Green victory in court seen as setting trend

Green organizations won a lawsuit against four men for environmental damage in Nanping, Fujian province, on Thursday in the first-ever public-interest litigation since China's revised Environmental Protection Law took effect on Jan 1.

The court's support in this lawsuit will act as an example in future cases concerning environmental protection and encourage more green nongovernmental organizations to participate, environmental experts said.

The Nanping Intermediate People's Court heard the case of four defendants charged with damaging 1.89 hectares of forestry land. The court ordered them to pay 1.27 million yuan ($200,000) toward ecological restoration work within 10 days.