the People's Republic of China on Prevention and Control of the Atmospheric Pollution (1995)", the "Law of the People's Republic of China on Prevention and Control of Water Pollution (1996)", and the "Mineral Resources Law of the People's Republic of China (1996)" were revised and perfected.
For the purpose of ensuring the effective enforcement of the laws on environmental protection and resources management, the State Council has, in succession, enacted the "Regulations for the Protection of Aquatic and Wild Animals of the People's Republic of China (1993)", the "Regulations on Emergency Measures against Accidents in Nuclear Power Plants (1993)", the "Regulations of the People's Republic of China on External Cooperation for Extracting Land-bound Petroleum (1993)", the "Rules for the Implementing of the Mineral Resources Law of the People's Republic of China (1994)", the "Regulations for the Management of Natural Reserves of the People's Republic of China (1994)", the "Regulations for the Management of Domestic Poultry Species (1994)", the "Regulations for Management of the Compensatory Payment for Collection of Mineral Resources (1994)", and the "Provisional Regulations on Prevention and Control of Water Pollution in the Huaihe River Basin (1995)".
In the "Law of the People's Republic of China on Prevention and Control of Water Pollution", a gross discharge control system and a discharge licensing system were initiated in order to maintain the environmental quality of some special regions. Also, the process control of the pollutant discharge was clearly defined in this law so as to encourage the adoption of cleaner production techniques and the comprehensive utilisation of resources. This will result in a decrease of waste discharge and the elimination of those outdated techniques and facilities that cause serious pollution. The drainage area water pollution control system is also introduced, together with objectives for pollution control of drainage areas and the definition of provincial standards for suitable water quality, for the purpose of setting up a responsibility system in local governments for environmental protection objectives.
In the "Law of the People's Republic of China on the Prevention and Control of Environmental Pollution by Solid Waste", the government agencies are given significant responsibilities so as to ensure that the control of solid waste and the prohibition of pollution transfer are further institutionalised.
The "Law of the People's Republic of China on Prevention and Control of Atmospheric Pollution" explicitly delimits the zones for acid rain control and sulphur dioxide pollution control, with emphasis put on the control of pollution production so that the trends of increasing SO2 emissions and the expansion of areas affected by acid rain can be controlled.
2.20 The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress has, over the past years, discussed and adopted the "Law of the People's Republic of China Concerning the Popularisation of Agro-Technology (1993)", the "Law on Agriculture of the People's Republic of China (1993)", etc. The State Council has stipulated a number of administrative regulations, such as the "Provisional Methods on Grain Risk Fund Management (1993)" and the "Regulations on Protection of Farmland (1994)". The above laws and regulations clearly define China's policy that agriculture is the basis for developing its national economy. These laws and regulations also set the basic objectives for agricultural development and serve to promote the enforcement of the sustainable development strategy in China. Meanwhile, the establishment of a series of basic agricultural systems (including a responsibility system on land contracting and management, a comprehensive agricultural development system, and a farmland protection system) has helped, to a great extent, to guarantee arable land protection and food supply for the Chinese population of 1.2 billion.
2.21 Over the past four years, the Chinese Government has, on a gradual basis, promoted the construction of a legal system for disaster mitigation and prevention. This has resulted in the promulgation of a number of administrative regulations, including the "Regulations on Protecting Seismographic Facilities and the Environment for Seismic Observation (1994)", the "Meteorological Regulations of the People's Republic of China (1994)", the "Contingency Regulations concerning Destructive Earthquakes (1995)", etc.
2.22 Laws have been formulated for the further advancement of science and technology. In 1993, the Standing Committee of the NPC passed the "Law of the People's Republic of China for Progress in Science and Technology". In the same year, the State Council made amendments to several administrative regulations, such as the "Regulations of the People's Republic of China Concerning the Rewards for Achievements in the Natural Sciences", the "Regulations of the People's Republic of China Concerning the Rewards for Inventions", and the "Regulations of the People's Republic of China concerning the Rewards for Progress in Science and Technology". In 1996, the Standing Committee of NPC adopted the "Law of the People's Republic of China on Promoting the Transformation of Scientific and Technological Achievements".
By passing these laws and regulations, a basic national policy has been established, namely that the country's economic construction and social development is based on scientific and technological progress, and that the scientific and technological research is oriented towards economic construction and social development. The Chinese Government also encourages the rational development and utilisation of resources, energy-conserving practices, reduction in energy consumption, and technical development on the prevention and control of environmental pollution. All of these steps provide a basic guarantee for the implementation of the sustainable development strategy.
2.23 In the field of rational development, utilisation of labour resources, medical care guarantees, and population competence enhancement, the Standing Committee of the NPC deliberated and adopted the "Teachers' Law of the People's Republic of China (1993)", the "Law of the People's Republic of China on Maternal and Infant Health Care (1994)", the "Labour Law of the People's Republic of China (1994)", the "Education Law of the People's Republic of China (1995)", the "Sports and Physical Education Law of the People's Republic of China (1995)", the "Vocational Education Law of the People's Republic of China", etc. It also promulgated the "Food Sanitation Law of the People's Republic of China" after completing the necessary amendments to its trial draft. The State Council publicised the "Regulations on Education for the Disabled (1994)", the "Compulsory Measures for Narcotic Addicts (1995)", and other administrative regulations. It also revised the "Regulations on Eliminating Illiteracy (1993)" in compliance with the principle and the spirit of sustainable development. These laws and regulations are very important in ensuring the full development and rational use of labour resource, easing the tension between labour supply and demand, maintaining social stability and development, improving the cultural standards of all people, and promoting social progress and sustainable development.
