Protecting the Habitats of Endangered Species Through Environmental Public Interest Litigation in China: Lessons Learned from Peafowl Versus the Dam.

This article analyzes the landmark Chinese civil environmental public interest litigation (EPIL) case known as Green Peafowl, in which environmental NGOs successfully halted a hydropower project threatening the habitat of the endangered green peafowl (Pavo muticus). It highlights how civil EPIL, established under China’s Civil Procedure Law and Environmental Protection Law, enables qualified NGOs to seek judicial remedies against environmental harm, including challenging flawed environmental impact assessment (EIA) reports prepared by project developers and EIA institutions. While Green Peafowl demonstrates the potential of civil EPIL to protect both recognized and unrecognized habitats and to hold developers accountable despite government approvals, the article also discusses limitations such as timing of intervention, uncertain litigation outcomes, case-by-case protection scope, and courts’ cautious stance on EIA claims. The analysis concludes that civil EPIL complements but does not replace government regulation, emphasizing the need to grant NGOs standing to challenge administrative agency decisions to improve habitat protection and regulatory accountability in China.