New code set to bolster eco-rehabilitation efforts

Chinese authorities are committed to strengthening the ecological damage compensation system, a significant step toward improving the framework for modern environmental governance and establishing a solid institutional foundation for a greener, more sustainable China.

On Saturday, which marked the fourth National Ecology Day and the implementation of the Ecological and Environmental Code, the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuratorate and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment jointly released details of 10 landmark cases related to the system.

Focusing on key regions such as the Yangtze and Yellow river basins and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the cases demonstrate the development of the ecological damage compensation system from a pilot program to a robust mechanism built for holding environmental offenders accountable through coordinated government action.

By July, China had handled more than 70,400 ecological damage compensation cases involving over 35.5 billion yuan ($5.2 billion) in compensation, penalties and remediation costs, according to data from the three authorities.

The system was initially piloted in 2015 across seven provinces, including Jilin, Jiangsu and Shandong, before expanding nationwide in 2018. It requires those responsible for pollution and ecological damage to cover the cost of restoring damaged ecosystems, shifting the burden of environmental remediation from the public and government to the responsible parties.

With the Ecological and Environmental Code, the country's second law designated as a "code", now in effect, the three authorities noted that the cases highlight the achievements of the compensation system and send a clear warning that environmental offenders will face legal and financial consequences, backed by strong inter-agency collaboration.

One notable case involved illegal coal mining activities in the Muli mining area on the southern slopes of the Qilian Mountains in Qinghai province, which were discovered in August 2020. Investigations uncovered massive pits and waste rock piles created by 11 companies, which led to the destruction of over 5,500 hectares of alpine meadows and 53 hectares of vegetation.

The mining activities caused extensive ecological damage, including the stripping of permafrost, reduced water conservation capacity, grassland degradation, desertification, and slope instability.

Between 2021 and 2024, the Haixi and Haibei prefectural governments in Qinghai negotiated with the 11 companies involved and settlement agreements were reached with seven enterprises, with compensation totaling 2.46 billion yuan. By June 2026, about 1.85 billion yuan had been collected. The companies that refused to settle now face litigation.

Given the mining area's location in a high-altitude, cold region with fragile ecosystems and slow natural recovery, the provincial government advanced the required funds to begin restoration while negotiations were ongoing. Provincial, prefectural and county governments, together with departments responsible for natural resources, ecology and environment, and forestry, adopted a "pit-by-pit responsibility" approach to coordinate restoration efforts.

Restorative interventions included backfilling, waste rock rehabilitation, slope stabilization and vegetation restoration. Nearly 58.98 million cubic meters of earth and rock were used, 65.23 hectares of wetlands were restored, and vegetation was replanted across 2,620 hectares.

The three authorities said the Muli mining case involved the highest compensation amount in any environmental damage case nationwide and has significant ecological and social implications. Local governments not only advanced funds for restoration and worked with research institutions and experts on the scientific rehabilitation of the alpine grassland, but also implemented staggered payment plans in order to ease the financial pressure on the companies and encourage them to restore the damaged ecosystem.

Qin Tianbao, head of the Research Institute of Environmental Law at Wuhan University, praised the handling of the case.

"The differentiated solutions and phased payment approach effectively relieve the financial burden on the companies, while the local government's upfront funding for restoration expedited ecological recovery and minimized service function losses during the restoration period," Qin said.

The Supreme People's Court said the highlighted cases demonstrate the judiciary's determination to safeguard national and public interests and protect the people's environmental rights.

Over the past decade, the SPC has issued more than 20 judicial interpretations related to environmental and public interest litigation, further developing the legal framework in this area. Courts nationwide have prioritized natural restoration, supplemented by artificial remediation, and standardized alternative restoration measures, such as replanting trees and releasing fish stocks, to provide comprehensive restoration options for different ecosystems.

Some courts have also introduced innovative measures to improve the system. Courts in Chongqing, Sichuan and Gansu province, for example, have established expert databases in cooperation with environmental authorities and invited researchers to participate in investigations, evidence collection, damage assessment and restoration plan design, creating a new model of shared governance.

Chinese prosecutors have also played a crucial role in enforcing the system through public interest litigation. Between July 2017 and July 2026, prosecutors nationwide handled 615,000 public interest litigation cases involving environmental and resource protection, including 527,000 administrative cases and 88,000 civil cases. These accounted for 46.7 percent of all public interest litigation cases handled during this period.