The environmental impact of development plans in five regions
and five heavily polluted industries will be assessed by the State
Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) in a bid to improve
the threatened environment.
A council of 39 experts will review the environmental impact of
the economy to help draft eco-friendly policies, said Pan Yue,
vice-minister of the SEPA, at an international conference which
opened in Beijing on Saturday.
Called strategic environmental assessment, the review aims to
provide high-level environmental protection and contribute to the
integration of environmental considerations into the preparation
and adoption of plans and programs to promote sustainable
development.
Pan identified the regions as: The middle and lower reaches of
the Yellow River where energy projects are densely located, and the
economic zones to the west of the Taiwan Straits, along Beibu Gulf
in south China, the Bohai Rim in north China and
Chengdu-Chongqing.
The industries are steel, petrochemicals, power, paper making,
and coal chemicals.
Similar pilot projects have been implemented in 10 cities,
provinces and autonomous regions.
The country has started to pay the price for industrial
development which neglects environmental impact, Pan said.
Citing an example, he said that a third of the 75 largest steel
plants are located in cities with populations of more than 1
million.
In Xiamen of Fujian Province, known for its pretty seaside
views, a large chemical plant project led to strong protests among
residents in June and construction was suspended.
The country conducts environmental impact evaluations of single
projects, for instance, power stations.
The SEPA has been working on a regulation on environmental
impact evaluation of government policies and plans for two years
but it has not been published yet.
"Some industries and local governments oppose such a policy,
based on their own interests," Pan said.
But the draft regulation has been submitted to the State
Council, he said.
"Many reasons have led to environmental deterioration, such as
pursuit of short-term economic interests, lack of
economic-environmental policy tools, or lack of environmental
responsibility tracing system for officials," Pan said.
"But the fundamental reason for environmental problems is the
absence of a general plan for industrial distribution."
(Xinhua News Agency?November 5, 2007)
