China issued its annual report on the state of environment of 2002
Thursday, saying the ecological situation was "still not
optimistic" even though total amount of pollution was reduced.
The report issued by the State Environmental Protection
Administration (SEPA)
said the overall state of the environment last year almost remained
unchanged compared with 2001, naming pollution in rivers, lakes and
seas, air pollution in cities, and acid rain as major problems
across the country.
Seven major rivers and their tributaries in China have been
polluted to varying degrees. Less than 30 percent of the sections
of seven major river basins met the water quality standard for
Grade I to III, while 41 percent of the sections had water quality
worse than Grade V.
The Haihe River, running through the densely-populated
Beijing-Tianjin region, was still the dirtiest river, while the
Yangtze River suffered the least pollution.
Excessive discharges of nitrogen and phosphor into the water,
mainly because of overuse of fertilizers by farmers, and improper
handling of wastes produced by livestock and poultry farms, were
still leading causes of pollution in the lakes of Dianchi, Taihu
and Chaohu.
The total amount of waste water discharged from factories and urban
sewage systems reached 43.95 billion tons last year, an increase of
1.5 percent over the figure for 2001.
In
2002, the water quality in most of the marine areas in China
maintained its good condition. But heavily-polluted sea areas could
still be found in the East China Sea, which embraces the provinces
of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and Shanghai, and in the Bohai Gulf around
which lie north China's major ports and industrial cities.
In
2002, red tides, caused by too much nitrogen and phosphorus in sea
water, occurred 79 times in about 10,000 square kilometers, posing
threats to oceanic ecosystems and fisheries.
The air quality of about two-thirds Chinese cities failed to meet
the air quality standard for Grade II, although emissions of soot,
industrial dust and other pollution were reduced.
Total suspended particles were blamed as the leading pollutant of
urban air. Excessive sulfur dioxide in the air caused acid rain
affecting many areas in the south last year, according to the
report.
In
2002, the noise of traffic in 325 cities was monitored, and more
than 60 percent had mild noise pollution. Nearly half of the
monitored 319 cities suffered mild district noise.
Total domestic garbage reached 136.38 million tons, an increase of
1.2 percent over the previous year. The treatment rate was 54.3
percent.
The report said last year the overall environment in China was not
affected by radioactive pollution and the quality of the
radioactive environment was still at its previous level.
Last year 315 ecological test sites were established, with the
forest area and storage amount kept on growing. The growth rate of
afforestation areas was also greatly improved, said the report.
In
2002, droughts, storms, tropical storms and sandstorms were still
the main climate disasters in China, and the loss caused by the
climate disasters was between moderate and heavy, according to the
report.
(Xinhua News Agency June 5, 2003)