China will invest more in protecting the environment during
the current Five-Year Plan (2001- 2005), said a leading environmental
official Tuesday.
Wang Yuqing, vice
minister of the State Environmental Protection Administration
(SEPA), said the nation will enhance its work so that the
public have more awareness of how to protect the environment
and prevent more land from turning into desert.
According to Wednesday's
China Daily, the central government spent about 34 billion
yuan (about US$4 billion) on improving the environment from
1996 to 2000. During the period from 1991 to 1995, the figure
stood at 3.5 billion (US$420 million).
However, desertification
remains a real concern for people in north China, the region
has been hit repeatedly by sandstorms in recent years.
In addition to
the weather, the "impaired" environment is considered
by experts to be the major reason for sandstorms.
In order to reduce
them, it is crucial to improve the environment, especially
by protecting vegetation on the ground, as the ability to
control the weather is limited, said Wang Tao, vice-director
of the research institute for environment of frigid and drought
zones under the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
(People's Daily
04/11/2001)
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