The People's Liberation Army is hosting the International Conference on Military Environmental Protection, which opened this week in Beijing.

The conference, focusing on the theme of environmentally friendly construction and management of military zones, is hosted by the PLA's Logistics Department. A platform for international communication and cooperation, the conference is being held to promote global military environmental protection and construction.

Hundreds of delegates from 54 countries, including the United States, Germany, France, Japan and India, are attending the three-day meeting.

Du Yunsheng, director of the Infrastructure Construction Office of the PLA's Logistics Department, said that the army has intensified its efforts to protect the environment and has made substantial progress in recent years in sustainable development.

Military construction should be environmentally friendly, using such means as incorporating pollution control facilities in designs, said Du.

An evaluation system has also been established to examine the effects of military construction and equipment on the environment.

Environmental protection has been a part of PLA activities for many years. For example, the army invested 4 million yuan (US$480,000) in the early 1980s to tackle noise pollution caused by an engine laboratory of the Air Force's No. 1 Research Institute. The project reduced the affected area from 12.5 to 0.3 square kilometers, bringing relief to 1,200 nearby households.

Professor Fang Zhendong, of the PLA's Logistical Engineering University, said that the focus of the army's environmental efforts is gradually shifting from afforestation to broader-based environmental protection.

The PLA issued revisions to its Regulation on Environmental Protection in August. The updated regulation establishes a complete management system for environmental protection and personnel training.

(China Daily October 13, 2004)