Vigorous Development of International Cooperation in Environmental Protection

China has recently reached a common view with Norway on the cooperative research on acid rain prevention and control, which is the 15th international cooperation project on environmental protection, news from the State Bureau of Environmental Protection says.

In recent years, China has been actively developing international cooperation on environmental protection. By the end of 1999, China had signed more than 30 bilateral agreements or memoranda with 27 countries on environmental protection and cooperative accords with over 10 countries on nuclear safety, said Wang Zhijia, director of the International Cooperation Department of the State Bureau of Environmental Protection.

The prevention and control of industrial pollution remains an important domain for developing international cooperation. And China has been making vigorous search for cooperative projects and introducing funds and technology from concerned countries and international organizations in the field of control on water pollution, sulfur dioxide, motor tail gas, and environmental information system construction. Not long ago, an agreement was signed between China and America on air quality monitoring in cities of both countries, being the biggest one ever signed in this field. Under the agreement, 20 Chinese cities will purchase complete sets of related equipment with preferential loans. In the meantime, the nation is also conducting non-governmental cooperation, attracting funds and developing environmental protection education.

In coordination with the implementation of the strategy for the large-scale development of the western region, international cooperation on ecological environmental protection has been continuously strengthened. Last year a project on natural ecology protection in Inner Mongolia was started between the Chinese and Canadian governments. With an investment of US$5 million, it aimed at finishing the planning work of diversified ecological protection in three years. In addition, China has also initially reached an agreement with Japan and Germany on carrying out the ecological protection project on the fountainhead of the Yellow River.



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