Let’s start with our very first policy, the one that dates back to December 1989, the Environmental Protection Law of the People’s Republic of China.
Just to provide some background information, the law was originally implemented as the Environmental Protection Law of the PRC. “The objectives of this Law are to protect and improve the environment, to prevent and remedy pollution, to safeguard human health and to promote modern development.”
There has been criticism about this law, indicating that the law serves more as guidelines than legal directions, as the contents of the law are rather vague, and one example provided was Article 35, which declares “Any violator of this Law shall, according to the circumstances of the case, be warned of fined by the competent department.” However the law doesn’t specify the amount of fine or whether a warning or fine should be implemented in the case which is necessary.
However, it was still acknowledged that this law shows the government’s commitment to environmental conservation and protection, and it sent a signal to “provincial and local officials that environmental protection is part of the national agenda.”, emphasising on efforts to alleviate the issue of water scarcity.