Connotation and Framework Design of Compulsory Ecological System
生态义务制的内涵与框架设计

Since western China is a region with a fragile ecology and deep human impacts, the task of ecological recovery requires the whole nation. An ecological civilization requires a system of ecological administration, that is, a nation-wide system of ecological responsibility and obligation.. The development of an ecological civilization can be divided into four stages: infancy, preparation, construction and advanced stages. The construction period comprises ecological construction with high input, ecological obligation with nation-wide popularization and ecological management with institutionalization. The construction of a compulsory ecological system is imperative, and more significantly, the system should be one of constitutional obligation. Here, we define the legal connotation and characters of compulsory ecological system. As one of the newest legal obligations, the compulsory ecological system should link up with other constitutional obligations like compulsory military service, education, labor and tax systems. We suggest that the key to a compulsory ecological system has two aspects: clear and definite legal relations between the liability object (ecological environment) and various liability subjects (government at all levels, citizen, enterprise, academic institution, community, NGO, mass media, student); and a basic framework and operating mechanism at a national level regarding the interactive process among obligation entities involved in the ecological system. It is necessary to mobilize the entire society, including governments, when implementing compulsory ecological systems. As the representative of authority, both the central and local governments should bear the bulk of ecological political responsibilities such as ecological planning, ecological management and ecological purchasing. Based on social responsibility and moral principles, various organizations and individuals shall fulfill their obligations according to law. The basic framework of a compulsory ecological system involves trading mechanisms of ecological product and safeguarding ecological obligations. In particular, it is important that a Statute of Ecological Compulsion be developed for implementation.