An "overall and authoritative" database for the country's
ecological status will be established by next March, once the
mammoth ecological survey of the central and eastern regions is
completed, according to the
State Environmental
Protection Administration (SEPA).
The administration, along with the National Bureau of
Statistics and the State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping,
recently started a comprehensive ecological survey of 19 central
and eastern provinces and municipalities, including Beijing,
Shanghai and Tianjin, SEPA officials said yesterday.
The ongoing ecological survey will cover 24 categories, including
basic social and economic development, land use, soil erosion,
forest, water resources, scenic spots, endangered species,
wetlands, nature reserves, farm pollution and energy
exploration.
The yearlong survey, combined with a previous survey in western
parts of the country in 2000, will come out of a database for the
country's overall ecology.
Zhuang Guotai, an official with the Natural Conservation Department
under SEPA, said the nationwide ecological database will provide
comprehensive statistics as "essential references" for the central
government to use when drafting policies in line with the country's
sustainable development strategy.
The database will also be available online to the media and the
public, Zhuang said.
Organizers of the survey, which is similar to the investigation
project in western regions, will collect the latest statistics on
the social, economic and environmental status in the central and
eastern regions and then assess the progress of ecological
conservation efforts in those regions, SEPA officials said.
Provincial governments have set up special working groups, usually
headed by the governors of the provinces, to cooperate with SEPA on
the survey, Zhuang said.
Local governments were required to double check the statistics they
provided to ensure accuracy of database, Zhuang said.
Zhuang also said the central and eastern regions, though boasting a
relatively developed economy compared to those western provinces,
are suffering serious ecological problems such as farm pollution,
the decrease of wetlands, drought and flood.
SEPA officials said the ambitious economic development plans should
not rule out the protection of the deteriorating ecology there.
(China
Daily May 15, 2002)