Grassland Law Enforcement and Supervision Achieve Remarkable Results; Law-based Grassland Governance and Protection Advance Solidly
The "Decision of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Several Major Issues Concerning Comprehensively Advancing the Rule of Law," deliberated and adopted at the Fourth Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, clearly set out the general goals and principles for comprehensively advancing the rule of law, made comprehensive arrangements for scientific legislation, strict law enforcement, impartial justice, and universal law-abidingness, and set clear requirements for strengthening the development of the legal work force and strengthening and improving the Party's leadership over comprehensively advancing the rule of law. Grassland supervision institutions at all levels must earnestly study and implement the spirit of the "Decision" and actively advance the process of law-based grassland governance and protection.
Remarkable Results in Grassland Law Enforcement and Supervision
(1) The atmosphere for grassland law enforcement and supervision work has improved in new ways. In recent years, grassland supervision institutions at all levels have treated grassland law popularization and publicity as an important task. Through activities such as holding Grassland Law Publicity Month and bringing law education to rural areas, and by making full use of mainstream media such as newspapers, radio, and television, they have deeply publicized grassland laws and regulations and grassland protection policies, actively creating a favorable public opinion atmosphere for grassland law enforcement work. The atmosphere in all sectors of society of caring about, paying attention to, and cherishing grassland ecological protection has grown ever stronger, and the grassroots foundation has become more solid.
⟦NL> (2) New progress has been made in grassland law enforcement institutions and team building. As of the end of June 2014, the number of grassland supervision institutions at or above the county level nationwide reached 914, with 9,839 supervision personnel. The number of institutions increased by 60 compared with 2012, and the number of personnel increased by 1,376. Through strengthened law enforcement training, the ability of law enforcement personnel to enforce the law in a standardized manner has improved markedly. Provinces and autonomous regions implementing the grassland subsidy and reward policy have actively advanced the development of grassland management and protection ranger teams. At present, there are nearly 90,000 grassland management and protection rangers nationwide, becoming an important supplementary force for strengthening grassroots grassland supervision work.
(3) New results have been achieved in investigating and handling grassland illegal and criminal cases in accordance with the law. In the past two years, all localities have continuously intensified grassland law enforcement and supervision. In 2013, all localities transferred a total of 279 suspected criminal cases to judicial authorities, an increase of 1.23 times year-on-year; in the first half of 2014, all localities transferred a total of 330 suspected criminal cases, 51 more than the number transferred in all of 2013. In 2013, a total of 18,767 grassland illegal cases of various types were investigated and handled nationwide, 707 more than in 2012, and the case filing rate and case closing rate increased by 1.0 and 0.6 percentage points respectively.
(4) New breakthroughs have been made in promoting the linkage between grassland administrative law enforcement and criminal justice. After the issuance of the judicial interpretation on grasslands, communication and coordination with judicial authorities have been continuously strengthened. With the gradual establishment and improvement of the linkage mechanism between grassland administrative law enforcement and criminal justice, the role of judicial authorities in punishing grassland criminal acts has been effectively brought into play, and a situation in which grassland administrative law enforcement agencies and judicial authorities jointly combat grassland illegal and criminal acts has initially taken shape.
(5) New improvements have been made in the management level of the review and approval of grassland requisition and occupation. In the past two years, grassland supervision institutions at all levels have taken the initiative to strengthen communication and coordination with land and other relevant departments, and have continuously standardized the review and approval procedures for grassland requisition and occupation. In Inner Mongolia, Gansu, Xinjiang, Ningxia, Tibet, and other provinces and autonomous regions, documents were issued by provincial-level people's governments, or jointly issued by agriculture and animal husbandry departments and land departments, clearly stating that without review and approval by the competent grassland administrative department, land and resources departments may not handle approval procedures for grassland requisition and occupation.
Opportunities and Challenges for Grassland Law Enforcement and Supervision
(1) The system of grassland laws and regulations has begun to take shape, but the task of amendment and interpretation remains arduous. At present, China has initially formed a grassland legal and regulatory system composed of the "Grassland Law," the judicial interpretation on grasslands, the "Grassland Fire Prevention Regulations," as well as 13 local regulations, 4 Ministry of Agriculture rules, and 11 local government rules. At the same time, however, the problems of incomplete and imperfect grassland laws and regulations remain prominent. Important systems such as grassland rights confirmation and contracting and basic grassland protection are still not specific and complete enough; provinces and autonomous regions in the south have not yet formulated and issued supporting local regulations in light of local realities; and the problems of high costs of law-abidingness and low costs of law-breaking are still prominent.
(2) The strategic position of grasslands has been markedly elevated, but the task of firmly upholding the grassland ecological red line remains arduous. The 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China raised ecological civilization construction to the strategic height of the five-sphere integrated plan, and the Third Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee clearly proposed accelerating the development of ecological civilization institutions. As the largest green ecological barrier in China's land area, grasslands are the main battlefield of ecological civilization construction. At present, however, in some places the long-standing concepts of valuing grassland use over protection and regarding grasslands as wasteland have not yet been fundamentally reversed, and problems such as arbitrarily encroaching on grasslands, designating grasslands as unused land or land suitable for afforestation, and implementing cultivated land requisition-compensation balance and afforestation projects on grasslands are very prominent. In addition, the problem of urbanization development squeezing rural land, including grasslands, has become increasingly prominent, and firmly upholding the grassland ecological red line faces severe challenges.