II. Enforcing the Laws and Regulations on Sustainable Development
2.24 In parallel with the accelerated formulation of legislation on sustainable development, the Chinese Government has made great efforts in perfecting law enforcement institutions, enhancing the role of community supervision, and strengthening the enforcement of laws and regulations relevant to sustainable development.
2.25 Activities have been carried out on enforcement of laws and regulations relating to environmental protection and resource conservation. These activities aim to increase the effectiveness of laws and regulations on environmental protection and resource management, strengthen supervision on law enforcement, and punish those offenders who have polluted or damaged the eco-environment. The Environmental and Resources Protection Committee of the National People's Congress and the Environmental Protection Committee of the State Council have, in four consecutive years (starting in 1993), conducted nation-wide major inspections (focusing on the key areas in the provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government) and organised many on-the-spot inspections during law-enforcement supervision tours for water pollution prevention and control in the Huaihe River, Taihu Lake, and the Songhua-Liaohe River basins.
In addition, inspections of local governments were conducted to ensure the enforcement of the laws and regulations related to environmental protection and resources management in nine aspects, including fulfilment of their obligations on environmental protection, resource development, utilisation and protection, environmental legal system execution, and investigation and prosecution of violations. The result of the inspections was to expose and reprimand, in a timely fashion, unlawful activities and urge the local governments to step up their effort in investigating and prosecuting violators. As a consequence, the environmental awareness and legal understanding of the officials and the general public have been improved, and the Chinese Government is beginning to solve the problems of "the laws not being observed, the laws not being enforced rigorously, and the lawless practices of the offenders not being investigated or prosecuted".
2.26 A law enforcement and supervision mechanism has been developed. Thanks to the efforts made in the past years, a four-level mechanism has taken shape in the field of environmental protection and resources conservation. This encompasses organisations from the central, provincial, municipal, and county governments, and lays an organisational basis for enforcing environmental and other laws related to sustainable development.
The Environmental and Resources Protection Committee of the National People's Congress is responsible for organising the drafting and deliberation of the relevant laws and supervision of their enforcement. The Environmental Protection Committee - an ad hoc committee set up by the State Council - is composed of the top leaders from those departments concerned with, or in charge of, the investigation and evaluation of the principles, policies, and measures governing the country's efforts on environmental protection and economic coordination. It is also responsible for guiding and mediating solutions for relevant environmental issues, supervising and checking the enforcement of environmental laws and regulations by all provinces and departments, and promoting the national environmental protection cause. Administrative agencies for environmental protection have also been established at the county, city, and province levels in all provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities, and relevant ministries directly under the Central Government.
2.27 After reviewing the inspection results from the thirty provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government on their environmental law enforcement, it was concluded that governments at all levels have been progressing in their enforcement of environmental and natural resource laws. In addition, the major measures for environmental protection and resources management imposed by the Central Government have been put into full practice, such as environmental impact assessment, the "Three Co-ordinated Steps" (incorporating environmental measures into the stages of planning, design, and construction), waste emission charges, etc. According to incomplete statistics, over the past three years, the provincial governments have investigated and handled over 6,000 cases related to breach of environmental regulations and over 100,000 cases related to violations of laws on protection of wild animals, forest, grassland, and mineral resources. This is a substantial contribution to the enforcement of China's laws and regulations on environmental protection and sustainable development.
2.28 In co-ordination with the nationwide inspection on enforcement of environmental laws, an annual "China Environmental Tour of the Century", co-sponsored by the Environment and Resources Committee of the National People's Congress, the Publicity Department of CPC's Central Committee, the Ministry of Broadcasting, Movies, and Television, and the National Environmental Protection Agency, has occurred annually since 1993. The Tour is centred on the theme of "Protecting the Environment and Preserving the Ecological Balance". Journalist groups and delegations are sent out by the news agencies to give continuous coverage of some typical pollution cases, such as the pollution control of the Huaihe River, the ecological degradation and water and soil erosion in the "Black Triangle" area (at the conjunction of Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Inner Mongolia), and the pollution prevention and environmental protection of ancient Xi'an city. A number of reports and features were carried in the news and commentary programmes of the China Central Television and in the major columns of such newspapers as the "People's Daily" and the "China's Environment Daily". This tour has successfully drawn public attention to environmental protection and resources conservation, and prompted the resolution of some major environmental problems such as:
- Water pollution in the Huaihe River Basin
The report of the pollution in the Heihe River (a tributary of the Huaihe River) shocked the people of Henan Province and the country, thus preparing the public opinion for overall pollution control in the Huaihe River Basin. - Desertification of the oases
The media coverage of the exhaustion and disappearance of the Juyanhai (Ejin) Oasis in Inner Mongolia greatly aroused the local government's attention, and a campaign to rehabilitate the oasis was initiated. - The protection of biodiversity
The report on the "Mongolian Gazelle Case" resulted in the renewal of the trial process that had been suspended for 4 years in the court of Yuncheng City, Shanxi Province. The offenders were convicted and sentenced.
THEMES 1993: Combating Environmental Pollution MAJOR REPORTS 1993: Pollution of the Huaihe River, Resource
Depletion in the "Black Triangle" Area at the Conjunction of
Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Inner Mongolia |
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