Why can't the woodland at the "Ji" bay of the Yellow River be moved?

  Shen Jingfang Jia Linlin Zhi Xinying Yang Shulin

  General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that the Yellow River Basin must make great efforts to carry out large-scale protection and governance, and take the path of ecological protection and high-quality development.

In recent years, the Procuratorate of Inner Mongolia has successively deployed special supervision activities to protect the Mother River, a special campaign to protect the Yellow River public interest litigation, and launched a special campaign of "Joining Hands to Clear Four Chaos and Protect the Mother River", and "Special Action of Soil and Water Conservation for Production and Construction Projects in the Yellow River Basin" Special supervision, etc., continue to extend the ecological protection of the Yellow River Basin.

  "More than a year after the case, we deeply felt that the protection of ecological resources is of great importance, and the red line of the law cannot be crossed. Prosecutors pay attention to the integration of the rigidity of the law and the tenderness of the people in handling the case, so as to have the opportunity to regenerate the enterprise. We We must take this as a lesson, and do a good job of resource protection while developing and developing.” After the Grain Rain, the spring in Ordos has not yet come, but the person in charge of a coal enterprise in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region has already begun to plan how to put on green clothes for the land around him.

  The enterprise once destroyed the "water and soil conservation forest" located in the water supply area of ​​the upper reaches of the Yellow River in Ordos during its operation. Because of the minor crime and active restoration of the ecological environment, the procuratorate made a decision not to prosecute the enterprise and its person in charge according to law, and Promote ecological damage compensation through public hearings and support for consultations.

Not long ago, this case was rated by the Supreme People's Procuratorate as a typical case of procuratorial organs serving to guarantee the ecological protection and high-quality development of the Yellow River Basin.

  Top 10 Kong Dui's Sorrows

  Ordos is located in the upper reaches of the Yellow River, with a reach of 728 kilometers.

Ten Kongdui in the hinterland of the "Golden Triangle" of the Ordos section of the Yellow River (Kongdui means "mountain flood ditch" in Mongolian, and the Ten Ten Kongdui is located in Dalat Banner), is the 10 first-class tributaries of the Yellow River, and is also an important part of the upper reaches of the Yellow River. water supply.

  "This is the 'Ji' bay of the Yellow River. The meandering Yellow River collides and blends with the plateau, forming a special landform with hills and ravines. The surface is mostly sand and gravel deserts and the soil is barren." The prosecutor of the Dalat Banner Procuratorate told reporters , Ten Kongdui will import 27 million tons of river sand into the Yellow River every year, which is more than one-tenth of the total amount of yellow sediment in the country.

The upper reaches of Ten Kongdui have serious soil erosion and are the source of flood and sand disasters; the flowing or semi-flowing sand dunes in the middle reaches are one of the main sources of sandstorms and sandstorms in Inner Mongolia and even the entire North China region.

"Promoting the comprehensive management of mountains, rivers, forests, fields, lakes, grass and sand in the top ten Kongdui areas is of great significance for building an important ecological barrier in the north. This is also the focus of our public interest litigation inspection work."

  On December 3, 2020, the Dalat Banner Forest Public Security Bureau transferred a case to the Dalat Banner Procuratorate for review and prosecution.

The case file shows that from 2014 to 2017, a coal enterprise in Ordos violated land management regulations and built a coal yard in the upper reaches of Ten Kongdui without the approval of the forestry authority, illegally occupying more than 50 mu of special shrub forest land, causing Soil and water conservation forests have been destroyed in large numbers, and their behavior has been suspected of illegal occupation of agricultural land.

After the incident, the person in charge of the company realized that the local government attached great importance to ecological protection, and that the behavior of the company in the development process may violate the laws and regulations, and then voluntarily surrendered.

