Creating New Phase Of Environmental Protection In New Century

By Author: peter
Total Articles: 191

During "the Ninth Five-year Plan" period (1996 - 2000), thanks to the recognition of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, China's environmental protection undertaking achieved tremendous headway: the tendency of the country's deteriorating industrial pollution was brought under preliminary control, the environment quality in some cities and regions was somewhat improved, and the protection and construction of the ecological environment were strengthened, thus making positive contributions to expediting the sustained, rapid and sound development of the national economy and social progress, and laying a solid foundation for environmental protection in the new century.

However, we must take note of the fact that the environmental situation nationwide remains grim: the aggregate volume of pollutants discharged is still quite large, far higher than the environment's self-purifying capability, industrial pollution control is far from ending, the proportion of sanitary pollution is on the rise, agricultural source pollution has become increasingly prominent, the tendency of deteriorating ecological environment has not been put under effective check. During the "10th Five-year Plan" period, China's Hublot Replica industrialization and urbanization will continue to develop even faster and the economic i globalization and China's entry into the WTO will bring about new environmental problems. This being the case, we must have u sober understanding of the importance of and the protracted nature and arduousness of environmental protection in the new century.

Urban and rural environment quality, particularly that in large and medium-sized cities and key areas, will be improved by 2005; the volume of major pollutants emitted will be reduced by 10 percent compared to 2000; the volume of sulfur dioxide discharged will be 20 percent less in the "dual-control areas"; the rate of forest coverage will be raised to 18.2 percent; the rate of reforestation in areas of newly completed cities will be raised to .H.K percent. The ecological deteriorating tendency will be brought under preliminary control. There goes the saying "A long journey begins with the first step". Attainments of the environmental protection objectives listed in the "10th Five-year Plan" are of great significance to China's sustainable development in the new century. Therefore, we must adopt effective measures to fulfill various tasks without fail. Structural readjustment is the main line of the "10th Five-year Plan" for National Economic and Social Development. Environmental protection must rely closely on the strategic readjustment of the economic structure.

Efforts must be intensified to close down and suspend the production of small enterprises that use backward techniques, cause serious resource wastes and pollution and fail to achieve the specified economic scale. In industrial pollution control, we should combine technical renovation with clean production, and integrate the raise of the quality of economic growth and the reduced load of contamination, so as to realize increased production and decreased pollution. For urban environmental protection, major efforts should be exerted to come to proper grips with readjusting the energy structure, with the emphasis placed on solving the problems concerning water, air and garbage pollution. We should continue to boost the construction of model cities that distinguish themselves in environmental protection. In the prevention and control of agricultural pollution, we should combine readjustment of the agricultural structure with the control on agricultural contamination, vigorously develop ecological agriculture, build ecological demonstration areas, and reduce surface and source pollution.

Environmental protection is a fundamental national policy and an important function of the government. Governments at all levels should earnestly strengthen government Cartier Replica Watches leadership over the work of environmental protection, attach great importance to and strengthen the construction of environmental protection. Governments at all levels must put environmental protection high on the agenda. We should institute a system under which all chief leaders personally grasp and take overall responsibility for environmental protection, and see to it that responsibility, input and measures are put in place in real earnest.

We should actively support the reform of market zing and industrializing environmental improvement and constantly broaden investment and fund-raising channels for environmental protection. Environmental protection departments at all levels should strive to enhance the supervision and the enforcement of unified laws and regulations, and strengthen the work of environment-related science and technology, input, monitoring, information and publicity and education. We should unfold environment-caution education, encourage public participation, and give play to the supervisory role of news media.