Introduction: This article describes how to approve the occupation of forest land, grassland, and ecological protection red lines by construction land, how does the law stipulate, what are the procedures, and what approval procedures are required.
1. Relevant provisions on the occupation of forest land by construction projects
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Legal Provisions
Forest Law of the People's Republic of China (2019 Revision) Article 37 The construction of mineral prospecting, mining and other types of projects shall not occupy or occupy less forest land;
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Under what circumstances do I need to go through the procedures for the use of forest land?
Answer: According to the provisions of the "Forest Law of the People's Republic of China", the "Regulations on the Implementation of the Forest Law of the People's Republic of China" and the "Administrative Measures for the Examination and Approval of the Use of Forest Land for Construction Projects", the construction of permanent and temporary buildings and structures on forest land, as well as other construction behaviors that change the use of forest land, need to go through the procedures for using forest land. These include:
(1) Occupy forest land for exploration, mining of mineral deposits and various construction projects;
(2) Temporary occupation of forest land by construction projects;
(3) The forest management unit shall occupy the forest land by building engineering facilities that directly serve forestry production within the scope of the forest land it operates.
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Occupy the forest land approval level
According to the Regulations for the Implementation of the Forest Law of the People's Republic of China, the occupation or expropriation of shelter forest land or special purpose forest land with an area of more than 10 hectares, timber forest, economic forest, charcoal forest land and its felling land with an area of more than 35 hectares, and other forest land with an area of more than 70 hectares, or the occupation or expropriation or requisition of forest land in key forest areas shall be examined and approved by the forestry and grassland administrative department of the State Council (the provincial forestry and grassland administrative department has been entrusted to examine and approve); If the area of requisitioned forest land is less than the above-mentioned provisions, it shall be examined and approved by the competent departments of forestry and grassland of the people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government.
2. Relevant provisions on the occupation of pasture land by construction projects
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Legal Provisions
Article 38 of the "Grassland Law of the People's Republic of China" stipulates that in the mining of mineral deposits and the construction of projects, the grassland shall not be occupied or the grassland shall be occupied less; if it is really necessary to expropriate, requisition or use the grassland, the approval procedures for construction land shall be carried out in accordance with the laws and administrative regulations on land management after examination and approval by the grassland administrative department of the people's government at or above the provincial level.
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What behaviors do construction units or individuals need to go through the procedures for grassland requisition and occupation?
According to the relevant provisions of the Grassland Law of the People's Republic of China, the State Forestry and Grassland Administration's "Regulations on the Management of Grassland Acquisition and Occupation Review and Approval", and the "Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Grassland Acquisition and Occupation Review and Approval Management Regulations", the following situations need to go through the review and approval procedures for grassland acquisition and occupation:
(1) It is necessary to change the status quo of grassland land for mineral mining and engineering construction;
(2) Examination and approval of temporary occupation of grassland;
(3) Examination and approval of the use of grassland for the construction of engineering facilities on grassland to serve grassland protection and animal husbandry production.
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The construction project shall handle the expropriation, requisition or use of grassland review and approval level
At present, only the forestry and grassland administrative departments of the State and the autonomous region have the authority to handle the examination and approval procedures for the requisition or use of grassland. Article 2 of the State Forestry and Grassland Administration's "Grassland Acquisition and Occupation Review and Approval Management Specifications" and Article 2 of the "Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Grassland Acquisition and Occupation Review and Approval Management Regulations" stipulate that the review and approval of grassland acquisition and occupation are approved
(1) If the expropriation, requisition or use of grassland exceeds 70 hectares, it shall be reviewed by the State Forestry and Grassland Administration, which has entrusted the Forestry and Grassland Administration of the Autonomous Region to conduct the review (the entrustment period is until January 31, 2026);
(2) The expropriation, requisition or use of grassland of 70 hectares or less shall be examined and handled by the Forestry and Grassland Bureau of the Autonomous Region.
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What regulations should be complied with in the hierarchical management of forest land for construction projects that occupy and temporarily occupy forest land?
- (1) All kinds of construction projects shall not use Class I protected forest land.
- (2) Construction projects approved and approved by the State Council, and infrastructure, public utilities and people's livelihood construction projects approved by the relevant departments of the State Council and provincial-level people's governments and their relevant departments, can use protected forest land of grade II and below.
- (3) For national defense and diplomatic construction projects, protected forest land of grade II and below can be used.
- (4) Infrastructure, public utilities and people's livelihood construction projects approved by the people's governments of counties (cities, districts) and cities divided into districts, autonomous prefectures and their relevant departments may use protected forest land of grade II and below.
- (5) Strategic emerging industry projects, exploration projects, large and medium-sized mines, and eco-tourism development projects in line with relevant tourism plans can use protected forest land of grade II and below. Other industrial, mining, storage and construction projects and operational projects that conform to the plan can use protected forest land of grade III and below.
- (6) Construction projects that conform to urban planning and construction projects that conform to rural planning may use protected forest land of grade II and below.
