In 2024, the people's courts will fairly conclude 219000 first instance environmental and resource cases in accordance with the law; the responsible parties will be ordered to bear a total of 9.6 billion yuan in compensation for ecological and environmental damage, a year-on-year increase of 87.5%... "Recently, the Supreme People's Court issued the" China Environmental and Resource Trial (2024) "and handed over the" report card "of the environmental and resource trial for 2024. What are the new achievements and highlights of environmental resource trials in China in recent years? How can the people's court better build a judicial barrier to protect green mountains and clear waters? The reporter conducted an interview. Punishing those who damage the environment, cracking down on data counterfeiters, emergency risk management, and land leveling are illegal mining activities? Behind the development of the project lies an "ecological black hole"... A recent case disclosed by the Supreme People's Court has revealed the details of four companies being severely punished for illegally digging mountains and quarrying stones under the guise of building health tourism projects. A few years ago, a company in Hubei Province constructed a health and wellness tourism project in Changyang Tujia Autonomous County, Yichang City. In order to seek illegal benefits, the company and three other companies illegally mined and processed dolomite in the location of the health and wellness project under the guise of emergency risk relief without completing procedures, causing serious landslides and cracks in the surrounding mountains, and causing geological disasters. After appraisal, it was found that the national mineral resources lost more than 90.07 million yuan and the ecological environment service function lost more than 6.4 million yuan. Wuhan Intermediate People's Court has held four companies and related individuals criminally responsible for illegal mining, and has recovered over 90.07 million yuan in mineral resource losses as illegal gains. The Wuhan Municipal Procuratorate has filed a civil public interest lawsuit with the Wuhan Intermediate People's Court. Wuhan Intermediate People's Court believes that the four enterprises jointly committed ecological damage and should bear joint and several liability. The court ordered the four enterprises to jointly bear a total of more than 12.9 million yuan in ecological environment service function loss fees. By holding the perpetrators of illegal acts liable for compensation, the effect of fully protecting the ecological environment and effectively punishing infringers can be achieved, which has multiple functions such as deterrence, education, and prevention. ”Zhang Peng, Deputy Chief Judge of the Environmental Resources Division of Wuhan Intermediate People's Court, introduced that in order to further enhance the public's awareness of environmental protection, the court also required the defendant to apologize to the public in media at or above the provincial level. In order to cater to customers and obtain more profits, a testing company and six people including Shi Moutao engaged in fraud in environmental monitoring business, issuing 222 false environmental monitoring reports, involving 44 commissioned units in multiple cities such as Xi'an and Yulin in Shaanxi Province, and involving multiple monitoring projects such as waste gas and soil. The Xi'an Railway Transport Court found that a certain testing company intentionally issued a large number of false monitoring reports, which damaged the objectivity and impartiality of environmental monitoring work due to the large amount of illegal gains, long duration, and wide geographical and industry involvement. This constitutes a serious circumstance and constitutes the crime of providing false certification documents. The court imposed a fine of 200000 yuan. The court held that Shi Moutao and six others, as executives and directly responsible personnel of the company, knowingly instructed, directed, or tacitly allowed the business department to falsify or not sample according to the monitoring standards, and the circumstances were serious, which also constituted the crime of providing false certification documents. They were sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment and prohibited from engaging in environmental monitoring and related professions for three years from the date of completion of the punishment. The sword of 'double punishment' is hanging high, and the people's court punishes the defendant unit and relevant responsible persons in accordance with the law, and takes industry entry bans on relevant personnel who commit data fraud, demonstrating the determination to crack down on environmental monitoring data fraud, playing a strong warning role, and helping to enhance the self-discipline awareness and integrity level of the entire industry. ”Chief Judge Wu Zhaoxiang of the Environmental Resources Trial Division of the Supreme People's Court stated. On June 3rd, the executing judge of Jiangjin District Court in Chongqing visited the Yangtze River Dingguohao water area for the seventh time to carry out preventive and restorative justice for the ecological environment. After completing the execution task, he made a record of the case closure. Dingguohao Water Area is one of the well-known spawning grounds in the Yangtze River. The spawning season begins from March to May every year, and fish naturally lay eggs on shallow rocks. However, due to the poor adhesion and survival rate of fish eggs, artificial fish nests laid on the river provide a "spawning room" for fish. The flood season has arrived, and the fish nest has completed its mission. The executing judge promptly dismantled the fish nest to ensure smooth navigation. The person who built the "delivery room" for the fish in the Yangtze River is the party involved in a case that endangered and endangered wildlife. Originally, Ding, Xiao, and Liu agreed to illegally fish in the waters of Dingjiatuo in Longhua Town, Jiangjin District, involving nationally protected wildlife, and were sentenced by the Jiangjin District Court. How to repair the ecological losses caused? Artificial fish nests are a form of habitat restoration. In terms of the current protection of aquatic organisms in the Yangtze River, breeding and releasing, as well as building artificial fish nests, should complement and be implemented simultaneously. "During the trial, Yao Weizhi, director of the Fisheries Resources and Environment Research Center at Southwest University, appeared in court as an expert to express his opinion. Finally, the Jiangjin District Court ordered the three individuals to build 1961 square meters of artificial fish nests within the Yangtze River Mainstream Protection Zone in their jurisdiction, taking into account the assessed value of losses and the market price of building artificial fish nests. Investigation, implementation, acceptance, follow-up, demolition... The Jiangjin District Court has formulated a manual implementation guide for artificial