The United Nations Environment Program's (UNEP's) first symposium on environment laws in the Asia-Pacific region opened on Monday in Tianjin, a port city in north China.

During the three-day symposium, 60 lawmakers from 30 developing countries and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region will concentrate on such topics as implementation of multilateral environmental agreements and economic and financial methods of environmental management.

Yin Gai, of China's State Environmental Protection Administration, said that the discharge of pollutants in China continues to decline annually despite 8 percent annual growth in its gross domestic product. He attributed the trend to the promulgation of laws on environmental protection.

Bakary Kante, director of UNEP's Division of Policy Development and Law, said that they had chosen China to be the venue for its first regional environment symposium because the experience of Tianjin in disposing of hazardous waste can be introduced to other developing countries.  

(Xinhua News Agency August 17, 2004)