On 1 June 2023, China’s Supreme People’s Court (SPC) released twelve typical cases on wetland ecological conservation.
On 24 Dec. 2021, China enacted the Wetland Conservation Law, which is China’s first legislation specifically for the protection of wetland ecosystems.
The cases released by the SPC are intended to guide local courts on how to apply the Wetlands Conservation Law and to clarify to the public its views and attitudes towards the application of the law. For example:
- In case No. 1, some criminals illegally hunted 27,319 wild animals near the Heilongjiang Xingkai Lake National Nature Reserve on the China-Russia border. Some suspects purchased 10,602 illegally hunted wild animals. These criminals were eventually convicted.
- In case No. 4, a farmer’s rice paddies near the Yancheng Wetland National Rare Bird Nature Reserve in Jiangsu Province were damaged by wild birds. The court awarded compensation to the farmer from the local Natural Resources and Planning Bureau.
- In case No. 8, the infringer released 1.25 tons of Clarias gariepinus (African sharptooth catfish) into the natural waters of Changdang Lake in Changzhou, Jiangsu Province. The fish was an exotic species that caused damage to the ecological environment of Changdang Lake. The procuratorate filed a public interest civil lawsuit against the infringer, and the court upheld its claim.
Photo by Chris Wong on Unsplash
Contributors: CJO Staff Contributors Team
