The effort is aimed at reining in the rampant ecological damage wrought in the blind pursuit of economic development, said Xie Zhenhua, minister of the State Environmental Protection Administration.

A recent probe by the administration showed that in several seriously polluted regions, about 10 percent of the enterprises exceeded the national standard on pollution discharge, Xie said.

It was also found that in those regions 30 percent of polluting enterprises which had been closed down are now trying to start production again, he added.

Illegal forest destruction and hunting of wild animals were widespread in these areas, too. Some organizations, and even local governments, use the excuse of developing the economy to cut down trees and occupy forest land, said Zhou Shengxian, head of the State Forestry Administration.

In the first four months of this year, about 50,000 people found involved in such cases have been punished, Zhou said.

“It’s obvious that illegal activities are rebounding and are even rampant in some regions,” Xie said. “If we do not take concrete actions to tighten control over them, the progress we have made will be ruined.”

Xie and Zhou spoke Wednesday at a national televised conference to launch the campaign, which was jointly initiated by the State Environmental Protection Administration, the State Economic and Trade Commission, the Ministry of Supervision and the State Forestry Administration.

Environmental protection departments should tighten controls over the construction of new projects in regions which are seriously polluted and where polluting activity is rampant, Xie said.

Small polluting enterprises, such as small paper-making and leather processing plants, will be closed. The facilities in such enterprises will be dismantled.

Enterprises will be examined to see if they meet the standards of pollution discharge.

A new hotline will be set up soon so the State Environmental Protection Administration can receive complaints of ecological wrongdoings, Xie said.

The supervision department should watch governments of all levels to ensure national laws are followed, said Chen Changzhi, minister of supervision at the conference.

In addition to those responsible for environmental protection in a region, officials of the local government will also be punished if violations occur, Chen said.

Enterprises should upgrade their ability to prevent pollution, said Wang Wanbin, vice-director of State Economic and Trade Commission.

Obsolete and energy-consuming technologies and products should be discarded and replaced with clean production practices that are efficient in using resources and effective in reducing pollution discharge, he added.

(www.cctv.com.cn 05/24/2001))