Ecological environment monitoring is the "pillar" and "lifeline" supporting ecological environment protection. After years of development, especially the rapid construction since the 14th Five Year Plan, China has built a large-scale, well-equipped, and reasonably laid out ecological environment monitoring network. At the same time, the standardization and institutionalization of ecological environment monitoring work need to be further improved. The Regulation clarifies the legal status, basic principles, management system, rights and responsibilities of all parties, behavioral norms, and legal responsibilities of ecological environment monitoring work, and systematically constructs the basic institutional framework of ecological environment monitoring, marking a new stage of comprehensive rule of law, standardization, and high-quality development of ecological environment monitoring work.
1、 Establish a unified and coordinated ecological environment monitoring system, clarify responsibility boundaries and sharing mechanisms
The Regulation provides top-level design for the construction and management of ecological environment monitoring networks, requiring the construction of a modern monitoring system that integrates land and sea, integrates heaven and earth, collaborates vertically, and shares information.
One is to clarify the departmental collaboration mechanism and establish a "big monitoring" work pattern. In response to issues such as poor integration of monitoring information, redundant construction, and the coexistence of blind spots in supervision, the "Regulations" clarify the responsibilities of relevant departments, stipulate that the ecological environment supervisory department, in conjunction with relevant departments, shall organize an ecological environment monitoring network, unify the planning of ecological environment quality monitoring station settings, and establish a working mechanism for relevant departments to take their respective responsibilities and cooperate. This lays the foundation for further strengthening departmental cooperation, establishing an integrated ecological environment monitoring network of sky, earth, and sea, and supporting the improvement of national ecological environment governance efficiency.
The second is the linkage between the state and local governments to ensure the orderly operation of network construction. The Regulation stipulates that the competent department of ecological environment under the State Council, together with relevant departments of the State Council, is responsible for the construction of the "National Ecological Environment Monitoring Network", the establishment and filing management of national ecological environment quality monitoring stations, etc., focusing on macro layout, rule formulation, and supervision and management. The local people's government and its relevant departments are responsible for the planning, construction, operation guarantee, and territorial management of the ecological environment monitoring network within their administrative regions. This institutional arrangement not only ensures the reasonable layout, unified standards, and orderly operation of the national ecological environment monitoring network, reflecting the requirement of "the whole country plays a game of chess", but also endows local people's governments with necessary autonomy and flexibility, which is conducive to carrying out work in conjunction with local realities and forming institutional synergy.
The third is to establish a system of data exchange and sharing, and consolidate the foundation of collaborative governance of data. The Regulations have established a system for the exchange and sharing of ecological environment monitoring data, with data exchange, network interconnection, information sharing, and data mutual recognition as the core, transforming the principle of "co construction and sharing" into a clear legal obligation. This is crucial for supporting the joint prevention and control of regional air pollution, coordinated management of watershed water environment, and environmental impact assessment of major national strategies. Only by achieving smooth flow of data across departments, regions, and levels can a solid and unified data foundation be provided for precise traceability, scientific decision-making, and efficient supervision, thereby greatly enhancing the overall and collaborative nature of ecological environment governance.
2、 Establish a sound quality supervision mechanism throughout the entire chain and strengthen the responsibilities of all parties involved
The core value of ecological environment monitoring lies in the authenticity and accuracy of data. The Regulation establishes a sound supervision system throughout the entire chain, consolidates the responsibilities of all parties, has zero tolerance for data fraud, and effectively maintains the credibility of monitoring data.
One is to strengthen the main responsibility of enterprises and institutions, and take strict measures at the source. Self monitoring is an important component of ecological environment monitoring. The Regulation specifies in detail the legal monitoring obligations and quality assurance responsibilities of enterprises and institutions, clarifies that enterprises and institutions and their responsible persons are responsible for the authenticity and accuracy of monitoring data, and for the first time lists six specific behaviors of data falsification at the administrative regulatory level, enhancing the discernment of illegal behavior and the accuracy of legal deterrence. At the same time, the Regulation requires enterprises and institutions to establish a monitoring data quality management system, install video surveillance at major monitoring points and connect them to the internet. These regulations together constitute a "combination of measures" for strict prevention at the source, further clarifying and strengthening the main responsibility of enterprises and institutions for monitoring data quality.
