Vegetation ecologist Li Zhengji found himself in the vanguard when the provincial Nanping Intermediate People's Court considered the first public-interest environmental lawsuit filed after China strengthened its environmental protection laws earlier this year.

The Xiamen University professor was asked to evaluate the ecological damage from a stone quarry on Hulu Mountain in Nanping's Yanping district, research that would be needed to restore the site and advise the judges considering the case.

"My role was like that of a forensic officer in medical science," said Li, who found the vegetation had been significantly damaged by stone mining.

"I explained to the court how seriously the environment had been destroyed."

With the help of Beijing specialists, the team recommended a plan to restore the environment and calculated the amount of money needed to complete the job.

The six environmental experts who participated in the case, under new rules that encourage reliance on expert analysis, greatly helped the judges, and the use of specialists should be regarded as an effective way to evaluate such cases, said Gan Daixing, one of the judges responsible for the case.

The case against the stone miners was filed by Friends of Nature, a Beijing-based nongovernmental organization, and the local Fujian Green Home Environment Friendly Center on behalf of the public under the country's revised Environmental Protection Law, which provided for such lawsuits as of Jan 1.

The stone miners said during the trial that they realized their mistakes and agreed to restore the mountain after the verdict's announcement, Gan said.

He added that the men's realization that they had a responsibility to protect the environment was among the most meaningful outcomes in the case.

Gan said he was encouraged by the rights the revised law provided to environmental groups to sue those that damage the environment. But he said five judges in the case had a debate over implementation of the law at the beginning of the trial.

The law provides for public-interest litigation by green groups that have been registered for five years or more. Friends of Nature had not reached the requirement, though Green Home had.

"But the NGO, established in 1993, had contributed to environmental protection for a long time before its registration, and, considering the damaged environment, I called to approve its qualification to litigate," Gan said.

The decision was applauded by the Supreme People's Court in a two-day seminar on trying environmental disputes earlier this month. Judges in environmental tribunals were urged to make such considerations in similar cases, as environmental restoration was a priority.