BEIJING: The Supreme People’s Procuratorate and the Ministry of Water Resources have issued a guideline for dealing with matters affecting water resources to ensure that the public interest and national water security are strictly upheld.
Procuratorates and water resources departments will establish a coordination mechanism for law enforcement and public interest litigation concerning water resources, focusing on acts that infringe on the national and public interest. A major focus will be on illegal acts that have serious impact on water resources, according to the guideline.
Zhang Xueqiao, deputy prosecutor-general of the SPP, said that establishing the coordination mechanism will promote the law-based modernization of water resources management.
“Water resources, the environment and water security are all of public interest. Although related departments are responsible for the governance of water resources, procuratorial public interest litigation does not replace administrative law enforcement but can be used to urge the involved departments to better perform their duties,” Zhang said. The coordination mainly covers five key fields: flood and drought disaster prevention, the management of water resources, rivers and lakes, water conservancy projects, and soil and water conservation.
–The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item
