Environmental Protection Law Tutorial

Author: Edited by Han Depeng
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2003-04-01
Features: In the late 1970s, China implemented the reform and opening-up policy. To promote the coordination of economic construction, social development, and environmental protection, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress promulgated the Environmental Protection Law (Trial Edition). Its implementation marked the beginning of China's environmental protection efforts on a legal track. To cultivate environmental protection law talents, we compiled the Environmental Protection Law Teaching Material in 1986, providing a basic textbook for teaching at the time. In the following five to six years, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress successively promulgated environmental protection laws such as the Law on the Protection of the Marine Environment, the Law on the Prevention and Control of Water Pollution, the Law on the Prevention and Control of Air Pollution, the Law on Land Administration, the Law on Forests, the Law on Grasslands, the Law on the Protection of Mineral Resources, the Law on Fisheries, the Law on Water, and the Law on the Protection of Wildlife; the State Council also formulated environmental protection regulations such as the Regulations on the Prevention and Control of Environmental Noise Pollution, the Management Measures for Environmental Protection of Construction Projects, the Provisional Regulations on the Management of Scenic and Historic Sites, and the Provisional Measures on the Collection of Pollution Discharge Fees. Based on the aforementioned laws and regulations, we revised and supplemented this book for its second edition and added a chapter on international environmental protection law. Subsequently, the United Nations held the Conference on Environment and Development and issued the Rio Declaration, adopted the Convention on Climate Change and the Convention on Biological Diversity, and proposed the concept of sustainable development. The Chinese government actively participated in national environmental protection efforts, signed multiple international environmental protection treaties, and the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress successively revised the Law on the Prevention and Control of Water Pollution and the Law on the Prevention and Control of Air Pollution, promulgated new laws such as the Law on Soil and Water Conservation and the Law on the Prevention and Control of Environmental Pollution from Solid Waste, and added a special section on "Crimes of Damaging Environmental Resources Protection" to the revised Criminal Law; the State Council issued the Regulations on Nature Reserves and the Regulations on the Protection of Plants; in 1996, the State Council issued the Decision on Several Issues of Environmental Protection and held the Fourth National Conference on Environmental Protection, proposing further implementation of the basic national policy of environmental protection, the implementation of the sustainable development strategy, and the environmental protection goals for the "Ninth Five-Year Plan." The Environmental Protection Law Teaching Material was mainly revised based on the aforementioned laws, regulations, and international environmental protection treaties that China participated in and was published in early 1998 as its third edition. Since the late 1990s, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress has successively revised the Law on the Protection of the Marine Environment, the Law on the Prevention and Control of Air Pollution, the Law on Land Administration, the Law on Forests, the Law on Fisheries, and the Law on Water, promulgated new laws such as the Law on Combating Desertification and the Promotion Law of Clean Production, and the State Council formulated (revised) environmental protection regulations such as the Regulations on Environmental Protection of Construction Projects, the Regulations on the Safety Management of Hazardous Chemicals, and the Regulations on the Management of Pesticides; the United Nations held the Summit on Sustainable Development and adopted documents such as the Programme of Implementation and the Johannesburg Sustainability Commitment, and China held the Fifth National Conference on Environmental Protection, proposing to strengthen environmental pollution prevention and ecological protection and implement the "Fifteenth Five-Year Plan for Environmental Protection" under the sustainable development strategy. The Environmental Protection Law Teaching Material fourth edition was mainly revised based on the aforementioned laws, regulations, and the recent progress in the development of international environmental protection law. It particularly emphasizes the connection between theory and practice and strengthens the content on legal liability. This Teaching Material can be used as a required course for higher law schools and departments and an elective course for related majors, as a training manual for environmental protection supervision and management departments, and as a reference for departments, enterprises, and institutions engaged in environmental protection management.