Southeast Asia Information Port News (www.dnyxxg.com) – Yang Wenchuan, a second-level researcher at the Laws and Standards Division of the Gansu Provincial Department of Ecology and Environment, introduced on the 22nd that Gansu Province handled 482 cases of ecological environment damage compensation this year, representing a 219.7% year-on-year increase. The total amount of damage compensation involved reached 590 million yuan, a 138% year-on-year increase, demonstrating significant progress in the effectiveness of the ecological environment damage compensation system.
On the same day, the Gansu Provincial Department of Ecology and Environment held its 8th press conference of 2025. It was reported that the department, in conjunction with its member units, revised the "Gansu Provincial Ecological Environment Damage Compensation Working Mechanism," formulated the "Gansu Provincial Ecological Environment Damage Assessment Expert Database Management Measures," and established a provincial ecological environment damage compensation assessment expert database. This further clarified the responsibilities of various departments in ecological environment damage compensation work, defined the procedures for handling significantly minor and simple cases, and improved the efficiency of case handling and closure.
Yang Wenchuan said that since the beginning of this year, Gansu has actively explored and innovated its working mechanisms, resulting in a number of exemplary cases with demonstrative effects throughout the province. For example, Jinchang City completed Gansu's first case involving ecological environment damage compensation based on "environmental pollution liability insurance + carbon sink reduction and alternative restoration"; Jiuquan City explored the establishment of a prefecture-level city-level expert database for damage assessment, resolving the difficulty in receiving environmental damage compensation funds from involved enterprises.
Gansu is an important water conservation area for the Yangtze River, Yellow River, and major inland rivers, and a key ecological protection area designated in the national functional zoning plan. It undertakes important ecological functions such as protecting and conserving water sources at the headwaters of major rivers in China, preventing wind erosion and sand fixation, and protecting biodiversity. At the same time, the province has low ecological carrying capacity and weak restoration capabilities, making it one of the most ecologically fragile regions in China.
The ecological environment damage compensation system is an important means of ensuring the restoration of damaged environments. Yang Wenchuan stated that Gansu will next issue technical standards to provide institutional guarantees for the normalized implementation of ecological environment damage compensation; strengthen case practice, regularly screen clues for ecological environment damage compensation cases to ensure that all clues are screened; and explore innovative paths for assuming damage compensation liability to fundamentally resolve the difficulty in receiving environmental damage remediation and restoration funds from involved enterprises. (End)
