China saw little change in its environmental quality in 2003, compared with the previous year. Air pollution was still serious, though the cities with air quality meeting the standard of Grade 2 rated 41.5 percent of the total. While the area of acid rain-affected zones did not expand, pollution in some parts of Hunan, Zhejiang and Jiangxi provinces became more serious. The quality of water in major river systems remained unchanged in 2003, with that of Haihe, Liaohe and Huaihe rivers improving slightly, while Songhuajiang and Pearl rivers deteriorating. Pollution in offshore areas of the Yellow Sea worsened, while the quality of marine water in the offshore areas of the Bohai Sea and the East China Sea saw some improvement though pollution remained a serious problem. The quality of marine water in offshore areas of the South China Sea maintained the level of the previous year.

Noise pollution in urban areas was basically controlled and more than half of China's cities enjoyed an acceptable noise environment—80 percent of cities achieved a relatively good road traffic noise environment. However, noise pollution was still one of most serious environmental problems felt by urban residents.

Radioactive Pollution Prevention Law. Chinese President Hu Jintao sign a presidential decree on June 28, 2003, promulgating the Law of the People's Republic of China on Prevention of Radioactive Pollution. It aims to prevent radioactive pollution, protect environment, ensure people's health and promote the development and peaceful utilization of nuclear energy and nuclear technology. The law came into effect on October 1, 2003.

Farmland further shrinking. In 2003, a total of 229,000 hectares of farmland were used for construction; 50,000 hectares were destroyed by disasters; nearly 2.24 million hectares were returned to forests and grassland for ecological preservation; and another 332,000 hectares were turned to other uses due to structural adjustment in agricultural production. On the other hand, land reclamation and redevelopment projects restored 311,000 hectares of farmland. Overall, China saw a net reduction of about 2.54 million hectares of farmland in 2003.

Increasing consumption of energy and major raw materials. Preliminary estimates show that the total energy consumption in 2003 approached 1.68 billion tons of standard coal equivalent, up 10.1 percent over the previous year. Of this total, crude oil consumption stood at 252 million tons, up 12 percent, and raw coal, 1.58 billion tons, up 13.6 percent. The consumption of major raw materials included 271 million tons of rolled steel, up 28.6 percent; 11.68 million tons aluminum oxide, up 15.7 percent; and 836 million tons of cement, up 15.3 percent.

Tight water resources. Per-capita water resources in 2003 was 2,076 cubic meters, down 5.6 percent compared with the previous year. The average rainfall during the year amounted to 640 mm, down 3 percent. The year-end combined water storage of China's 454 major reservoirs in 2003 stood at 186.4 billion cubic meters, an increase of 21 billion cubic meters, with total water utilization reaching 541 billion cubic meters, down 1.5 percent from the previous year. Water consumption for daily life rose 5 percent; for industrial use was up 1.1 percent; and for agricultural use declined 3.5 percent. The per-capita water consumption nationwide was 420 cubic meters, down 1.9 percent.

Water quality deteriorating slightly. In the mainstreams of the seven major river systems, 52.5 percent of the surveyed sections met the quality of Grade III as specified in the national standards for surface water, down 0.4 percentage points compared with the previous year; 38.1 percent met the quality of Grade IV or V, up 11.3 percentage points; and 9.3 percent were under Grade V, down 11 percentage points. Of the 237 offshore monitoring stations, 19.8 percent reported water quality up to the standard of Grade I, down 1.5 percentage points.

Strengthened urban environmental protection. Of the 340 monitored cities, 141 met the standard of Grade II in terms of air quality, accounting for 41.5 percent of the total monitored, up 7.7 percentage points over the previous year; 108 met the standard of Grade III, accounting for 31.8 percent, down 3.2 percentage points; and 91 were rated as Grade III minus, accounting for 26.7 percent, down 4.5 percentage points. In urban areas, the sewage central disposal rate reached 42.1 percent, up 2.1 percentage points; the detoxification disposal rate of municipal solid waste, 58 percent, up 3.8 percentage points, and the comprehensive utilization rate of industrial solid wastes, 53.5 percent, up 1.5 percentage points. Smoke/dust control zones nationwide covered 33,000 square km and noise pollution control zones covered 20,000 square km.

Enhanced ecological environment conservation. The total afforested area reached 9.3 million hectares in 2003, up 19.7 percent, including 8.31 million hectares contributed by six major forestation projects. By the end of 2003, the state had approved the establishment of 82 national ecological model areas, in addition to 1,999 nature reserves, 44 national geological parks and 457 geological relics preservation zones. A total of 158 projects for preventing geological disasters were completed in the Three Gorges Reservoir area. Some 56,000 square km of areas were treated through comprehensive anti-erosion projects.

More red tides. In 2003, red tide occurred on 119 occasions, 40 times more than the previous year, an increase of 50.6 percent. The red tides totally affected an area of 14,550 square km, causing 42.8 million yuan of direct economic losses.

Fishing ban along the Yangtze River. On February 1, 2003, China launched its first-ever ban on commercial fishing along its longest Yangtze River in spring. Representing the first of such move worldwide, the three-month full fishing ban covered more than 8,100 km of river sections, including 4,090 km of the Yangtze River mainstream and over 4,000 km of its tributaries. It affected 10 provinces and municipalities along the Yangtze River-the provinces of Yunnan, Sichuan, Guizhou, Hubei, Hunan, Anhui, Jiangxi and Jiangsu, and municipalities of Chongqing and Shanghai. It also covered large lakes like Poyanghu and Dongtinghu in the Yangtze River Basin, involving a professional fishing population of more than 50,000.

The Yangtze River is China's most important production area of freshwater fish. Starting in the mid-1980s, over-fishing, as well as water project construction, reclaiming land from lakes and water pollution, have greatly damaged the fish resources in the river. Some economic fish resources had shown signs of exhaustion. Many rare aquatic wild animals, such as white-fin dolphin and paddlefish, are in danger of extinction. According to scientific research, effective regular fishing ban can protect 22.35 million adult fish of the four major cultivated species and can help increase larva production by over 1.2 trillion. At present, China has launched summer fishing bans in offshore areas of the East China Sea and the South China Sea.