A research project on the coordinated development of natural resources and the ecological environment in arid areas in western China was launched recently in the Xinjiang Ugyur Autonomous Region in northwest China.

The project, costing 34 million yuan (4.1 million US dollars), will be completed in five years by nearly 100 researchers from Xinjiang University, the Xinjiang Institute of Biology and Geologywith the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and several other work units.

Arid areas in western China cover 2.5 million square kilometers and account for one-fourth of the country's total land area.

The improvement of the ecological environment in arid areas is significant for the anticipated economic surge in western China.