Wetlands Conservation Law of the People's Republic of China

Wetlands Conservation Law of the People's Republic of China 中华人民共和国湿地保护法 Order of President of the People's Republic of China (No.102) The Wetlands Conservation Law of the People's Republic of China, as adopted at the 32nd Session of the Standing Committee of the Thirteenth National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China on December 24, 2021, is hereby issued and shall come into force on June 1, 2022. Xi Jinping, President of the People's Republic of China December 24, 2021 Wetlands Conservation Law of the People's Republic of China (Adopted at the 32nd Session of the Standing Committee of the Thirteenth National People's Congress on December 24, 2021) Table of Contents Chapter I General Provisions Chapter II Wetlands Resources Management Chapter III Wetlands Protection and Utilization Chapter IV Wetland Restoration Chapter V Supervision and Examination Chapter VI Legal Liabilities Chapter VII Supplemental Provisions Chapter I General Provisions Article 1 This Law is developed for the purposes of strengthening wetlands protection, maintaining the ecological function and biodiversity of wetlands, ensuring ecological security, and promoting ecological progress, and realizing harmonious coexistence between man and nature. Article 2 This Law shall apply to wetlands protection, utilization, restoration, and related management activities within the territory of the People's Republic of China and other sea areas under its jurisdiction. For the purposes of this Law, the term "wetlands” means natural or artificial, perennial or seasonal waterlogged areas with obvious ecological functions, including sea areas with a water depth of no more than six meters at low tide, except paddy fields and artificial waters and mudflats used for aquaculture. The state shall implement a hierarchical administration and cataloging system for wetlands. Wetlands protection, utilization, and related management activities for rivers, lakes and sea areas shall also be governed by the Water Law of the People's Republic of China, the Law of the People's Republic of China on Flood Control, the Water Pollution Prevention and Control Law of the People's Republic of China, the Marine Environment Protection Law of the People's Republic of China, the Yangtze River Protection Law of the People's Republic of China, the Fisheries Law of the People's Republic of China, the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Administration of Sea Areas, and other relevant laws. Article 3 For wetlands protection, the principle of putting the protection first and conducting strict management, systematic governance, scientific restoration, and rational utilization shall be upheld, and the ecological functions of wetlands, such as water conservation, climate regulation, environmental improvement and biodiversity maintenance, shall be used. Article 4 The people's government at or above the county level shall include wetlands protection in the national economic and social development plan, and budget the funds needed for wetlands protection under the principle of the division of financial powers. The local people's government at or above the county level shall be responsible for wetlands protection within its administrative regions, and take measures to keep wetland area stable and enhance the ecological functions of wetlands. The township people's government shall organize the general public in effectively conducting wetlands protection, and villagers' committees provide assistance. Article 5 The forestry and grassland department under the State Council shall be responsible for the supervision and administration of wetlands resources, the formulation of wetlands protection plans and relevant national standards, the supervision and administration of wetlands development and utilization, and the ecological protection and restoration of wetlands. The departments of natural resources, water administration, housing and urban-rural development, ecology and environment, and agriculture and rural affairs under the State Council shall, according to the division of duties, undertake the protection, restoration, and management of wetlands. The forestry and grassland department under the State Council shall, in conjunction with the departments of natural resources, water administration, housing and urban-rural development, ecology and environment, and agriculture and rural affairs under the State Council, establish a cooperation and notification mechanism for wetlands protection. Article 6 The local people's government at or above the county level shall strengthen the coordination of wetlands protection. The relevant department of the local people's government at or above the county level shall be responsible for wetlands protection, restoration, and management according to the division of duties. Article 7 People's governments at all levels shall strengthen the publicity and education on wetlands protection and the popularization of scientific knowledge, carrying out publicity and education activities through the Wetlands Protection Day and Wetlands Protection Promotion Week, so as to enhance the public awareness of wetlands protection. The grass-roots self-governing mass organizations, social organizations, and volunteers shall be encouraged to carry out the publicity activities of wetlands protection laws and regulations and knowledge of wetlands protection, thus creating a good atmosphere for protecting wetlands. The education departments and schools shall pay attention to cultivating students' awareness of wetlands protection in their educational and teaching activities. The news media shall carry out public welfare publicity of wetlands protection laws and regulations and knowledge of wetlands protection, and supervise the acts of destroying wetlands by public opinion. Article 8 The state shall encourage entities and individuals to legally participate in wetlands protection activities through donations, financial support and voluntary services. Any entity or individual who has made outstanding achievements in wetlands protection shall be commended and awarded in accordance with the relevant provisions of the state. Article 9 The state shall support the research, development, application and popularization of