(3) The deterrent and punitive role of the judicial interpretation on grasslands has begun to appear, but the task of combating grassland illegal and criminal acts remains arduous. After the issuance of the judicial interpretation on grasslands, all localities continuously increased the transfer of suspected criminal cases, and a large number of criminal suspects who damaged grasslands received severe legal punishment. At the same time, however, in recent years illegal reclamation of grasslands, illegal requisition and occupation of grasslands, and other acts have repeatedly been prohibited without success, the number of cases has remained high, and problems of administrative interference in law enforcement and justice are still relatively prominent in some places. There are still many difficulties and problems in ensuring that all grassland illegal and criminal acts that should be investigated are investigated.
(4) The grassland law enforcement team has continued to grow, but the task of further improving capacity and level remains arduous. In recent years, all levels have seized opportunities and actively advanced the development of the grassland supervision system. The grassland law enforcement team has been further replenished and expanded, and a grassland law enforcement team of nearly 10,000 people has been formed nationwide, becoming an important force for protecting grasslands according to law and safeguarding the lawful rights and interests of farmers and herders. At the same time, however, there are relatively few legal professionals in the grassland law enforcement team, and the problems of weak procedural awareness and insufficient law enforcement skills among law enforcement personnel are still prominent in some places. Compared with law enforcement in other agricultural sectors, grassland law enforcement still has a considerable gap.
(5) Grassland ecology has clearly recovered, but the task of strengthening supervision of grazing bans and grass-livestock balance remains arduous. Since the state implemented the grassland subsidy and reward policy in 2011, grassland ecology has clearly recovered. According to monitoring, in 2013 the average livestock overload rate of key natural grasslands nationwide was 16.8%, down 11.2 percentage points from 2011; comprehensive vegetation coverage reached 54.2%, up 3.2 percentage points from 2011. At present, however, in some places the distribution of subsidy and reward funds is disconnected from the implementation of grazing bans and grass-livestock balance tasks, and the problems of inadequate implementation of the grazing ban and grass-livestock balance systems and inadequate law enforcement and supervision are still prominent. The task of further strengthening supervision of grazing bans and grass-livestock balance and ensuring the implementation of the two systems remains heavy and arduous.
Striving to Push Grassland Law Enforcement and Supervision Work to a New Level
(1) Accelerate the advancement of grassland rights confirmation and contracting, and lay a solid foundation for grassland law enforcement and supervision work. Clarifying grassland ownership and implementing grassland contracting are important foundations for carrying out grassland law enforcement work. At present, the state is advancing the work of rural land rights confirmation, registration, and certification. All localities must increase communication and coordination with relevant departments, earnestly do a good job in grassland rights confirmation, registration, and certification, further clarify the land category attributes and ownership of grasslands, and lay the foundation for doing a good job in grassland law enforcement and supervision work. It is necessary to further implement and improve the grassland contracting and management system and mobilize the enthusiasm of grassland contractors to protect and rationally use grasslands according to law.
(2) Deepen publicity and implementation of the judicial interpretation on grasslands, and intensify the investigation and handling of grassland illegal and criminal acts. It is necessary to continue to deeply publicize the judicial interpretation on grasslands and focus on conducting warning education through the notification and exposure of major typical cases. Continuously strengthen law enforcement inspections, promptly discover case clues, and concentrate forces on investigation and handling. Further strengthen communication and coordination with judicial authorities, promote the establishment and improvement of the linkage mechanism between grassland law enforcement and criminal justice, give full play to the advantages and role of judicial authorities in combating grassland illegal and criminal acts, and strive to curb the momentum of high incidence of grassland illegal and criminal acts.
(3) Earnestly implement the grassland subsidy and reward policy, and effectively strengthen supervision of grazing bans and grass-livestock balance. The grassland subsidy and reward policy is so far the policy with the largest investment scale, the broadest coverage, and the greatest benefit to farmers and herders implemented by the state in grassland pastoral areas. Implementing the grazing ban and grass-livestock balance systems is the key to ensuring the smooth implementation and actual effectiveness of this policy. Grassland supervision institutions at all levels must earnestly perform their duties, actively innovate working methods, further intensify law enforcement and supervision of grazing bans and grass-livestock balance, promptly investigate and correct acts violating grazing ban and grass-livestock balance provisions, and ensure that the grassland subsidy and reward policy achieves actual results.
(4) Strengthen the management of grassland requisition and occupation, and standardize the collection and use of grassland vegetation restoration fees. It is necessary to further strengthen communication and coordination with development and reform, land, and other departments, promptly grasp the situation of construction projects using grasslands, and intervene in advance in pre-examination of project land use. For illegal acts such as occupying before approval and approving before review, serious investigation and handling must be carried out according to law, and where a crime is suspected, the case must be promptly transferred to judicial authorities. Further strengthen and standardize the collection of grassland vegetation restoration fees. Grassland vegetation restoration fees must not be arbitrarily reduced or exempted, and efforts must be made to collect all that should be collected. Grassland vegetation restoration fees must be rationally used for purposes prescribed by regulations, and must not be intercepted or misappropriated, ensuring that grassland vegetation restoration fees are taken from grasslands and used for grasslands.
(5) Strengthen the development of the grassland law enforcement team, and continuously improve grassland law enforcement and supervision capacity and level. All localities must, in accordance with the target requirements of “reasonable institutional setup, optimized team structure, complete facilities and equipment, and strong law enforcement and supervision”, accelerate the advancement of the grassland supervision system. Further strengthen training for grassland law enforcement personnel and continuously improve their capacity and level. Further strengthen the development of grassland management and protection ranger teams, promote the establishment of semi-professional grassland management and protection ranger teams, and effectively give play to their role in managing and protecting grasslands. Strengthen the work style development of the grassland law enforcement team and establish a good image for grassland law enforcement personnel.