Rural industrial pollution and environmental law enforcement in China

Abstract

The rapid development of township and village enterprises (TVEs) in China is posing a serious threat to the rural environment. Although China has a fairly well developed environmental legislation system, environmental law enforcement remains a major problem in the rural areas. This study analyzes the measures designed for environmental law enforcement and their applicability in the rural areas. It reveals that the dispersed distribution of TVEs, lack of environmental monitoring, conflicting interests of local governments, and poor environmental awareness of the rural people are responsible for the spread of industrial pollution into the rural areas. This paper argues that government regulations and law enforcement measures for pollution control must reflect the political and economical realities of rural areas.