Ma Youxiang, director of a grassland supervision and management center under the Ministry of Agriculture, said the current punishment - a fine of up to 50,000 yuan ($8,000) - is not enough to deter crimes compared with the huge profits to be made from mining.
Areas that have seen most damage to grasslands include Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang, as well as Heilongjiang and Jilin provinces.
Inner Mongolia, which is famous for its iron ore and rare earth reserves, replaced neighboring Shanxi province as China's top coal producer in 2010. Its booming mining industry has led to concerns about high environmental costs and conflicts between mining companies and local residents.
Last year, two truck drivers, both affiliated with mining companies, were sentenced to death in Inner Mongolia after killing residents in disputes over mining pollution, Xinhua News Agency reported.
In one of the cases, Sun Shuning was convicted of murdering Yan Wenlong, who lived near a coal mine operated by Peaceful Mining Co. The report said residents had often complained about the mine and clashed with the company's employees.
Chen Jiqun, who runs a nonprofit website for pasture protection, said he hopes the judicial interpretation can be well enforced to protect threatened pasturelands.
He added that the judicial interpretation can only deal with part of the issues concerning grassland protection, and called for a revision of the country's Grassland Law, which was last amended a decade ago.
10th China Int'l Auto Exhibition to be held in Guangzhou
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