Western China can expect both economic development and ecological improvements in the coming five to 10 years as the country standardizes its mining industries and implements ecological protection plans.

The Ministry of Land and Resources yesterday made public its long-term program on the development of the west.

The program sets regulations for the use of land and resources while stressing that the environment must never be sacrificed to generate profits.

Within five to 10 years, the ministry predicted, a number of large-scale mining industries equipped with advanced technologies will be established in western China to efficiently use the area's rich mineral resources.

The ministry has designated 10 major development areas for mining, including the Sichuan Basin, the middle-stream valley of the Yellow River and the middle and western sections of Qinling Mountain.

Only companies with advanced techniques and focusing on high-quality mineral resources that are not geologically disruptive will be allowed to work in the region, according to the program.

Those companies who fail to fulfill their obligations to protect the environment will be suspended from operating until their practices are improved, said Pan Wencan, director of the planning department of the ministry.

These 10 major areas will not be able to rely on governmental allocations to prop up business but must attract investment, too.

To that end, local governments are working on new policies to attract more investors.

Those policies may include giving bigger discounts on related fees and allowing foreign experts to directly take part in governmental surveys.

As part of the program, many of the wild mountains should be transformed into lush orchards producing high-quality fruits or into grasslands to support many herds.

Tree and grass-planting plans will also be implemented along the upper streams of the Yangtze River and the Yellow River, the two major water sources for China and where heavy soil erosion is evident.

Discovering new underground water resources to alleviate water shortage is also a goal.

In other efforts, a monitoring system is planned to forecast geological disasters such as earthquakes and landslides.

Western China boasts 86.7 percent of the country's unused land and is undoubtedly the country's untapped treasure basin of mineral resources.

About 86 percent of the country's hydra-energy, 61.5 percent of coal and 71.9 percent of natural gas reserve may be there.

But the area's environment is especially vulnerable. Eighty percent of China's total area with soil erosion, and more than 70 percent of each year's geological disasters take place in western China.

(China Daily 10/11/2001)