Liu Qifeng, vice-director of the planning department of the State Environmental Protection Administration, was outlining plans for the country's environmental protection work over the next five years to city-level environmental protection officials from across the country.

The officials are attending a 21-day training program in Beijing, which is being held to better acquaint them with the present situation of environmental protection in China and the country's overall plan for environmental protection over the next five years.

During the 10th Five-Year Plan (2001-05)period, the country will need a total investment of 700 billion yuan (US$85 billion) in environmental protection, which will account for about 1.3 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP), Liu said.

In the previous Five-Year Plan (1996-2000), the investment in environmental protection reached 360 billion yuan (US$43.5 billion), or about 0.9 percent of the GDP.

Despite the progress made in the ninth Five-Year Plan (1996-2000), environmental pollution is still serious in China, Liu said.

For example, the total discharge of major pollutants in China remains high and the worsening of the ecological environment has not been brought under control.

During the current five-year plan, importance will be attached to reducing the overall discharge of industrial pollutants.

Regulations on the environmental protection management of construction projects will be enforced strictly so that newly built projects will use environmentally friendly processes and equipment.

The country will tighten control over pollution from six industries, namely coal, electric power, metallurgy, the chemical industry, building materials and light industry.

Protection of the ecological environment will also be stressed over the next five years.

For instance, forest coverage in 2005 is expected to reach 18.2 percent of the overall land area of China. Currently the coverage is about 16 percent.

In cities, efforts will be made to solve the problem of air and water pollution, which is a major concern among urban people.

In rural areas, measures will be taken to prevent the introduction of polluting industries and ensure that agricultural products are free from pollution.

The country will also take measures to protect the maritime environment, develop the environmental protection industry and perfect a management system for environmental protection.

(China Daily 05/29/2001)