science and technology for wetlands protection, strengthen the training of professional and technical personnel engaging in wetlands protection, and improve the science and technology for wetlands protection. Article 10 The state shall support international cooperation and exchanges in wetlands protection science and technology, biodiversity, and bird migration. Article 11 Any entity or individual shall have an obligation to protect wetlands, and have the right to report or accuse of the destruction of wetlands. The authority that receives the report or accusation shall deal with it in a timely manner, and protect the legitimate rights and interests of the reporting party or accuser according to law. Chapter II Wetlands Resources Management Article 12 The state shall establish an investigation and evaluation system for wetlands resources. The department of natural resources under the State Council shall, in conjunction with the forestry and grassland and other relevant departments under the State Council, regularly carry out an investigation and evaluation of wetlands resources nationwide, investigate the types, distribution, area, biodiversity, protection and utilization of wetlands, and establish a unified information publishing and sharing mechanism. Article 13 The state shall implement a system of setting a cap for wetland area, and include the cap for wetland area in the target responsibility system of wetlands protection. The departments of forestry, grassland, and natural resources under the State Council shall, together with relevant departments under the State Council, determine the cap for wetland area of the whole country and of each province, autonomous region, or municipality directly under the Central Government according to the status and natural variation of wetlands resources nationwide and the requirements for capping wetland area, before reporting them to the State Council for approval. Local people's governments at all levels shall take effective measures to implement the requirements for capping wetland area. Article 14 The state shall implement hierarchical management of wetlands, and divide wetlands into important wetlands and general wetlands according to ecological niches, area, and the importance of maintaining ecological functions and biodiversity. Important wetlands shall include wetlands of national importance and provincial-level important wetlands, and wetlands other than important wetlands shall be general wetlands. Important wetlands shall be within the red line for ecological protection according to law. The forestry and grassland department under the State Council shall, together with the relevant departments of natural resources, water administration, housing and urban-rural development, ecology and environment, and agriculture and rural affairs under the State Council, publish the list and scope of wetlands of national importance, and post protection signs. Internationally important wetlands shall be included in the list of wetlands of national importance. The people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government or their authorized departments shall be responsible for publishing the list and scope of provincial-level important wetlands and filing it with the forestry and grassland department under the State Council. The list and scope of general wetlands shall be issued by the local people's government at or above the county level or its authorized department. Article 15 The forestry and grassland department under the State Council shall, in conjunction with relevant departments under the State Council, prepare the national plan for wetlands protection according to the national economic and social development plan, the territorial spatial plan, and the ecological and environmental protection plan, and submit it to the State Council or its authorized department for approval before organizing the implementation thereof. The forestry and grassland department of the local people's government at or above county level shall, in conjunction with relevant departments, prepare the wetlands protection plan for its own administrative region according to the territorial spatial plan at the corresponding level and the wetlands protection plan at the next higher level, and report to the people's government at the same level for approval before organizing the implementation thereof. The wetlands protection plan shall clarify the objectives and tasks of wetlands protection, the overall layout, protection and restoration priorities, and supporting measures. If the approved wetlands protection plan needs to be adjusted, the formalities shall be undergone according to the original approval procedures. The preparation of wetlands protection plans shall be connected with the comprehensive plan for river basins and the flood control plan. Article 16 The departments of forestry, grassland and standardization under the State Council shall, together with the departments of natural resources, water administration, housing and urban-rural development, ecology and environment, and agriculture and rural affairs under the State Council, organize the development of national standards for wetlands classification, monitoring and early warning, and ecological restoration; If there is no provision in the national standards, local standards may be developed and placed on record according to law. Article 17 The forestry and grassland department of the people's government at or above the county level shall establish an expert consultation mechanism for wetlands protection, and provide evaluation and demonstration services for preparing wetlands protection plans, formulating the list of wetlands and developing relevant standards. Article 18 Where the registration of natural resources ownership involves wetlands, the geographical coordinates, spatial scope, type, area and other information of wetlands shall be recorded in accordance with provisions. Article 19 The state shall strictly control the occupation of wetlands. It is forbidden to occupy wetlands of national importance, except for major national projects, disaster prevention and mitigation projects, important water conservancy and protection facilities projects and wetlands protection projects. For site or route selection of a construction project, wetlan......