The second is to standardize institutional technical services and strictly manage the process. Technical service institutions are an important force in the ecological environment monitoring market, and their professional quality directly affects the reliability of data. The Regulation establishes a systematic regulatory framework for technical service institutions, clarifies strict requirements for filing and practice, emphasizes the need for them to independently, objectively, and fairly provide services, establishes a system for recording and tracing the entire service process, and thus forms a rigorous regulatory chain covering institution filing, practice standards, responsibility definition, and post accountability.
The third is to establish a sound accountability mechanism and impose severe consequences. The Regulation sets gradient penalties for different degrees of illegal behavior, ranging from fines, suspension of business for rectification to revocation of qualifications, lifetime ban, and even criminal responsibility, demonstrating the firm determination of the country to ensure the quality of ecological environment monitoring data.
3、 Leading the development of monitoring technology capabilities and enhancing data application and service efficiency
The Regulation is not only a summary of existing practices, but also a norm for future oriented and leading development. It keenly grasps the development trend of digitization and intelligence, points out the direction for the transformation and upgrading of ecological environment monitoring, and provides legal guidance for improving monitoring capabilities through technological innovation.
One is to clarify the direction of building a modern monitoring system and strengthen capacity guarantee. The Regulation focuses on building a high-level ecological environment monitoring network that covers land and sea, connects heaven and earth, coordinates central and local governments, and facilitates data exchange. It strives to promote the upgrading of ecological environment monitoring technology and equipment towards automation, digitization, and intelligence. This top-level design provides a solid institutional guarantee for continuously improving the breadth, accuracy, and efficiency of the ecological environment monitoring network. At the same time, the Regulation emphasizes the strengthening of the training and construction of professional talent teams, injecting strong impetus into the continuous improvement of ecological environment monitoring capabilities from two dimensions: technological innovation and intellectual support.
The second is to encourage technological integration and application innovation, driving the transformation of digital intelligence. The Regulation clearly encourages the application of non-contact technologies such as remote sensing monitoring, and requires the integration, management, service, and sharing of data through ecological environment monitoring and management service platforms. Its guidance is to promote the evolution of monitoring methods from traditional manual to automated and intelligent, and the transformation of monitoring models from extensive to precise. It provides legal basis and support for the promotion and application of new technologies such as satellite remote sensing, drones, big data, and artificial intelligence. This development orientation can not only improve monitoring efficiency and reduce human interference, but also achieve real-time perception, accurate traceability, and trend warning of ecological environment quality and pollution sources, thereby providing technical support for "precise, scientific, and lawful" pollution control.
The third is to expand the field of monitoring services and enhance the efficiency of decision-making support. The legislative purpose of the Regulation is not limited to ensuring data quality, but also emphasizes the important role of ecological environment monitoring in supporting the construction of ecological civilization and a beautiful China, and serving the high-quality development of the economy and society. This means that the positioning of ecological environment monitoring work is extending from simple environmental quality assessment to broader areas such as comprehensive decision-making, evaluation of governance effectiveness, optimization of industrial layout, and support for ecological compensation. The provision of support for key areas, river basins, sea areas, and coordinated regional development mentioned in the Regulations, as well as the emphasis on risk monitoring and early warning, all reflect the deepening of the connotation and expansion of ecological environment monitoring services. This requires the continuous improvement of data analysis and mining capabilities and comprehensive application efficiency in ecological environment monitoring work, so that massive monitoring data can be truly transformed into valuable decision-making information, serving the macro overall situation of high-quality economic and social development.
(Chen Chuanzhong, Deputy Director of China Environmental Monitoring Station)