This aerial photo taken on July 6, 2023 shows tourists enjoying themselves at the Arxan National Forest Park in Arxan of Hinggan League, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Photo:Xinhua

As August 15 marks the first National Ecological Day and to further strengthen the judicial protection of forest resources, the Chinese Supreme People's Court issued a document on Monday, which comprehensively regulates the conviction and sentencing standards and relevant legal application issues of crimes involving destruction of forest resources, clarifying the conviction and sentencing standards for such crimes.

The document states that the illegal occupation and destruction of more than 0.3 hectares of public welfare forest land or more than 0.6 hectares of commercial forest land constitutes a crime. In the case of repeated offenses, that is, if a person has been administratively punished for illegal occupation of agricultural land twice or more within two years and continues to illegally occupy the land, the standard for conviction shall be halved.

The document also specifies the conviction and sentencing standards for crimes that harm nationally protected plants. If one or more plants of the first-level protected wild plants or one cubic meter or more of standing timber of the first-level protected wild plants are harmed, or if two or more plants of the second-level protected wild plants or two cubic meters or more of standing timber of the second-level protected wild plants are harmed, it constitutes a crime of harming nationally protected plants. If the quantity exceeds five times the above standard, the degree of punishment will be increased.

In addition, the document clarifies the subjective knowledge and conviction and sentencing standards for crimes of illegal acquisition, transportation, theft, and excessive logging of trees. 

It is specified that forging, altering, buying and selling forestry permits, forest, land, and tree ownership certificates, as well as occupying or requisitioning forest land approval documents and other forestry documents and files approved by state authorities, constitute crimes and will be punished as forging, altering, buying and selling state documents and certificates.

Furthermore, Article 11 specifies that stealing trees that belong to the state, collectives, or others and have already been felled, as well as stealing trees planted by others in their own land or in front of their own house, will be punished as theft.

Zhou Jiahai, deputy director of the research office of the Supreme People's Court, stated during a press conference held on Monday that forests are the main body and important resources of terrestrial ecosystems and an important ecological barrier for human survival and development. According to Zhou, from 2018 to 2022, the courts nationwide have concluded a total of 64,788 criminal cases related to this matter, with 82,704 people sentenced.

Global Times