BEIJING: China’s procuratorial organs have launched a yearlong public interest litigation campaign to strengthen water pollution control in the Yangtze River Economic Belt, part of broader efforts to protect the country’s most important river basin and support high-quality development.
The Supreme People’s Procuratorate said on May 20 that the campaign, running from May 2026 to April 2027, will focus on major pollution risks in areas such as agricultural and aquaculture waste, urban and industrial wastewater, tailings management and illegal disposal of solid waste.
The announcement came as the SPP and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment held a seminar in Yibin, Sichuan province, on procuratorial services for the high-quality development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt. The SPP also released a white paper reviewing procuratorial work in the region during the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) period.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Yangtze River Economic Belt development strategy. The belt covers 11 provincial-level regions, accounting for about one-fifth of China’s land area and roughly half of the country’s population and economic output. Ying Yong, prosecutor-general of the SPP, said procuratorial organs should help maintain security and stability along the river and support high-quality development with high-level security.
He urged strict punishment for crimes damaging the Yangtze River Basin’s ecology, continued enforcement of the 10-year fishing ban and sustained crackdowns on illegal fishing. He also called for stronger use of damage compensation and punitive compensation systems, as well as coordinated ecological restoration.
Ying said procuratorial organs should better integrate into the broader framework of Yangtze River protection, strengthen coordination between law enforcement and judicial authorities, and improve links between administrative law enforcement, criminal justice, public interest litigation and ecological damage compensation.
“Serving the high-quality development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt is a shared responsibility of law enforcement and judicial organs,” Ying said, adding that prosecutors will continue to work with relevant departments and the public to build stronger legal support for Yangtze River protection. –The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item
