Southeast Asia Information Port News (www.dnyxxg.com) – On the 6th, reporters learned from the Zhongshan Coast Guard Bureau in Guangdong that the bureau recently conducted a special investigation on public interest litigation for integrated handling of mangrove wetland protection cases in conjunction with the Zhongshan Municipal People's Procuratorate. The aim is to build a collaborative protection mechanism of "law enforcement + judiciary" in the field of marine ecological protection, and to strengthen the protective barrier for mangrove resources.
A relevant负责人 from the Zhongshan Coast Guard Bureau explained that mangroves, as a key ecosystem in the land-sea transition zone, play an irreplaceable role in wind and wave protection, water purification, carbon sequestration, and maintaining biodiversity. However, with the continuous increase in the intensity of development in coastal areas, mangroves are facing multiple threats, including disturbance from construction projects, encroachment from illegal aquaculture, and garbage pollution, urgently requiring the establishment of a new cross-departmental, integrated governance framework.
The Zhongshan Municipal Procuratorate stated that this joint investigation, using public interest litigation as a link, explores a systematic protection path around key aspects such as law enforcement coordination, evidence preservation, and ecological restoration, representing an important practice in deepening collaborative ecological protection. During the investigation, staff members entered the core area of Cuiheng National Wetland Park aboard law enforcement vessels, conducting patrols along sections of the mangrove reserve. They inspected the mangrove growth, surrounding water quality, and the impact of human activities, and reviewed the rectification of previously identified issues related to coastal garbage accumulation.
During the patrol, coast guard officers, based on daily patrol data, pointed out the risk of construction disturbance around the mangroves and recommended establishing a routine patrol mechanism. Prosecutors, from a public interest litigation perspective, offered targeted opinions on ecological damage assessment standards and the compliance of restoration plans.
The core outcome of this investigation was the establishment of an integrated protection mechanism based on "shared information, coordinated patrols, and complementary expertise." Under this mechanism, the coast guard will leverage its frontline enforcement advantages to strengthen daily supervision and information gathering, while the procuratorate will promote accountability and ecological restoration through consultation, issuing prosecutorial suggestions, and initiating litigation, forming a complete governance loop of "discovery—investigation—supervision—restoration."
It is understood that this mechanism not only effectively addresses issues such as overlapping functions and regulatory blind spots inherent in the previous single-regulatory model, but also enhances the standardization and binding force of ecological protection through judicial intervention. Both parties reached a consensus during the research: mangrove protection is not a "solo performance," but rather a "concerto" requiring coordinated efforts from law enforcement and the judiciary, and the joint participation of diverse social stakeholders. (End)
