A key problem, he said, is poor enforcement of the press law.
Although many countries already have such a ban in theory, poor enforcement means that it often leaks into agriculture.
Regulators concede that poor enforcement is undermining most of their attempts to improve the state of the environment.
Poor enforcement of fire codes have led to several devastating fires in China in the past few years.
Meanwhile, poor enforcement of the licensing system allows the widespread sale of products made from poached ivory, fueling the slaughter.
In 2008, the journal Pediatrics reported that two-thirds of residents regularly broke the rule, suggesting that poor enforcement, perhaps related to ingrained norms, had undercut the reform.
Nor will the law help people such as Shanxi's slaves, who suffer not from a lack of legal protection but from poor enforcement.
"At present, coastal zoning maps are confusing, with the few conservation gems hidden amongst protected areas that are ineffective because of inadequate regulations or poor enforcement".
Less than 1% of the fines levied for failing to observe it are ever paid, because of uncertain ownership and poor enforcement.
The issue of trust is that much more pressing in emerging economies, whose threadbare legal systems and poor enforcement offer little assurance to investors.
They said the deaths had resulted from poor enforcement of wildlife laws requiring trawlers to stay several miles offshore during the turtle nesting season.
