The current environmental situation along China's coastal and inland areas continues to be a worry, State Environmental Protection Administration Minister Xie Zhenhua warned yesterday.

Xie said problems in the country are mainly demonstrated the continuing dilemmas of pollutants being discharged in large quantities, the nature of pollution changing as new problems arise and ecological biodiversity dwindling.

At a news conference held in Beijing before World Environment Day, which falls tomorrow, Xie said environmental authorities across China will make additional efforts to address the country's environmental problems.

According to the administration's public report on China's pollution problems last year, the quality of China's environment changed little in comparison to 2002.

Although 142 of the 340 monitored cities, or 41.7 percent, saw their air quality reach the national standard, a 7.9 percent increase from 2002.

Some 91 cities, or 27 percent of those monitored had heavy air pollution. The number was down 4.4 percent from 2002.

Among the country's seven major rivers, pollution in the Haihe, Liaohe and Huaihe rivers slightly lessened, while the Songhuajiang and Pearl rivers were even more polluted.

The sequence of the seven major rivers, from the worst polluted to the least, is: the Haihe, Liaohe, Yellow, Huaihe, Songhuajiang, Yangtze and Pearl.

Pollution in the Yellow Sea along its shore was worse, while water quality in the Bohai and East China seas was improved but still heavily polluted, and water quality in the South China Sea along its shore remained unchanged.

The area of polluted seas dropped from 2002's 174,000 square kilometers to 142,000 square kilometers.

Xie says the environmental authorities will actively promote a circular economy that is based on the most efficient use of resources and the most effective protection of the environment.

Companies are encouraged to adopt clean production methods, while provinces and cities should develop into "eco-provinces" and "green-cities," while the general public should attempt to lead energy-efficient lives.

Above all, Xie said economic polices should encourage recycling and the reuse of resources.

In addressing environmental problems, the focus will be on major regions such as the "three rivers and three lakes region."

(China Daily June 4, 2004)