The case of Sanya Municipal People’s Procuratorate vs. XX Forest Park Development Co., Ltd. civil public-interest litigation
The case of Sanya Municipal People’s Procuratorate vs. XX Forest Park Development Co., Ltd. civil public-interest litigation
[Basic facts]
Sanya XX Forest Park Development Co., Ltd. (“XX Forest Development Company”) built golf links without permission in the experiment zone of Hainan Ganshiling Nature Reserve, and, despite the repeated injunctions of the competent administrative authorities to stop the illegal activities and fine penalty, proceeded with the construction and put the golf links into operation. In 2019, Ganshiling Nature Reserve management station shut down the golf links completely, and Sanya Municipal Forestry Bureau organized the formulation of an ecological environment restoration plan, and completed the ecological restoration in August the same year, after having planted 49,500 trees of 8 species in an area of 282.6 mu. Sanya Municipal People’s Procuratorate brought a civil public-interest litigation to the court, requesting XX Forest Development Company to compensate the loss of the woodland’s ecological service function and the loss of forest resources arising from the illegal construction and operation of the golf links, the ecological restoration costs and the expert examination fees.
[Judgement]
Sanya Intermediate People’s Court, Hainan, argues that XX Forest Development Company built the golf links without an administrative approval, encroached and destructed woodlands in the nature reserve, completely destroyed the biodiversity and species richness of the vegetation communities; its activities seriously damaged the ecological environment system in the nature reserve, basically destroyed the original ecological service function, jeopardized the biodiversity, caused major losses to the ecological service function and forest resources and harmed the public interests; and the XX Forest Development Company should bear the compensation liability. The court thus made out the decision: XX Forest Development Company compensate the loss of more than 29,470,000 yuan in the woodland ecological service function, the loss of more than 220,000 yuan in forest resources, the ecological restoration costs of more than 2,350,000 yuan, and the expert examination fees of 410,000 yuan. The judgement has already taken effect.
[Significance]
This is a typical case of ecological destruction public-interest litigation arising from the illegal encroachment on woodlands in nature reserves. Nature reserves are a crucial component in the national park-centered protected natural area system. Hainan Ganshiling Nature Reserve as involved in this case is the largest Sao Mang (Hopea exalata W. T. Lin) nature reserve in Hainan and the only one in China. The people’s court coordinates high-quality development with high-level protection, rigorously enforces rigid restraint rules on protected natural areas, implements the working requirements of prevention at source, control in course, compensation for damages and investigation into responsibilities, and heightens the ecological environment protection of national parks and protected natural areas. In handling this case, the people’s court adheres to the policy of damage entailing penalty and compensations being comprehensive, orders the defendant to undertake the losses of the ecological service function and forest resources arising from the illegal encroachment on nature reserve woodlands and the ecological restoration costs. This case will set a meaningful example for safeguarding the ecological environment safety of nature reserves and assuring the construction of State key ecological function areas and key ecological corridors.
