BEIJING, March 11 -- A new reform is in the works to ensure independent and effective law enforcement by local watchdogs in China, Minister of Environmental Protection Chen Jining said on Friday.

The reform on law enforcement management of environmental watchdogs under the provincial level is aimed at tackling the intervention of local protectionism in environmental supervision and prompting local governments to assume their responsibilities in environmental protection, he said.

A pilot program will be conducted within one year and the whole reform will be completed before 2018 when the incumbent cabinet's tenure comes to an end, Chen said at a press conference on the sidelines of the national legislature annual session.

The ministry is drafting a guideline with 17 provinces planning to carry out the pilot reform, he said.

The reform also deals with cross-regional environmental protection management, Chen said.

Lack of supervision over local governments and intervention in the environmental watchdogs' duties are common in China.

According to the new reform, provincial-level environmental departments will be put directly in charge of the city level and allocate the budget. County-level environmental bureaus will be abolished and in their place will be supervision agencies.