Environmental protection organizations bringing polluters to court in the public interest is something new in China. The success of the first case of this kind blazes a new trail in the battle against polluters.

The All China Environment Federation (AEF) along with a local environmental protection group in Guiyang, capital of Guizhou province, sued a local paper mill for illegally discharging wastewater into a nearby river. On Dec 30, 2010, the people's court of Qingzhen city in this southwestern province convicted the paper mill of illegally discharging pollutants into the river and ordered the mill be closed.

The case was not complicated, but it is significant, as it is controversial whether an environmental protection organization can act as a plaintiff and file a lawsuit against polluters.

There are those who insist it is inappropriate for an environmental protection organization to be involved in a lawsuit when its own rights and interests are not directly infringed upon by the polluters and suggest it might lead to abuses by such organizations.

However, others insist that environmental organizations must be allowed to sue polluters, as it is often very difficult for individuals or local residents as a group to collect evidence and pay for an environmental assessment in order to bring the polluter to court.

As far as the Guiyang case is concerned, local conservation regulations, introduced in October 2010, stipulate that an organization has the right to report any action causing damage to the environment and sue polluters.

Environmental protection organizations, whether non-government ones or not, should be encouraged to take legal action against polluters on behalf of the victims. True, they may not be direct victims of the pollution. But the contamination of water or soil will be long-lasting and anyone may turn out to be an indirect victim by consuming the agricultural products grown on polluted fields.

In this sense, not just environmental protection organizations but other groups and individuals should have the right to sue polluters. In serious cases, the Ministry of Environmental Protection should file a lawsuit on half of the State.

In China, most pollution incidents occur in rural areas where the villagers' awareness of environmental protection is not as strong as that of their urban counterparts. Compared with the polluters, mostly small industrial enterprises, villagers are at a disadvantage if they try to bring the polluters to court.

Environmental protection organizations taking legal action against polluters is what the villagers need and want. However, not all such organizations can take such action and not all local governments support their involvement in similar cases.

Nevertheless, this case is a step in the right direction.

(China Daily 02/01/2011 page8)