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Protection of the environment should be a critical concern when exploiting the nation's valuable resources, Minister of Land and Resources Tian Fengshan said yesterday.

Such efforts would also improve efficiency during exploitation work, Tian said in a speech yesterday to mark the 34th World Earth Day.

Various activities were held in central Beijing yesterday with a theme of "treat the earth better, protect resources better."

Tian described the value of the theme as promoting a more harmonious relationship between resources exploitation and environmental protection.

Tian blamed some people for their "short-sightedness" when putting economic development ahead of environmental protection. This has led to land abuse and mining disorder in some Chinese regions, which has resulted in the serious waste of resources.

The ministry will carry out better law enforcement and programming to ensure a more efficient and environmentally friendly exploitation of resources, he pledged.

Sources with the Chinese Academy of Land and Resources Economics revealed the ministry has already authorized it to carry out research for a further revision of the country's two basic resource managerial laws - the Land Management Law and the Mineral Resources Law.

The results will be submitted to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress for reference. The legislature will then consider revisions of the laws.

Although few details are available currently, the source said researchers have been instructed to focus more on "specific" penalties in order to punish those abusing resources.

Statistics released yesterday by the ministry reveal the country's resources shortage will intensify if the country maintains its fast economic development.

China's arable land shrank by 1.32 percent to 125.9 million hectares in 2002, leaving the country's per capita farmland area at a mere 0.097 hectares - less than 50 percent of the global average.

In addition, China could suffer a shortage of many minerals despite its place as a major mineral production base for the world. China has to import huge amounts of such strategic minerals as oil and copper every year.

Moreover, Chinese regions are facing increasing water shortages.

The country is confronted with a grave challenge to supply drinking water to one fifth of the world's population with just 8 percent of the total freshwater resources. China's population currently stands at 1.3 billion people.

(China Daily April 23, 2003)