HANGZHOU -- Chinese courts have witnessed a decline in the number of trials of first-instance cases concerning environment and resources since 2021, with the number of criminal cases involving environmental pollution dropping significantly.

The change signals positive results in the country's environmental governance, as revealed during a national conference on environment and resources case trials held on Tuesday in Huzhou, Zhejiang province, East China.

Since June 2014 to September this year, Chinese courts have handled about 2.16 million cases concerning environment and resources, according to the conference.

Since 2014, the number of specialized judicial bodies for ecological environment and resources has increased from 134 to more than 2,400, with more than 10,700 professional judges.

In addition, the Supreme People's Court has formulated and revised 21 judicial interpretations in the area over the past decade, with 22 normative documents issued, as per the conference.