Experts and officials from China, Japan, the Republic of Korea (ROK) and Mongolia gathered in Beijing Tuesday, calling for strong monitoring measures and close cooperation to deal with the sandstorms that have run rampant across the Northeast Asian region.

Dust and sandstorms (DSS) constitute a severe environmental threat and have increased in frequency over the past 50 years in Northeast Asia.

In recent years, this phenomenon has become worst, raising serious concerns in the region.

The hazardous dust and sandstorms of last spring troubled people not only in China, but also in the Republic of Korea and Japan.

The Third Expert Meeting on Ecological Conservation in Northwest China, which concludes Wednesday, is part of the Tripartite Environment Ministers Meeting (TEMM) of China, Japan and the ROK. It provides a forum for researchers from the four countries to present scientific findings in tackling dust and sandstorms and discuss future regional cooperation.

The four countries pledged to improve the environments of their own countries as well as the overall environment of the Northeast Asian region by enhancing communication and cooperation in relevant fields, said Chinese environment official Zhang Shigang.

The meeting will yield results and benefit the progress of fighting sandstorms in the Northeast Asian region, said Zhang, deputy director of the department for international cooperation under the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA).

Since DSS is a transboundary environmental problem, it requires a regional cooperation mechanism, said Zhang.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB)-Global Environment Facilities (GEF) Technical Assistance Project, signed last December, represents a joint effort made by the four countries to address the problem, he said.

To answer requests made by the four countries for an integrated intervention, the project, sponsored by ADB and GEF with US$1 million, is going to establish an initial institutional framework, including a regional monitoring and early warning network for DSS. This will facilitate operational coordination among the major DSS stake holders in the region.

Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Mongolia and Kazakhstan have been regarded by experts as three major sources of sandstorms affecting Northeast Asian regions.

Expert analysis indicates that the heavy snows, which blanketed Russia, the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and most other parts of North China last winter, are an important factor behind Beijing's current clear skies as the wind failed to stir up large amounts of dust so far this spring.

"The sandstorms are expected to be delayed a little this year," said Dong Xuhui, a senior engineer with the DSS research institute of SEPA, "but it's hard to tell the intensity and frequency right now.''

(China Daily February 19, 2003)