The 78-meter Jinding Television Tower, the tallest of its kind in Southwest China's Sichuan Province, has been found to be a major killer of the local fir forest that covers about 10,000 hectares.

According to forest worker Li Jieping, dramatic changes have occurred over the past 20 years in the fir forest that is several hundred years old.

Before 1980, fir trees around the tower were quite lush and most of their trunks measured 50 centimeters in diameter. But now, leaves fall, branches wither and trunks even die, Li said.

After several attempts to pinpoint the cause, forest experts believe radiation from the tower's electromagnetic waves, as well as acid rain and fog, are the culprits.

An official surnamed Tan with the Sichuan Radio and Television Bureau said at the time the tower was erected, people paid little attention to ecological protection.

"With the development of modern technology and the economy, harmony between nature and mankind has become increasingly important and we would join hands with the management committee of Mount Emei to restore the local ecology at any price," Tan said.

Qin Furong, a local official, said more than 200,000 seedlings have been planted since the late 1980s, most of which are now five to 10 meters tall.

To eliminate all hidden dangers to the ecology, the local government mapped out a comprehensive program including 100 sub-projects ranging from afforestation to the protection of wildlife.

A famous mountain range held sacred by Chinese Buddhists, Mount Emei, with a land area of 154 square kilometers, is home to 3,200 kinds of plants and 2,300 kinds of animals.

(China Daily February 14, 2003)