Wetland Protection Regulation of Hunan Province

Proclamation of the Sixteenth Session of the Standing Committee of the Tenth People’s Congress of Hunan Province

No. 48

Wetland Protection Regulation of Hunan Province, being adopted at the Sixteenth Session of the Tenth National People's Congress of Hunan Province on July 30, 2005, is hereby promulgated on the date of adoption and shall enter into force as of October 1, 2005.

The Standing Committee of the People’s Congress of Hunan Province

July 30, 2005.

Article 1 This regulation, taking into consideration Hunan’s actual conditions, is formulated for the purpose of enhancing wetland protection, maintaining balanced wetland ecosystems and facilitating sustainable utilization of wetland resources.

Article 2 This regulation shall apply to wetland protection within the administrative jurisdiction of Hunan Province.

As used in this Regulation, the term "Wetland” refers to wet areas, including lakes, rivers, reservoirs, estuary deltas, shoals, swamps/fens/peatlands, wet meadows and other perennially or seasonally waterlogged areas, which are suitable for the survival of hydrophilous biology and exhibit ecological regulation functions.

Article 3 Wetland protection shall comply with the principle of taking protection as the first priority, giving prominence to key points, promoting reasonable use and sustainable development.

Article 4 The people's government at various levels shall integrate wetland protection into national economic and social development programs, develop and implement in an organized way wetland conservation programs, and earmark special funds, in line with the needs of wetland conservation, for supporting wetland conservation efforts. If any other programs cover wetlands, the protection of such wetlands shall be taken into account.

Article 5 An administrative system shall be adopted for wetland protection, featuring integration, coordination, and shared individual sector implementation.

The competent administrative department of forestry under the local people's government at and above county level is the administrator responsible for wetland protection and shall be responsible for the organization, coordination and supervision of wetland protection. The competent administrative departments of agriculture (fishery), water conservancy, land and resources, and environment protection under the people's government at or above county level shall, in accordance with their duties, conduct wetland protection.

Article 6 The people’s government at various levels and the competent administrative departments of forestry, agriculture (fishery), water conservancy, land and resources, and environment protection etc shall strengthen publicity and education regarding wetland protection, in an effort to improve people’s awareness of wetland protection.

Article 7 The competent administrative department of forestry and other relevant administrative departments under the provincial people's government shall, in accordance with relevant national provisions, enhance international cooperation in wetland protection and implement projects with international aid.

Article 8 Citizens, legal persons and other institutions shall comply with provisions on wetland protection prescribed by the state, and have the right to report and prosecute any actions that damage or misappropriate wetlands.

Any individual or institution suffering losses as a result of protecting wetlands shall be given appropriate compensation, the specific rules on such compensation to be determined separately by the Provincial People’s Government.

Article 9 Wetlands are classified into two types for the convenience of management, i.e. general wetlands and important wetlands. The latter covers wetlands of international significance, national significance and provincial significance.

The competent administrative department of forestry under the provincial people's government, shall conduct inventory of wetland resources within Hunan Province, recruit experts to develop criteria for purpose of defining general wetlands and important wetlands, subsequently make a checklist of the general wetlands and important wetlands and report to the provincial people’s government for approval, in conjunction with the administrative departments of agriculture (fishery), water conservancy, land and resources, environment protection and other relevant sectors.

The protection area of Dongting Lake and other wetlands of international and national importance shall be determined in line with relevant state provisions; the protection area of wetlands of provincial significance shall be determined by the people’s government of the prefecture or autonomous prefecture enjoying jurisdiction over the wetlands, through organizing relevant sectors, in accordance with protection provisions; the protection area of general wetlands shall be determined by the people’s government of the county enjoying jurisdiction over the wetlands, through organizing relevant sectors, in accordance with protection provisions.

Article 10 Reclamation or appropriation of wetlands shall be strictly controlled. If reclamation or appropriation of a wetland is necessary for a key construction, an Environmental Impact Assessment shall be conducted in accordance with relevant laws. The administrative department of land and resources management shall consult the administrative department of forestry at the same level and other relevant administrative departments prior to carrying out examination and approval procedures for such land use.

Article 11 The people’s government at or above county level shall adopt effective measures to restore or rebuild degraded wetlands.

Voluntary efforts towards restoring or rebuilding wetlands shall be encouraged and supported.

