Using Environmental Litigation to Advance Ecological Restoration under the Convention on Biological Diversity in China

Abstract

In response to unprecedented global biodiversity loss, the obligation of restoration has been integrated into the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD, or Convention). As a Party to the CBD, China has implemented restoration commitments through the ‘National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (2011–2030)’. This article focuses on how such commitments have been translated into the Chinese legal framework and environmental litigation, and how environmental litigation can advance ecological restoration. There exist restoration obligations of governments and individuals. When they fail to fulfil their restoration obligations or cause damage to ecosystems, their wrong actions or inactions can be corrected through restoration orders imposed by Chinese courts, namely primary restoration orders and alternative restoration orders. Also, some weaknesses exist due to relying on forcing defendants to pay to restore damaged ecosystems, including that alternative restoration funds could be misappropriated, and the current legal mechanisms could incentivize a ‘license to trash’ style culture.