A new national effort will kick off soon to promote better environmental practices among the Chinese people, especially the young ones, said a spokesman for the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) on Wednesday.
SEPA is joined on the campaign by the Publicity Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the Ministry of Education.
Officials are trying to stop the deterioration of the environment and improve air quality and living conditions in major cities.
China hopes to reduce pollutant discharge by at least 10 percent by 2005 and now requires all construction projects to pass environmental impact tests.
The publicity effort has specific goals to fulfil by 2005, including teaching all Chinese teenagers about environmental protection in special classes.
Also on the list for educating are lawmakers, farmers, industrial workers. And officials hope more people will volunteer to help environmental causes and take part in activities.
The nation’s media is also expected to investigate and expose environmental problems and law violators.
SEPA data claims environmental damage is slowing in China and some cities have seen improvements. Still, the total amount of waste discharge remains high and human activities threaten the ecology across the nation, SEPA officials said.
(China Daily 06/29/2001)
