NO IMPROVEMENT DESPITE EFFORTS
Environmental problems worsen in China's west

BEIJING - None of the old environment worries, such as soil erosion, desertification and shrinking of forests and grassland in China's western provinces have been curbed successfully, a survey has found.

In fact, many of these problems have worsened, said the survey conducted jointly by the State Environmental Protection Administration (Sepa) and the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

'The ecological environment in the west is becoming more fragile as the destruction of the environment by human beings continues to be serious,' said Mr Yang Chaofei, a Sepa official in charge of nature environmental conservation.

'We are in a critical situation.'

Although the central and local governments attached great importance to environmental protection in the west, the environmental deterioration has not been deterred 'mainly due to irrational human activities', Mr Yang said.

Unfavourable natural factors, such as climate and geological conditions, have already made the western area of China vulnerable to natural disasters, the official People's Daily reported.

The situation is becoming more threatening as local people abuse water resources which are already insufficient, or overdevelop the stockbreeding industry.

Soil erosion is serious in the western region, which is dominated by deserts and barren mountains, and large tracts of farmland are turning into deserts.

In some provinces in west China, more than half of the land is suffering from soil erosion, and there are no signs that things will change.

'Human beings in the area should take the bulk of the responsibility' to correct the situation, said Mr Yang, adding that the root cause is poverty.

A study in nine provinces in China's west showed that environmental deterioration could lead to almost 150 billion yuan (S$34 billion) in direct economic losses a year, or about 13 per cent of the annual gross domestic products of the area.

HUMANS: Agents of destruction

ENVIRONMENTAL deterioration in China's western regions is worsened by 'irrational human activities', said Mr Yang Chaofei, a State Environmental Protection Administration official:

• Local people destroy large tracts of forest and grassland to produce grains, whether or not the land can be cultivated.
• People abuse water resources which are already insufficient, or overdevelop the stockbreeding industry.
• Massive construction of dams and irrigation projects in land-locked areas may cause shortages of water supply in the lower reaches of rivers, and shrinking of lakes, oasis and wetland, which are critical to a healthy environment.