The State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) has ordered Yunnan provincial environmental administration to punish the movie makers of The Promise for environmental damages to a lake in the scenic Shangri La area.

A spokesman for the SEPA briefed the press about the investigation in the alleged environmental problems left over by the film makers who built a number of temporary facilities, which damaged 500 square meters of grassland in the area between May and June of 2004.

The movie makers asked the local government to clear up the area and repair the environmental damages, but the reparation was delayed for various reasons until April 2006 when environmental departments and media intervened.

The spokesman said the movie makers should have followed relevant environmental laws and regulations when making an environmental assessment and submitted a report to the provincial environmental administration, before they built the temporary facilities in the lake area.

Currently, the affected area has been partially repaired and restored, while the place is no longer in a mess, with all the temporary buildings dismantled, according to the spokesman.

China has a lack of necessary laws for checking and punishing destructive activities on the environment, and the government should step up supervision and improve the management of its environmental protection, he added.

(Xinhua News Agency May 17, 2006)