There were 1,463 pollution accidents in fishery areas last year,
affecting a total area of 94,000 hectares and resulting the direct
economic losses of 243 million yuan (US$31.8 million), a report
published by the Ministry of Agriculture and State Environmental
Protection Administration (SEPA) said yesterday.
Pollution also cost the country 36.4 million yuan worth of lost
natural fishery resources, it said. The data were based on
inspections of more than 96 major fisheries.
Blue-green algae afflicting
Taihu Lake in Jiangsu
Province
In a related matter, the SEPA will launch a full-scale
ecological evaluation of all lakes and reservoirs this month and
draw up comprehensive treatment measures for each, said Zhang
Lijun, deputy director of the SEPA.
Tough measures have already been put in place in Jiangsu Province 's Taihu Lake, the country's
third largest, which has been struggling with an algae bloom that
cut off water supplies to around 2 million people.
"Restrictions on pollutants near the lake will be on par with
those in developed countries in the future," Zhang said yesterday
in an online interview with www.gov.cn.
"Industrial projects involving nitrogen and phosphorous
discharges will be totally suspended in the area."
He also said the government's timely response to the algae bloom
at Chaohu Lake meant that water supplies would not be affected. The
algae appeared last Thursday.
Blue-green algae afflicting
Chaohu Lake in Anhui Province
Under a five-year plan that will conclude in 2010, China expects
to save more energy while reducing discharges of major pollutants
by 10 percent.
Annual discharges of sulfur dioxide are to be reduced from the
25.5 million tons released in 2005 to 23 million tons by 2010.
The chemical oxygen demand (COD) is to be cut from the 14.1
million tons in 2005 to 12.7 million tons in 2010.
As for efforts to prevent and control pollution in lakes,
restrictions on discharges containing nitrogen and phosphor are
considered priorities alongside the COD and sulfur dioxide.
"Local governments in areas with lakes are required to establish
targets for those pollutants according to local conditions," Zhang
added.
The country will also dedicate resources in the coming four
years to treat pollution in major rivers, lakes, reservoirs, the
Bohai Sea and the Songhua River, Zhang said.
In another development, Zhang also said yesterday that the SEPA
had agreed to hear the environmental impact assessment of the
Shanghai maglev train project.
Though approved by the National Development and Reform
Commission last March, the project has been on hold since
residents, scholars and various organizations expressed doubt about
the project.
(China Daily June 14, 2007)
