Progress in and Prospects of the Reform …
627
needs for ecological progress, the urgent need for innovative system for developing
an ecological civilization, and especially the urgent need for sustainable, law-based
ecological progress, the legislation for ecological progress is lagging behind, leading
to the lack of solid legal support for concrete actions in promoting ecological progress
in China. Third, it is an inevitable requirement for eliminating inconsistencies, contradictions, and conflicts between relevant laws. In particular, we need a law to clearly
define water pollution and its monitoring and treatment responsibilities, and unify
the land use standards. Fourth, it is an inevitable requirement for clarifying the
basic connotations and attributes of ecological progress, in particular for systematically clarifying the status and role of ecological conservation, the main body and
its responsibilities, the direction and goal, basic concepts and principles, and the
working systems and mechanisms.
To this end, we may consider advancing the legislation in the following aspects.
First, we should clarify the basic purpose of legislation for ecological progress to fully
reflect the Party’s leadership and role in ecological conservation and the CPC Constitution’s provisions on it. The legislation should fully reflect the specific provisions
of the newly-revised Constitution of the People’s Republic of China on ecological
conservation, especially the those on related (legal) responsibilities and obligations;
it should highlight the characteristics of the basic law for ecological progress, and
strengthen its supremacy over special laws for resources and environment, eliminate the inconsistency among laws, and provides guidance for the future revision
of related laws such as the Water Law, the Land Management Law, the Mineral
Resources Law, the Grassland Law and the Forest Law. Second, we should clarify
the basic content of legislation for ecological progress. According to the above
requirements and the overall plan for the reform of the system for developing an
ecological civilization, and in reference to similar laws, we may call the legislation for ecological progress the Ecological Progress Promotion Law, and it should
include the following: general principles, the basic connotation and denotation, status
and role of ecological progress, the main body and contents of ecological conservation, direction and requirements, concepts and principles, goals and standards;
the asset and property rights system for natural resources; land and space development and protection system; resource quantity management and comprehensive
conservation system; paid use of resources and ecological compensation system;
environmental protection and governance and ecological restoration and compensation system; ecological performance evaluation and accountability system; legal
liabilities; and supplementary provisions. Third, we should advance the legislation
for ecological progress in an orderly and efficient manner, with a focus on comprehensive coordination of legislative work, to jointly advance the legislation research
and drafting, and fully engage functional departments and experts in various fields,
to prevent the law from becoming a distinctly departmental law. We should sort out
relevant laws, especially those that conflict with each other, to strive to eliminate
these conflicts through legislation. We should fully absorb local experience. Fujian
Province’s Regulations on the Promotion of Ecological Progress can be used as a
useful reference.
627
needs for ecological progress, the urgent need for innovative system for developing
an ecological civilization, and especially the urgent need for sustainable, law-based
ecological progress, the legislation for ecological progress is lagging behind, leading
to the lack of solid legal support for concrete actions in promoting ecological progress
in China. Third, it is an inevitable requirement for eliminating inconsistencies, contradictions, and conflicts between relevant laws. In particular, we need a law to clearly
define water pollution and its monitoring and treatment responsibilities, and unify
the land use standards. Fourth, it is an inevitable requirement for clarifying the
basic connotations and attributes of ecological progress, in particular for systematically clarifying the status and role of ecological conservation, the main body and
its responsibilities, the direction and goal, basic concepts and principles, and the
working systems and mechanisms.
To this end, we may consider advancing the legislation in the following aspects.
First, we should clarify the basic purpose of legislation for ecological progress to fully
reflect the Party’s leadership and role in ecological conservation and the CPC Constitution’s provisions on it. The legislation should fully reflect the specific provisions
of the newly-revised Constitution of the People’s Republic of China on ecological
conservation, especially the those on related (legal) responsibilities and obligations;
it should highlight the characteristics of the basic law for ecological progress, and
strengthen its supremacy over special laws for resources and environment, eliminate the inconsistency among laws, and provides guidance for the future revision
of related laws such as the Water Law, the Land Management Law, the Mineral
Resources Law, the Grassland Law and the Forest Law. Second, we should clarify
the basic content of legislation for ecological progress. According to the above
requirements and the overall plan for the reform of the system for developing an
ecological civilization, and in reference to similar laws, we may call the legislation for ecological progress the Ecological Progress Promotion Law, and it should
include the following: general principles, the basic connotation and denotation, status
and role of ecological progress, the main body and contents of ecological conservation, direction and requirements, concepts and principles, goals and standards;
the asset and property rights system for natural resources; land and space development and protection system; resource quantity management and comprehensive
conservation system; paid use of resources and ecological compensation system;
environmental protection and governance and ecological restoration and compensation system; ecological performance evaluation and accountability system; legal
liabilities; and supplementary provisions. Third, we should advance the legislation
for ecological progress in an orderly and efficient manner, with a focus on comprehensive coordination of legislative work, to jointly advance the legislation research
and drafting, and fully engage functional departments and experts in various fields,
to prevent the law from becoming a distinctly departmental law. We should sort out
relevant laws, especially those that conflict with each other, to strive to eliminate
these conflicts through legislation. We should fully absorb local experience. Fujian
Province’s Regulations on the Promotion of Ecological Progress can be used as a
useful reference.