The Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) recently released a batch of typical procuratorial public interest litigation cases concerning the protection of the marine ecological environment and resources.
In recent years, procuratorial organs in China’s coastal regions have leveraged their geographical advantages and actively performed procuratorial public interest litigation functions, achieving remarkable results in the protection of the marine ecological environment and natural resources.
In May 2025, the SPP initiated a special public interest litigation case concerning the ecological environment and natural resources of the Bohai Rim. Over the past year, procuratorial organs in Tianjin and the provinces of Liaoning, Hebei and Shandong that are in the Bohai Rim have emphasized integrated land-sea development.
They have handled a series of cases concerning water quality improvement, coastal resource protection and biodiversity conservation in the Bohai Rim, resolving a number of significant public interest violations in the area.
The six typical cases released cover a wide range of issues, including the protection of coastal wetlands, nature reserves, coastlines, uninhabited islands and reefs, as well as damage caused by ship oil spills and the management of pollution from aquaculture tailwater.
These cases not only address common challenges in marine ecological and resource protection, but also explore solutions to emerging issues in the field, making them highly representative.
The cases demonstrate the efforts made by procuratorial organs to integrate ecological protection with the safeguarding of people's livelihoods during the performance of their duties and case handling.
They also highlight the benefits of integrated legal supervision in addressing governance challenges. While performing their duties, procuratorial organs have proactively focused on public interest violations in the development and utilization of marine resources to regulate their use.
As the released cases indicate, procuratorial organs effectively leveraged the role of judicial protection in safeguarding the marine ecological environment through various means, including urging judicial administrative organs to perform their duties in accordance with the law and initiating civil public interest litigation.
Moving forward, procuratorial organs will intensify case-handling efforts in key areas of marine ecological and environmental protection, according to the head of the SPP's Public Interest Litigation Procuratorial Department.
The official said the SPP will guide local procuratorates to conduct thorough public interest litigation supervision, targeting prominent issues in marine resource and environmental protection in critical areas, with the ongoing Bohai Rim special case serving as a guiding example.
Moreover, efforts will be made to leverage technological advancements to enhance legal supervision for marine resource and environmental protection, with increased focus on issues such as water quality, coastline changes and the control of invasive species, the official said.
Coordination between law enforcement agencies and procuratorates will be deepened, and mechanisms for information sharing, the transfer of case clues, and joint case handling will be improved to enhance the effectiveness of marine environmental governance, the official added.
