On July 31, 2018, CBCGDF received an equitable decision from the National Forestry and Grassland Administration. Compared with the equitable, open and transparent attitude of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, people can’t help but ask: Why and how did the Forestry Department of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region make such an unprofessional reply? How did these 33 pangolins lose their lives? What kind of responsibility should be paid? They are all intriguing questions.

The letter of the decision that CBCGDF received from the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, made the following decision regarding the CBCGDF’s disobedience to the Administrative Reconsideration of the Application for “not Disclosing the Relevant Information about the Pangolins” made by the Forestry Department of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region:

The Forestry Department of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region identified all the foregoing information disclosed by China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation as “consultative nature, not belonging to government information”, which is obviously inappropriate and lacks legal basis; The Forestry Department of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region did not provide the evidence and basis for the information content of the consultative nature in the reply to the administrative reconsideration, and no response and explanation, and therefore, it was unclear to identify the main facts.

Also decided:

First, to revoke the respondent’s “Reply on the Inspection of the Containment of the Pangolin on August 17, 2017” by the Forestry Department of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on April 28, 2018. Second, to order the respondent to reply again to an information disclosure application submitted by the applicant on April 12, 2018.

The National Forestry and Grassland Administration considered that the Forestry Department of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, as the local people’s government’s competent department of terrestrial wildlife protection, bears the responsibility of wildlife protection.

CBCGDF praises the decision made by the National Forestry and Grassland Administration! This not only reflects their support for the participation on social organizations in ecological environmental protection, but also respects and implements the information disclosure system in China and is also an active promotion of ecological civilization construction!

In retrospect: The whole experience of CBCGDF’s applying to the Forestry Department of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region to open about the 33 pangolins-related information that was rescued in August of last year was full of hardships.

On August 21, 2017, the third detachment of the Marine Police of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region seized a suspected illegal transportation of precious and endangered wild animals. On the spot, 33 living national-level protected pangolins, and 1 dead pangolin were handed over to the Forestry Department of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The rescuing measures was taken by the Guangxi Terrestrial Wildlife Rescue and Epidemic Disease Detection Center, which is under the administration of the Forestry Department of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

For the sake of the urgency and importance of pangolins’ protection, and for the detailed and accurate understanding of the information on the saved pangolins, CBCGDF applied for disclosure to the Forestry Department of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region several times between August 22, 2017 and April 12, 2018. The relevant data on rescued pangolins has not been clearly replied. In this regard, CBCGDF filed an administrative reconsideration application with the National Forestry and Grassland Administration on June 6, 2018 for the Administrative Reconsideration.

The National Forestry and Grassland Administration’s decision letter to the Administrative Reconsideration application (Photo source: thepaper.cn)

(Photo source: Internet)

(Photo source: VCG)

(Photo source: CHINANEWS.com)