Chinese Government Enshrines Environmental Protection in Law

On the 26th of December 2020 the Chinese government adopted new environmental laws to protect the Yangtze River.

The Yangtze river is often called China’s ‘Mother River’ and has provided fresh water and food for thousands of years. However the 6,300km length waterway has become increasingly polluted and unstable.

These laws aim to prevent excess development along the river and to limit fisheries. Breaking these laws are punishable by fines and even prison terms.

The new laws also enshrine 322 new natural protection conservation zones to protect wildlife.

As we noted in a previous post, the Yangtze river is the worst culprit for river plastic pollution - responsible for 1.5 million tonnes of plastic entering the sea annually.

Fingers crossed this makes a difference!