Environmental Legislation in the Past 70 Years
31
4. A path with Chinese characteristics to environmental rule of law
In addition to advancing environmental rule of law, China has also been beefing
up education on environmental rule of law, and raising environmental awareness
of the whole society. Nearly one thousand environmental NGOs and tens of thousands of volunteers have been active in pollution control and ecological protection,
initiated public interest environmental legal actions, urged the government to handle
environment-related matters according to law, and provided necessary help to the
government. Improvement is seen in the public’s awareness of green consumption,
low-carbon lifestyle, environment issues, and their rights to participate, express opinions, and supervise actions. The country has also been building up the legal basis for
public participation in environmental protection and promoting legal education on
environmental laws. First, the Chinese government encourages the public to actively
participate in environmental protection. The State Council promulgated and revised
the Measures for Public Participation in Environmental Protection. The document
defines the rights of citizens, legal persons and other entities to obtain environmental
information and participate in and supervise environmental protection activities,
emphasizes lawful, orderly, voluntary, and convenient public participation, sets out
the procedural rules for public participation, and encourages the public to actively
participate in environmental protection activities. The Supreme People’s Court, the
Ministry of Ecology and Environment, and the Ministry of Civil Affairs jointly issued
documents to protect the rights of NGOs to initiate public interest environmental legal
actions. More than 700 NGOs were qualified for initiating environmental public
interest legal actions by the Ministry of Civil Affairs. Various non-profit environmental foundations, organizations and volunteer programs are developing rapidly
and have actively participated in environmental decision-making, environmental
law enforcement, and environmental protection actions. Second, China has been
strengthening legal education on environmental law. To respond to the urgent need
for professional talent in the initial development period of environmental rule of law,
The State Council issued the Decision on Strengthening Environmental Protection
During the Period of National Economic Adjustment in 1981, which clearly stated that
“training of environmental protection talent should be included in the national education plan, environmental science should be included in the curriculum of primary and
secondary schools, higher education institutions and secondary vocational schools
must offer environmental protection courses for students majoring in science, engineering, agriculture, medicine, economics, and law, and colleges and universities with
sufficient resources should offer environmental protection programs.” According to
this, colleges and universities across the country began to launch environmental and
resources protection law programs. So far, 16 doctoral programs and 100 master’s
degree programs of environmental and resources protection law major are offered to
candidates. At the same time, environmental legal education has also been included
in the country’s law popularization plans, national examinations for law professionals, civil servant training courses, and legal courses for non-law majors in undergraduate programs. The education authority attaches importance to both specialized
31
4. A path with Chinese characteristics to environmental rule of law
In addition to advancing environmental rule of law, China has also been beefing
up education on environmental rule of law, and raising environmental awareness
of the whole society. Nearly one thousand environmental NGOs and tens of thousands of volunteers have been active in pollution control and ecological protection,
initiated public interest environmental legal actions, urged the government to handle
environment-related matters according to law, and provided necessary help to the
government. Improvement is seen in the public’s awareness of green consumption,
low-carbon lifestyle, environment issues, and their rights to participate, express opinions, and supervise actions. The country has also been building up the legal basis for
public participation in environmental protection and promoting legal education on
environmental laws. First, the Chinese government encourages the public to actively
participate in environmental protection. The State Council promulgated and revised
the Measures for Public Participation in Environmental Protection. The document
defines the rights of citizens, legal persons and other entities to obtain environmental
information and participate in and supervise environmental protection activities,
emphasizes lawful, orderly, voluntary, and convenient public participation, sets out
the procedural rules for public participation, and encourages the public to actively
participate in environmental protection activities. The Supreme People’s Court, the
Ministry of Ecology and Environment, and the Ministry of Civil Affairs jointly issued
documents to protect the rights of NGOs to initiate public interest environmental legal
actions. More than 700 NGOs were qualified for initiating environmental public
interest legal actions by the Ministry of Civil Affairs. Various non-profit environmental foundations, organizations and volunteer programs are developing rapidly
and have actively participated in environmental decision-making, environmental
law enforcement, and environmental protection actions. Second, China has been
strengthening legal education on environmental law. To respond to the urgent need
for professional talent in the initial development period of environmental rule of law,
The State Council issued the Decision on Strengthening Environmental Protection
During the Period of National Economic Adjustment in 1981, which clearly stated that
“training of environmental protection talent should be included in the national education plan, environmental science should be included in the curriculum of primary and
secondary schools, higher education institutions and secondary vocational schools
must offer environmental protection courses for students majoring in science, engineering, agriculture, medicine, economics, and law, and colleges and universities with
sufficient resources should offer environmental protection programs.” According to
this, colleges and universities across the country began to launch environmental and
resources protection law programs. So far, 16 doctoral programs and 100 master’s
degree programs of environmental and resources protection law major are offered to
candidates. At the same time, environmental legal education has also been included
in the country’s law popularization plans, national examinations for law professionals, civil servant training courses, and legal courses for non-law majors in undergraduate programs. The education authority attaches importance to both specialized