- (7) Construction projects that conform to the planning of nature reserves, forest parks, wetland parks, scenic spots, etc., may use protected forest land within the scope of nature reserves, forest parks, wetland parks, and scenic spots.
- (8) The use of forest land in quarrying (sand) yards and soil extraction sites supporting construction projects such as highways, railways, communications, electric power, oil and gas pipelines, and water conservancy and hydropower, and waterway projects shall be implemented in accordance with the scope of forest land used by the main construction project, but shall not use forest land in Class II protected forest land.
- (9) Other construction projects other than the above-mentioned construction projects can use Class IV protected forest land.
- The use of forest land for construction projects other than items (2), (3) and (7) of the first paragraph of this article shall not use first-class national public welfare forest land.
3. Requirements for the zoning of grassland and woodland
The "Notice on the Implementation of the Control of the Zoning and Use of Grassland and Forest Land" (Lincao Cao Jian Fa [2021] No. 257) requires that the ecological protection red line, the bottom line of environmental quality, the upper line of resource utilization and the ecological environment access list shall be strictly implemented, and all kinds of construction projects shall be actively guided to use grassland and forest land intensively and economically. Focus on ensuring the demand for the use of grassland woodland in infrastructure, public utilities and livelihood engineering construction projects, and strictly prohibit all kinds of construction projects and high-energy-consuming and high-emission projects that do not conform to the main functional orientation to occupy grassland and woodland. Mineral resource development projects with underground mining conditions shall be strictly controlled for open-pit mining. For mineral resources development projects that have been approved for construction and operation in line with the main functional positioning and industrial development layout, and the land for production and continuation needs to occupy grassland and woodland, the relevant procedures shall be completed in accordance with laws and regulations. Strictly control the occupation of grassland forest land by the dump outside the mineral resources development project, and the construction shall be strictly in accordance with the preliminary design approval, and shall not occupy more or more grassland forest land;
4. Provisions on the occupation of nature reserves by construction projects
If the construction project involves the occupation of nature reserves, it is indeed difficult to avoid it, and the provincial-level competent department of natural resources shall explain which type of functional area and land area to occupy, and the provincial-level forestry and grassland department shall issue a consent opinion.
5. Construction projects involve ecological protection redline provisions
According to the provisions of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment of the Ministry of Natural Resources <关于加强生态保护红线管理的通知>(Trial) (Natural Resources Development [2022] No. 142), the ecological protection redlines involved in construction projects are divided into two types: limited human activities allowed within the ecological protection redlines and occupation by major national projects.
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(1) Provisions on allowing limited human activities within the ecological protection red line. The ecological protection redline is an important control boundary in territorial spatial planning, and development and productive construction activities are prohibited outside the core protected areas of nature reserves within the ecological protection redline, and only limited man-made activities that do not cause damage to ecological functions are allowed under the premise of complying with laws and regulations. Nature reserves, scenic spots, drinking water source protection areas and other areas within the ecological protection red line shall be implemented in accordance with laws and regulations.
1. The limited human activities allowed within the ecological protection redline include:
(1) Management and patrol, protection and law enforcement, scientific research, investigation and monitoring, surveying, mapping and navigation, disaster prevention, mitigation and relief, military and national defense, epidemic prevention and control and other activities and related necessary facilities.
(2) Indigenous residents and other subjects with legitimate rights and interests are allowed to carry out activities such as planting, grazing, fishing, and breeding (excluding reef-type marine ranches and sea aquaculture) and build production and living facilities without expanding the existing construction land, sea-used islands, cultivated land, aquaculture scale and grazing intensity (in line with the regulations on the balanced management of grass and livestock).
(3) Archaeological investigation and excavation, paleontological fossil investigation and excavation, specimen collection and cultural relics protection activities approved by law.
(4) Tending and felling of artificial commercial forests according to regulations, or tree species renewal for the purpose of improving forest quality, optimizing habitats, and building biological fire isolation zones, etc., and carrying out bamboo forest felling and management in accordance with the law.
(5) The construction and maintenance of appropriate visits, tourism, science popularization and education, supporting service facilities and related necessary public facilities that do not damage ecological functions and conform to relevant plans.
(6) Activities such as linear infrastructure, communication and flood control, construction of water supply facilities, ship navigation, waterway dredging and dredging that must be avoided and cannot be avoided and conform to the territorial and spatial planning at or above the county level, and the operation, maintenance and transformation of existing legal water conservancy, transportation and other facilities.