  "When my colleagues and I arrived at the crime scene, it was winter. Due to the special landform, the vegetation here is dominated by shrubs, which is even more overgrown with weeds and bleak. In some places, coal sheds have been built, and cinders and other wastes are piled up. "Having lived in Dalat Banner since childhood, the prosecutor who undertook this case understands the importance of ensuring the safety of the Yellow River better than anyone else.

  "To protect the Yellow River, we must not only fight crime according to law, but also realize 'professional supervision + restorative justice + social governance', so as to maximize the goal of stopping infringement, eliminating impact and restoring ecology." After the case was transferred for review and prosecution, Dala The leaders of the Special Banner Procuratorate Branch Office specially organized a joint meeting of prosecutors to clarify the thinking and focus of case handling.

  Undertaking prosecutors have discussed with the investigative agency on the determination of facts, the direction of the investigation, and fixed evidence for many times, and guided the investigators to conduct supplementary investigations on the status and nature of the destroyed land, as well as the details of specific illegal acts.

  Let the deforestation experience the hardships of afforestation and management

  In view of the fact that the forestland involved has been damaged and has not been effectively restored, in order to more effectively promote the restoration of the damaged forestland, the procuratorial organ launched a criminal incidental civil public interest lawsuit filing procedure on December 8, 2020.

  By visiting the local government, Forestry and Grassland Bureau and other units of the enterprise involved, the undertaker prosecutor has a comprehensive understanding of the operation and development of the enterprise involved, and verified that the enterprise is mainly engaged in coal operation. Since its establishment, no other violations of laws and regulations have been found. In December 2019, it was rated as an autonomous region-level green mine construction demonstration site, which has contributed to local development.

  "It is necessary to let the enterprise 'survive', 'retain' and 'operate well', and at the same time let it learn a lesson and avoid re-offending." During the handling of the case, the undertaking prosecutors strive to achieve the best case handling effect.

After learning that the companies involved were considering going through relevant approval procedures with the competent forestry authorities, the Dalat Banner Procuratorate immediately guided them to go through the procedures and pay the vegetation restoration fee, "If the approval is approved, it will promote the legal and compliant operation of the company and implement the The concept of green development also has a positive effect. Considering the effects of replanting and restoring greenery and compensating for ecological losses, they are persuaded to pay restoration funds.”

  At the beginning of 2021, the land illegally occupied by the company involved was reviewed and approved by the forestry authority, and the company also paid more than 1.16 million yuan for vegetation restoration according to law.

  In order to restore the water and soil resources in the damaged Yellow River water supply area, the Dalat Banner Procuratorate actively urged the local government to initiate the ecological environment damage compensation procedure, visited the Forestry and Grassland Bureau and invited relevant experts to comprehensively consider the actual situation of the land involved and the restoration effect. Afterwards, actively promote the vegetation restoration plan in different places, and support the Dalat Banner Forestry and Grassland Bureau to carry out consultations with the enterprises involved.

  In April 2021, the vegetation restoration plan in different places was finalized: the enterprises involved will replant more than 30 mu (3,100 pine trees) of forest land in different places on the basis of completing the approval procedures and paying the vegetation restoration fee.

In mid-April of the same year, the company carried out replanting and regreening according to the plan.

On May 11, the procuratorial organ invited the local forest public security bureau and people's supervisors to evaluate the survival rate of replanted trees and the effect of ecological restoration through field inspections and drone photography. People's supervisor Zhou Chengyong said: "At present, , the previously abandoned land has been covered with green clothes, but the enterprises involved still need to deeply understand the importance of ecological protection and continue to manage and protect the replanted trees, and experience the hardships of afforestation and management.”

  The rigidity and softness of the law

  During the handling of the case, the procuratorial organ produced the "Notice on the Lenient System for Pleading Guilty and Punishment" to inform the person in charge of the enterprise involved in the case.

However, business leaders are concerned that the leniency policy will not materialize.

