Beijing approves masterplan to protect environment after decades of breakneck economic development

Beijing has approved a masterplan for environmental protection reforms that deals with economic incentives, property rights for natural resources, land planning, officials' performance appraisals, and law enforcement.

The blueprint approved by the Communist Party's Politburo yesterday follows the party's pledge in late 2013 to nurture back to health the environment after decades of breakneck economic development.

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The Politburo said institutional reforms for environmental protection were "indispensable". "The country should respect nature, adjust to nature and protect nature. Economic development and environmental protection should be coordinated."

It said a framework was needed for such reforms and called for a clear ownership system for natural resources and systems for "compensation, evaluation and responsibility".

The Politburo said fines for polluting companies should better reflect the scarcity of natural resources.

Writing in Caixin Weekly in July, Yin Yanlin, a bureau chief at the general office of the Leading Group for Financial and Economic Affairs, argued that such reform was necessary, as land, water and certain mineral resources were priced far below the market rate.