Nanping ecology lawsuit gets go-ahead

A lawsuit jointly filed by two environmental protection organizations against individuals responsible for ecological damage in Nanping, Fujian province, has become China's first public interest litigation since China's revised Environmental Protection Law came into effect on Thursday.

According to Liu Xiang, a lawyer representing the Beijing-based NGO Friends of Nature, his client and the Fujian Green Home received a notice from the Nanping Intermediate People's Court on Jan 1 saying their lawsuit against people damaging the ecology in Nanping has been accepted.

Between 2008 and 2010, unauthorized stone-quarry activities took place at a mountain in Nanping. Waste soil and stones were dumped, severely damaging the ecology.