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Tieling in northeast China's Liaoning Province is to spend 5 billion yuan (US$649.35 million) to restore its shrinking wetlands, local environmental watchdogs have said.

Wetlands play a vital role in water conservation, flood prevention and soil preservation. The province's wetlands covered 200 square kilometers in the 1980s, today it has shrunk to 4.3 square kilometers.

 

"The wetlands are giving way to overdevelopment, pollution and farming," said Chen Dongfang, a local public servant, and an expert on wetlands.

 

Huge amounts of waste is being directly discharged into the wetlands endangering the local wildlife, he said.

 

Experts attribute the lack of a specific protection law as a major reason for the drastic shrinkage.

 

To address the problem, the local government has promised to give priority to the protection of the wetlands and its restoration, Gui Zhixin, vice-mayor of Tieling, said.

 

The city, for the first time, will incorporate the protection of wetlands into the evaluation system used to measure the performance of local officials.

 

According to sources close to the local government, the restoration project is for environmental and economic reasons.

 

Tieling is to build a new district close to the neighboring economic hub of Shenyang to share some of its success.

 

The wetlands, located in the middle of the old city and Shenyang, have long been considered for their scenic and economic potential.

 

"We will make full use of all our water systems to establish a water city," Gui said.

 

The protection of wetlands has been given prominence in recent years due to the rapid urbanization of cities in northeastern China.

 

(China Daily May 9, 2007)