<p>On March 31, an Australian court began hearing arguments in a case challenging what would be the country's largest coal mine. The environmental group Coast and Country filed suit in the Land Court of Queensland against Indian mining conglomerate Adani and the company's proposed Carmichael mine. The $16.5 billion project would consist of strip and underground mining and cover about 174 square miles.

<p>China is instituting a two-year inspection campaign to curb the submission of fraudulent air monitoring data, which Vice Minister for Environmental Protection Wu Xiaoqing says some local governments have been providing to Beijing. Under the program, the ministry's own monitoring stations will cross-check data from localities. Recent amendments to China's environmental law impose criminal liability for evading pollution monitoring requirements.

<p>The Tanzanian parliament adopted a disaster assistance law in hopes of alleviating the country's increasing vulnerability to storms, floods, and droughts. The new legislation creates the Disaster Management Agency, which will stockpile supplies and have the authority to order evacuations. The agency will also have the power to halt movement of guns and alcohol into disaster areas, in an effort to reduce the surge in criminal activity that authorities say has accompanied recent disasters.