fish nests in accordance with the norms of administrative agencies, and has visited the site multiple times to follow up and ensure the effectiveness of the implementation. The people's courts practice ecological environment preventive and restorative justice, focusing on enhancing the stability and sustainability of ecosystem diversity. ”Wu Zhaoxiang introduced that we adhere to the principle of prioritizing protection and prevention, and increase the trial and enforcement efforts around ecosystem protection and restoration, biodiversity conservation, etc. We prevent and avoid the occurrence and expansion of ecological damage and environmental pollution through the application of prohibition orders and preservation measures. In Changxing County, Huzhou City, Zhejiang Province, Changxing water chestnut was first discovered as a new species, which has important scientific research and species diversity conservation value. However, only about 10 meters away from the growth site of Changxing water chives, a village cooperative is implementing a landscape improvement project, which poses a real threat to the survival of Changxing water chive species due to large population movements, silt accumulation, and a large amount of dust in the vicinity. In order to timely and effectively prevent and reduce the occurrence of ecological environmental damage, Changxing County Agricultural and Rural Bureau applied to the court of Huzhou South the Taihu Lake New Area for an injunction. After on-site investigation, interviews with the parties involved, and consultation with experts, the court found that the existing population of Changxing water chestnut is extremely small and the habitat is extremely fragile. The landscape improvement project has posed a real and urgent major risk to the survival of Changxing water chestnut species, which may have irreparable consequences on biodiversity. In the end, the court issued a restraining order in accordance with the law and coordinated the two parties to reach an intention for the ecological protection project of Changxing water chives. A village cooperative also promised to actively rectify relevant behaviors that are not conducive to the living environment of Changxing water chives. The timely cessation of actions that are currently being carried out or may have adverse consequences on the ecological environment, and the prevention of ecological damage from expanding, is a vivid practice of implementing biodiversity conservation and promoting species reproduction, "said Wu Zhaoxiang. We will continue to strengthen the judicial protection of people's livelihood in the field of environmental resources. There is a lot of black water flowing from the underground river at the end of the reservoir. There is also a smell of pig manure, and there are many foam on it. This reservoir is the drinking water source for villagers in four nearby towns. The sudden incident that occurred in March 2022 in a certain area of Guang'an City, Sichuan Province, has put tens of thousands of people's domestic water supply at risk. Where does this pig manure water come from? The investigation found that the source of the sewage was a pig farm operated by a certain breeding cooperative. Originally, with the permission and arrangement of Zhang, the legal representative of the cooperative, the pig farm used the nearby karst terrain to directly discharge untreated and severely polluted breeding manure water multiple times by privately digging manure storage tanks and setting up pipelines. The discharged aquaculture manure flows into the underground water system through caves and seepage pits, polluting the drinking water source and causing the interruption of centralized drinking water sources in towns for several months. Either pick mountain spring water for use, or have the government transport the water, "recalled the local villagers. In order to restore water intake, the local government and a certain water company have taken emergency water intake measures, such as reinstalling water pumps and laying water pipelines. A certain township water plant does not have the ability to treat polluted water, and the reservoir is the only water source for the water plant. It can only conduct comprehensive cleaning and disinfection of the reservoir before re storing water, "said Wang Yue, Vice President of the Environmental Resources Division of Guang'an Intermediate People's Court. The pig farm suffered losses of more than 1.6 million yuan in public and private property due to illegal discharge of sewage. After the trial by Guang'an Intermediate People's Court, it was found that a certain aquaculture cooperative violated relevant laws and regulations, causing harmful substances to contaminate drinking water sources through the groundwater system and interrupting the collection of centralized drinking water sources. The circumstances were serious and constituted the crime of environmental pollution; Zhang is the person in charge directly responsible for carrying out environmental pollution activities. His participation in illegal discharge of pollutants is serious and constitutes the crime of environmental pollution. Offenders are subject to legal sanctions, and the restoration of damaged ecosystems is also actively being promoted. After the pollution accident, the parties involved took the initiative to demolish the pig farm, and the occupied land has been restored and the regional environment has gradually been repaired. How to further strengthen the comprehensive management of agricultural non-point source pollution? In response to the low level of fecal resource utilization, blind spots in daily supervision, and loopholes in administrative law enforcement coordination mechanisms reflected in this case, Guang'an Intermediate People's Court has issued judicial suggestions to local agricultural and rural departments and environmental protection departments to improve related work and prevent agricultural non-point source pollution from the source. Improve the electronic archives of large-scale breeding farms, conduct a comprehensive investigation and sorting of all breeding farms in the county, and newly enter the electronic archives of 19 large-scale breeding farms; Establishing a warning mechanism and conducting joint law enforcement inspections on pollution prevention and control in livestock and poultry breeding from time to time... At the end of May this year, Guang'an Intermediate People's Court received feedback from local relevant departments on the handling of judicial suggestions. Wu Zhaoxiang stated that in the next step, the people's courts will continue to strengthen the trial work of environmental resources, adhere to the priority of protection and prevention, increase the trial intensity around ecosystem protection and restoration, biodiversity protection, etc., safeguard the most universal welfare of people's livelihood, such as a good ecological environment, and provide stronger legal guarantees for the comprehensive promotion of the construction of a beautiful China. (New Society)