Environment in western region to be protected (China Daily) Updated: 2005-02-05 08:50
The environment of the nation's vast and economically underdeveloped western
region will be protected forever as a new regulation is to be introduced by the
end of the year, a senior official with the State Council's Office of the
Leading Group for Western Region Development has revealed.
The new regulation will be the first comprehensive one of its kind for the
region, which accounts for half of the nation's territory. The region's per
capita gross domestic product (GDP) is 65 per cent of the nation's average.
Wang Jinxiang, deputy director of the office, told China Daily the core of
the regulation would be to ensure the ecosystems of the most precious parts of
the region were protected during development.
"Such details like whether factories can be built or what kind of factories
can be built in different areas will be included," Wang said on Friday.
A compensation mechanism for the use of resources may be included, he said.
The region is home to China's water sources and the largest power provider
for the nation. However, it has 80 per cent of the nation's desertificated
areas. And 70 per cent of China's most serious water and soil loss has occurred
in the region.
In the Environmental Sustainability Index report, released last month in
Switzerland, China was ranked 133rd among 142 countries.
Analysts say the countries towards the end of the list are short on natural
resources or have poor management over their resources.
The protection of the ecosystems in several fragile locations, such as the
areas cradling the Yangtze, Yellow and Lancang-Mekong rivers, is a must for all
levels of government, Vice-Premier Zeng Peiyan reiterated on Friday during a
meeting commemorating the fifth anniversary of the State's "Go-west" strategy.
Despite the problems in the western region, remarkable achievements have also
been made in the past five years, thanks to the government's increasing
financial assistance for ecological projects.
By the end of last year, local people had rehabilitated and cultivated land
into forests, and planted about 11.3 million hectares of trees on barren land
and mountains.
"The State will surely step up its support for the development of the western
region in the future," noted Zeng.
This year will also see the issuing of a circular about human resource
development in the region, according to Dai Guiying, director of the office's
department of human resource development and regulations.
Although the office has launched a 10-year strategy in that regard, serious
brain drain and a lack of highly skilled people are still curtailing the
region's development.
"The problem is especially serious at the grassroots level, where qualified
teachers, technicians and vets are in great demand," said Dai.
Wang, who has worked in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, says in the
south of the region, nearly 50 per cent of all doctors are unqualified.
"Human resource development is the weakest point when it comes to the
region's development and it will be the next focus of our work," he said.
Dai says she hopes "serving in the west for a short period can become a rule
for all new civil servants."
In a related matter, the highly expected western development law is in its
final draft, said Wang.
The law, expected to be introduced in three to five years, will dictate the
development of the region.
"We are considering including such safeguards about the channels of capital
supply for the region," said Wang.
Zhang Jianyu, a visiting scholar to Tsinghua University, pointed out the
State authorities should take into consideration the reality of the unbalanced
development between the nation's east and west while making policies.
Between 2000 and 2005, the central government has allocated 460 billion yuan
(US$55.4 billion) for the construction of infrastructure in the western region
and over 500 billion yuan (US$60.2 billion) as transfer payments and special
subsidies, according to the office.
Between 2000 and 2003, the region's annual GDP growth has been 10 per cent on
average. The region has gained substantial progress in infrastructure
development in the past five years, with 60 key projects launched at a cost of
850 billion yuan (US$102.4 billion).
