China sees more environmental lawyers

BEIJING - China has seen a growing number of environmental lawyers, with special committees targeting the area established in lawyers associations in most of the country's provincial-level regions, sources with the All China Lawyers Association (ACLA) have said.

An ACLA special committee focusing on environmental, resource and energy affairs now has over 100 members, compared with 17 lawyers when it was set up 18 years ago, according to Zhou Saijun, head of the committee.

Its members nationwide have stepped up efforts handling cases related to environment and resources and boosted public interest litigation, increasing lawyers' participation in environmental protection, he said.

The committee has also actively participated in legislation on environmental protection, offering opinions to legislative organs, said Zhou, noting that many of the opinions have been reflected in passed laws.

The committee will improve training of its members and more lawyers in handling cases related to environment and resources, he added.