The investment demand for environmental protection in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, is expected to hit 23.6 billion yuan (US$3.7 billion) during the 12th five-year plan period (2011-2015), accounting for 2.5 percent of the region’s GDP during that same period, and increasing by 0.3 percentage from the demand of the previous five-year period, according to a recent provincial governmental meeting of the region.

The investment will be used to reduce the discharge of major pollutants, protect the water environment, control air and heavy metal pollution, dispose of solid wastes and improve environmental regulatory capacity, according to the region’s plan on environmental protection from 2011 to 2015.

In addition to an increased investment, the government will highlight precautionary actions, and step up law enforcement, to avoid attracting investors at the expense of lowering environmental standards, the region’s Chairman Wang Zhengwei said.

From 2006 to 2010, Ningxia recorded a 11.6 billion yuan investment in environmental protection, accounting for nearly 2.2 percent of the region’s GDP during the same period.

By the end of 2010, emissions of sulfur dioxide and chemical oxygen demand had decreased 9.38 percent and 14.72 percent respectively, from the beginning of 2006.