The world's tallest Buddha in southwest China's Sichuan Province will receive another facelift to repair damage caused by weathering and acid rain.

The 71-meter-high statue, just outside the city of Leshan, had a blackened nose, and moss and dark streaks coated its face and body, said Peng Xueyi, director of the Leshan Cultural Relics Management Institute.

"Our initial research shows the phenomena resulted from the combined effects of blossoming microbes nurtured by high humidity, weathering, and acid rain," Peng said.

He said a group of scientists had started research on the exact causes, and were preparing for another "facial" on the giant Buddha next year.

"We will fix the wear and tear it suffered over the years, and at the same time, keep its 'historical coarseness'," he added.

The Buddha statue, carved into a cliff in Leshan Mountain and overlooking three converging rivers, was built over a 90-year period starting the year 713, during the Tang Dynasty.

The UN-listed world cultural heritage statue has undergone several repairs and checks. In 2001, a 250-million-yuan project was conducted to clean the body, cement rock structure, and mend cracks and install drainage pipes.

But the pace of weathering and damage caused by visitors has outpaced the protection work.

"Preservation of the giant Buddha should be an enduring project, and I think large-scale maintenance projects should be carried out every five years," Peng said.

Meanwhile, conservationists have called on the local government to clean up the environment of the statue.

"Only through a comprehensive reformation of the surrounding environment can its aging process be delayed," Peng said.

The Leshan government has extended the Buddha scenic area from 2.81 square km to 17.88 square km in the last decade.

Since 2003, about 3,000 residents have been relocated from the scenic area, and 20 coal-fired power plants, leather factories and other small workshops have been moved.

In 2002, a 12-km bypass was built to keep car exhaust away from the statue.

The government has planned another diversion road to keep cars further away, and relocate the remaining 10,000 residents from the scenic area.

Like the Leshan Buddha, many Chinese natural and cultural heritage sites have succumbed to weathering, air pollution, inadequate protection, and negative influences brought by swarms of tourists.

Since 1999, when the "golden week" holidays were introduced, Leshan has saw an average 10 percent growth every year in the number of visitors.

It received about 2.81 million tourists in 2006, up 15 percent over the figure in 2005. In the first ten months this year, the Buddha has been visited by another 2.55 million people.

David Sheppard, head of programme on Protected Areas of the World Conservation Union, acknowledged protection efforts on the Buddha, and also stressed the urgent need to restore the original state of the statue.

"They need to improve management capacity, minimize impacts from increased tourism pressures, and link the protection with the surrounding local areas," he said.

On Wednesday, the 3rd Session of the International Conference on World Natural Heritage, convened by the UNESCO in the Mount E'mei in Sichuan, ended with a declaration on Protection, Management and Sustainable Development of World Natural Heritage.

"The declaration is the latest pledge in the conservation of natural heritages properties in the Asia and the Pacific Region. Now it's up to everybody, the government, international organizations, media and public to be more involved in protecting the precious heritages," Sheppard added.

(Xinhua News Agency November 8, 2007)