Legal basis: People's Republic of China (PRC) Environmental Protection Law.
Article 20 The state establishes a coordination mechanism for joint prevention and control of environmental pollution and ecological damage in key areas and river basins across administrative regions, and implements unified planning, unified standards, unified monitoring and unified prevention and control measures. The prevention and control of environmental pollution and ecological damage other than those specified in the preceding paragraph shall be solved by the people's government at a higher level through coordination or by the local people's government concerned through consultation.
Article 29 The State shall draw red lines of ecological protection for key ecological functional areas, sensitive areas of ecological environment and fragile areas, and implement strict protection. People's governments at all levels shall take measures to protect representative areas of various natural ecosystems, natural distribution areas of rare and endangered wild animals and plants, important water conservation areas, geological structures with great scientific and cultural value, famous caves and fossil distribution areas, glaciers, volcanoes, hot springs and other natural relics, as well as cultural relics and ancient and famous trees, and it is strictly forbidden to destroy them.
Article 30. In the development and utilization of natural resources, it is necessary to rationally develop, protect biodiversity, ensure ecological security, and formulate and implement ecological protection and restoration plans according to law. When introducing exotic species and researching, developing and utilizing biotechnology, measures should be taken to prevent biodiversity from being destroyed.
Article 31 The state establishes and improves the compensation system for ecological protection. The state has increased financial transfer payments to ecological protection areas. The relevant local people's governments shall implement the ecological protection compensation funds to ensure that they are used for ecological protection compensation. The state guides the people's governments in the beneficiary areas and ecological protection areas to compensate for ecological protection through consultation or in accordance with market rules.