Article 12 The people’s government at or above county level shall take effective measures to protect water resources of wetlands; planning for water resources utilization shall consider the ecological water requirements of wetlands.

The competent administrative department of forestry shall, in concert with the administrative department of water conservancy, under the people’s government of Hunan Province, determine a reasonable water level for important marsh wetlands wherever the water level is controllable. Whenever an abnormal water level occurs, the administrative departments of both forestry and water conservancy of the local people’s government shall take corrective measures to restore the water level.

With the exception of taking water for subsistence, agricultural production, emergency and rescue, removal or interception of water from the important wetlands shall not affect the minimum water level necessary for wetland protection, or break off the connection between the water system of such wetlands and the peripheral water systems.

Article 13 The competent administrative departments of environment protection, forestry, agriculture (fishery), and water conservancy under the people’s government at or above county level shall reinforce environmental monitoring pursuant to their individual duties and accountabilities.

It is forbidden to discharge waste water or dump solid waste into wetlands in violation of relevant environment protection laws and regulations. The user of non-biodegradable materials, such as agricultural plastic, pesticide containers and fishing nets, shall retrieve them. If environmental pollution is caused to a wetland, treatment measures shall be adopted in accordance with laws, on the principle that whoever causes pollution in a wetland shall carry out corrective treatment.

Article 14 Hunting, fish harvesting or collecting of wildlife and plant samples of state or province level protected species is prohibited.

The people’s government or relevant administrative departments at or above county level shall, pursuant to relevant laws, designate prohibited areas and closed seasons for hunting, fishing, and sample-collection.

Capturing or killing of migratory birds is prohibited. Such activities as fishing and collecting of bird eggs that may jeopardize migratory birds’ survival and reproduction shall be banned in a wetland during overwintering or oversummering periods. The start and end date of overwintering or oversummering periods of migratory birds for the main habitats shall be determined and announced by the people’s government at or above county level having jurisdiction over such habitats.

Article 15 Prior to the introduction of an exotic species into a wetland, examination and approval procedures shall be gone through in accordance with relevant state provisions and tests on a trial basis of such species shall be carried out in line with relevant technical regulations.

The competent administrative departments of forestry and agriculture (fishery) under the people’s government at or above county level shall pursue ongoing monitoring of exotic species. If a harmful species is detected, it shall be reported to the administrative department of environmental protection under the people’s government at the same level or to the administrative department of forestry or agriculture (fishery) under the people’s government at a higher level, and effective measures shall be taken to eliminate the danger.

Article 16 Development and utilization of wetland resources shall harmonize economic development and wetland conservation, to maintain a balanced wetland ecosystem. Such activities shall be conducted in strict accordance with wetland protection programs, and shall not overstep the regenerative capacity of the resources, or damage any wildlife habitat.

Article 17 Nature reserves and administrative organizations shall be established for the following important wetlands pursuant to law on nature reserves:

a. Typical natural wetland ecosystems; b. Wetlands with abundant biodiversity or with a concentrated distribution of rare and endangered species; c. Wetlands used as breeding or stopping points by migratory birds included in the list of national or provincial priority protection species; d. Wetlands with other special conservation value or important scientific research value.

A wetland nature reserve can be divided into core zone, buffer zone and experimental zone in accordance with relevant law provisions.

Article 18 Without prior permission, no institution or individual shall enter the core zone of a nature reserve. If scientific observation or investigation has to be carried out within the core zone of a nature reserve, an application and plan of action for such activities shall be submitted to the administrative organization of the wetland nature reserve, and prior approval shall be acquired from the administrative department of the wetland nature reserve under the people’s government at or above provincial level.

Taking up residence in the core zone of a wetland nature reserve is forbidden. Original residents in such zones shall be relocated within a given time and proper resettlement support shall be provided by the people’s government at or above county level that has jurisdiction over such wetland nature reserves.

Article 19 An application and plan of action for entrance into the buffer zone of a wetland nature reserve for the purpose of scientific research, field practice, collecting samples and other activities shall be submitted to the administrative organization of the wetland nature reserve, and shall be approved by the organization. Production and management activities that are harmful to wetland protection are forbidden.

