Sichuan Province in western China will improve its ecological condition and conserve the Yangtze River with afforestation, a senior local official said Saturday at the Western Forum of China.
Zhou Yongkang, secretary of the provincial committee of the Chinese Communist Party, said Sichuan will persist in turning the fragile farmland into forests and containing pollution.
The ecological environment should be treated to the extent that the silt flowing into the river be contained and the water quality be considerably improved, he added.
The longest river in China, the Yangtze River originates in Qinghai Province and passes Sichuan and other provinces and municipalities before charging into the East China Sea.
Sichuan, a heavily afforestated region, serves as a main area for water conservation of the Yangtze River.
Excessive logging and water pollution in the west region have constituted grave threat to the Yangtze River, a lifeline for the river basin.
The Chinese government is very cautious that the massive campaign to develop the west shall not worsen the ecological environment in the region.
(People's Daily 10/21/2000)