  In response to the concerns of the person in charge of the enterprise, the prosecutor patiently explained the law and reasoned: presenting factual evidence and informing him of the legal responsibility he should bear according to the law; using case-based explanations and vivid cases to make them realize that admitting guilt and accepting punishment is not a verbal statement It is said that it is actually reflected in the handling of the case; through the organization to watch the video of ecological environmental protection, it makes them aware of the bad impact of the illegal behavior of the enterprise on the local ecological environment.

In addition, the procuratorial organs actively communicated with defense lawyers to convey the judicial goodwill of the leniency system for admitting guilt and accepting punishment.

Through legal interpretation education, the person in charge of the enterprise finally let go of the burden in his heart.

  Illegal occupation of a small number of acres of agricultural land, and the enterprise actively eliminates the impact, restores the ecology, and goes through the approval procedures for the relevant land plots. Does this situation meet the conditions for relatively non-prosecution?

After full consideration, the Dalat Banner Procuratorate decided to use its discretion not to prosecute and actively implement the judicial policy of careful prosecution.

On May 17, 2021, the court organized a hearing on the proposed non-prosecution case. Seven hearing officers including Dalat Banner people's congress representatives, CPPCC members, people's supervisors, and staff from the Federation of Industry and Commerce, and the Forestry and Grassland Bureau were invited to attend. 15 private entrepreneurs in the coal industry participated in the audit.

  At the hearing, the prosecutor in charge of the case expounded the nature of the case, the reasons for the proposed decision not to prosecute, and the relevant legal basis around the facts of the case.

The hearing examiners agreed with the characterization of the case and the decision not to prosecute.

  Gao Xiangdong, vice president of the Dalat Banner General Chamber of Commerce, pointed out that private enterprises may make mistakes in the development process. The procuratorial organs guide enterprises to standardize their operations through education, prevention, supervision and other means, effectively protecting the enthusiasm of entrepreneurs to invest and start businesses.

The person in charge of the enterprise involved surrendered himself, voluntarily pleaded guilty and accepted punishment, and repaired the ecological environment. From the perspective of promoting the long-term development of the enterprise and the actual effect of ecological restoration, he agreed with the procuratorate to make a decision not to prosecute.

  Liu Ping, an expert from the Forestry and Grassland Bureau of Dalat Banner, also believes that the company involved in the case has re-approved the unapproved forest land, actively rectified the illegal construction, and replanted in different places to meet the restoration standards, which is of great help in preventing soil erosion. Not prosecuted.

  After the hearing, the Dalat Banner Procuratorate carried out legal publicity on ecological resource protection and the rule of law to the participants of the enterprises based on the problems found in the past cases of illegal occupation of agricultural land and illegal mining.

  On May 26, 2021, the Dalat Banner Procuratorate made a discretionary decision not to prosecute the case.

When the prosecutor handed over the non-prosecution decision to the person in charge of the company involved, the person in charge solemnly promised to abide by the law and operate legally in the future.

  Criminal proceedings have ended, however, non-prosecution does not mean non-punishment.

According to the provisions of Article 177 of the Criminal Procedure Law, "If the person who is not prosecuted needs to be given administrative punishment or punishment or needs to confiscate the illegal income, the people's procuratorate shall submit a procuratorial opinion and transfer it to the relevant competent authority for handling", on June 11, 2021, The Dalat Banner Procuratorate issued a procuratorial opinion to the forestry and grassland bureau of the banner, suggesting that it impose administrative penalties on the enterprises involved.

On November 29, 2021, the Dalat Banner Forestry and Grassland Bureau issued the "Decision on Forestry Administrative Penalty", requiring the enterprises involved to restore vegetation and forestry production conditions within a time limit.

Currently, the company is working on a recovery plan.

  It is also understood that in August 2021, the Dalat Banner government established an ecological damage compensation deposit account and issued the "Implementation Measures for the Management of Ecological Damage Compensation Deposits" to solve the problem of unified collection and management of ecological damage compensation funds for public interest litigation and ensure ecological damage. Compensation funds are earmarked for exclusive use.