Article 20 Tourism projects within the experimental zone of a wetland nature reserve shall be prepared by the administrative organization of the wetland nature reserve, and subsequently approved by the competent administrative department of the wetland nature reserve under the people’s government at or above province level. Visiting activities and tourism that are harmful to wetland protection within a wetland nature reserve are forbidden.

Article 21 Construction of any production facilities in either the core zone or the buffer zone is prohibited.

Construction of any production facilities which cause environmental pollution or damage wetland resources in the experimental zone of a wetland nature reserve is prohibited. The effluent from other projects shall not exceed the ceiling of the stipulated national or provincial standard. Effluent exceeding the stipulated ceiling produced by facilities already established within the experimental zone must be treated within a given time. If any damage results from such effluent, remedial measures shall be adopted.

Article 22 Institutions in charge of application of chemicals for the purpose of prevention and control of schistosomiasis (blood fluke) shall report to the competent administrative departments of both forestry and agriculture (fishery) under the local people’s government and the administrative organization of the wetland nature reserve. Then preventative measures can be adopted jointly to avoid or alleviate damage to wildlife, plants and the ecological environment

Article 23 The competent administrative departments of both forestry and agriculture (fishery) under the people’s government at or above county level and the administrative organization of the nature reserve shall develop or improve mechanisms for rescuing rare wildlife, accept and deal with rescue requests in a timely way, and provide emergency relief to wounded, stranded or stricken rare wildlife.

Article 24 A wetland with special protection value but not qualified to be a nature reserve may be designated as a small scale wetland nature reserve by the local people’s government of the county or municipality having jurisdiction over such a wetland. Alternatively a wetland park can be established upon approval by the administrative department of forestry in concert with other relevant administrative departments under the provincial people’s government.

Article 25 The administrative department of forestry shall, in conjunction with the competent administrative departments of agriculture (fishery), water conservancy, land and resources management, and environment protection under the provincial people’s government, develop indicators and technical regulations for monitoring wetland resources, establish wetland resource archives, and conduct ongoing monitoring and research. If damage to wetland resources is detected, remedial measures shall be taken immediately.

Article 26 The people’s government at or above county level shall reinforce supervision and examination of formulation and implementation of wetland protection programs, and direct the competent administrative departments of forestry, agriculture (fishery), water conservancy, land and resources and environment protection to enforce the present Regulation.

At the beginning of each year, the administrative department of forestry under the people’s government at or above county level shall submit an annual report on wetland protection for the preceding year to both the people’s government at the same level and competent administrative departments at a higher level.

Article 27 If any person, in violation of the provisions under item 3, article 12 of the present Regulation, affects the minimum water needed for protecting a wetland or disconnects a wetland from the peripheral water systems, he/she shall be ordered to correct it and fined within a range of Y3, 000 to Y10, 000 RMB by the administrative department of water conservancy under the people’s government at or above county level in conjunction with the administrative department of forestry. If the case is severe, the fine shall be within a range of Y10, 000 to Y50, 000 RMB.

If any person’s actions conducted in the key habitat, in violation of the provisions under item 3, article 14 of the present Regulation, jeopardize the survival or reproduction of migratory birds, he/she shall be ordered to correct it, and fined within a range of Y1, 000 to Y10, 000 RMB, by the administrative department of forestry under the people’s government at or above county level.

Article 28 Any person who is in violation of other provisions of this Regulation shall be dealt with in accordance with relevant laws by the respective competent administrative departments.

Article 29 If any staff member working in the administrative department of forestry, agriculture (fishery), water conservancy, land and resources, or environment protection neglects his/her duty, engages in malpractice for personal gain, or abuses his/her power, he/she shall be given administrative sanctions; if his/her act constitutes a crime, he/she shall be prosecuted for criminal responsibility in accordance with relevant laws.

Article 30 This present Regulation shall come into force as of October 1, 2005.

TRANSLATORS' DISCLAIMER

This translation is completed under the auspices of Wetland Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Use in China. However, the Chinese version is the sole official version with legal force, whereas this English version is for information only. Neither the aforesaid project nor the translators guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the translation, nor shall any of them be held liable to any party for any loss in reliability of the translation.

This translation is finalized by Mr. Xu Yongxin, and Mr. Dan Alderson from Hunan Agricultural University, on the basis of a draft prepared by Dr. Jiang Lijuan, from Central South University of Forestry and Technology.