(7) Geological survey and mineral resources exploration and mining. Including: basic geological survey and strategic mineral resources prospect survey and other public welfare work, uranium exploration and mining activities, mining rights can be registered, oil and gas prospecting rights established in accordance with the law continue to explore activities, prospecting rights can be renewed, changed (excluding the expansion of the scope of exploration blocks), retention, Cancellation of oil and gas resources that can be exploited and proven reserves can be transferred out of the ecological protection red line in accordance with relevant national regulations; Excluding the expansion of the scope of mining areas), cancellation, and the prospecting rights of strategic minerals such as chromium, copper, nickel, lithium, cobalt, zirconium, potash, and (medium) heavy rare earth ores have been established in accordance with the law to carry out exploration activities, and the prospecting rights can be registered, and the mining rights can be registered if mining activities are carried out due to national strategic needs. For the above-mentioned exploration and mining activities, measures to mitigate the ecological impact shall be implemented, and the relevant requirements for green exploration, mining and ecological restoration of the mine environment shall be strictly implemented.
(8) Ecological restoration carried out in accordance with the special planning of land and space planning and ecological protection and restoration at or above the county level.
(9) Cleaning up of border sightways and construction, maintenance and dismantling of boundary works carried out in accordance with the relevant laws and regulations of the mainland and the national border management system agreements (treaties) signed with neighboring countries.
(10) Other man-made activities permitted by laws and regulations.
2. Strengthen the management of limited human activities. Where limited man-made activities within the scope of the above-mentioned ecological protection redline control involve the approval of new construction land or sea-use islands, when submitting for approval the conversion of agricultural land, land expropriation, the right to use sea areas, or the development and utilization of uninhabited islands, a determination opinion issued by the provincial-level people's government that conforms to the permitted limited man-made activities within the ecological protection redline shall be attached; Where the above-mentioned activities involve nature reserves, the opinions of the competent departments of forestry and grassland or the management bodies of nature reserves shall be sought.
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(2) Relevant provisions on the management of ecological protection redlines that are truly required for major national projects. In addition to the above-mentioned permitted limited man-made activities, major national projects that really need to occupy the ecological protection red line shall be subject to the approval of land use and sea islands in accordance with the following provisions.
1. Project Scope. Projects with specific names in documents issued by the CPC Central Committee and the State Council or approved by the State Council; military and national defense projects approved by the Central Military Commission and its relevant departments; transportation and water conservancy projects with clear state-level plans (referring to those officially promulgated by the State Council and its relevant departments); power grid projects with clear state-level plans; energy and mineral exploration and exploitation, oil and gas pipelines, hydropower, and nuclear power projects with clear state-level plans and in line with national industrial policies; Transportation, energy, water conservancy and other infrastructure projects that are confirmed by the State Council's investment department or the State Council's investment department in conjunction with relevant departments, and major national projects that require the central government to increase the intensity of land protection for construction land in accordance with the requirements of the working mechanism for land use guarantee for major national projects and confirmed by the National Development and Reform Commission in conjunction with relevant departments.
2. Handling requirements. The above-mentioned projects (excluding new land reclamation and new islands) shall be submitted to the State Council for approval after the Ministry of Natural Resources conducts a pre-examination of land and sea use in accordance with regulations. When applying for approval of the conversion of agricultural land, land acquisition, and the right to use sea areas, the unavoidable argumentation opinions issued by the provincial-level people's government based on the "one map" of land and spatial planning and the requirements of use control shall be attached, explaining the necessity of occupying the ecological protection red line, saving and intensifying, and mitigating the ecological and environmental impacts.
Major national projects that occupy the ecological protection red line shall strictly implement the requirements for the zoning and control of the ecological environment, and carry out environmental impact assessment in accordance with the law.
6. Provisions on the protection zone for the occupation of drinking water sources by construction projects
It is forbidden to construct construction projects unrelated to water supply facilities and the protection of water sources in the first-class protection zone for drinking water sources, and it is forbidden to construct construction projects that discharge pollutants in the second-class protection zone for drinking water sources, and to build new infrastructure such as roads, railways, bridges, oil and gas pipelines, and shall not cross the first-class protection zone for drinking water sources;
7. What are the requirements for the approval of tailings ponds
Strict implementation of total control. All provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government) should combine the requirements of the region's national economic and social development planning, land use, production safety, soil and water conservation and ecological environmental protection, and adopt policies and measures such as equal or reduced replacement to implement total control of tailings ponds in the region, since 2020, under the premise of ensuring the normal construction and development of scarce and strategic mineral mines, the number of tailings ponds will only decrease in principle.
Strict review of access conditions. Encourage new mining projects to give priority to the use of existing tailings ponds; if it is necessary to support the new tailings ponds, strict review of new tailings pond project approval, project site selection, river protection, safety production, ecological environmental protection, etc., and shall not approve the relevant national laws, regulations, standards and policies that do not meet the requirements of the overall layout of the industry, land and space planning, river protection, safety production, soil and water conservation, ecological environmental protection, etc. Strictly control the new independent concentrator tailings pond, it is strictly forbidden to build a new "head reservoir", the total dam height of more than 200 meters of tailings pond, it is strictly forbidden to build a new tailings pond within 3 kilometers from the Yangtze River and the Yellow River main stream shoreline, 1 km from the shoreline of important tributaries, and the new fourth-class and fifth-class tailings ponds must be built in a dam mode.