  A lively lesson in the rule of law

  □Yang Shulin, a first-level senior prosecutor of the People's Procuratorate of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region

  The Yellow River has a total length of 5,464 kilometers and flows through Inner Mongolia for 843.5 kilometers, ranking second among the provinces in the Yellow River Basin.

For a long time, natural disasters have occurred frequently in the Yellow River basin, the ecological environment of the basin has been fragile, the water conservation function of the Inner Mongolia section of the Yellow River has been reduced, soil erosion has been serious, and some main and tributaries have been polluted.

The Procuratorate of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region thoroughly studied and implemented the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important speech on ecological environmental protection and high-quality development, implemented the "three-in-one" case handling mechanism, improved the long-term linkage mechanism of "River and Lake Chief + Chief Prosecutor", and focused on the Yellow River Basin Focus on outstanding problems and carry out a series of special supervision actions, and build an Inner Mongolia inspection model for high-level protection of the ecological environment.

  This case is a typical case of criminal non-prosecution of the prevention and control of soil erosion in the Yellow River Basin handled by the Inner Mongolia procuratorate.

The procuratorial organ adheres to the criminal justice policy of "prudent prosecution", connects the concept of restorative justice with the application of the leniency system for admitting guilt and accepting punishment, and uses professional supervision of public interest litigation to improve the efficiency of ecological and environmental protection, which is not only conducive to the maximum restoration of the ecological environment in the Yellow River Basin, but also Conducive to promoting the compliant operation of private enterprises.

In addition, the case-handling procuratorate accepted the supervision of all walks of life by adopting the review method of public hearing, and sent a vivid rule of law lesson to entrepreneurs in the coal industry.

  1. Punish illegal and criminal acts of illegal operation and damage to the ecological environment in the Yellow River Basin in accordance with the law.

In this case, the enterprises involved have illegally occupied a large amount of forest land resources in the water supply land of the Yellow River without approval, causing a large amount of destruction of the forest land. They are suspected of illegal occupation of agricultural land and should be punished according to law.

Cases of illegal occupation of agricultural land frequently occur in the Yellow River Basin of Inner Mongolia, including illegal borrowing of soil, digging sand and quarrying, illegal discharge of pollutants into water bodies and other crimes that damage the ecological environment.

This case has reference significance for the Inner Mongolia procuratorate to handle similar cases in the future.

  2. Practice the concept of restorative justice, and actively prevent and reduce soil erosion.

The procuratorial organs, while punishing the crime of destroying the environment according to the law, take into account the restoration of the damaged ecological environment, and initiate the criminal incidental civil public interest litigation procedure according to the law for the illegal acts of the enterprises involved in the damage to the ecological environment.

After the case was filed, the procuratorial organ took the initiative to invite industry experts to evaluate and demonstrate the damage to the forestland involved and the restoration plan. By supporting the ecological and environmental damage compensation authority to negotiate and reach an agreement with the compensation obligor, it urged the enterprises involved to take remedial measures in a timely manner. The degree of damage to the ecological environment is reduced.

  3. Practice the criminal justice policy of "prudential prosecution", and apply the discretionary non-prosecution system to cases of guilty pleas and punishments with minor crimes.

The procuratorial organs comprehensively considered factors such as the companies involved in confession and repentance, the business status of the companies, the compensation for ecological and environmental damage, and the effectiveness of restoration and governance, and held public hearings on whether to prosecute in accordance with the law, accepting supervision from all walks of life.

In view of the minor crime of the company involved and its responsible person, they took the initiative to admit guilt and accept punishment, actively repair the damaged ecological environment, and there is no social danger, and made a decision not to prosecute the crime if the crime was minor, which reduced the impact of handling the case on the company and eliminated the private enterprises involved in the case. Ideological concerns, with judicial warmth to support and serve the healthy development of private enterprises.