'Three-Color Projects' in Heilongjiang Produce Marked Results

Notable success has been achieved since Heilongjiang Province in northeast China carried out The Blue Project focusing on strengthening pollution control, the Green Project with the stress on maintaining the ecological balance and the Golden Project emphasizing increased input in environment protection during the Ninth-Five Year Plan period.

Since the Golden Project with added input in environment protection was put into practice in 1996, Heilongjiang has tackled a total of 3,000 projects, involving a gross investment of 10 billion yuan. The Green Project has apparently improved the quality of the environment. At present, this province has set up 115 nature reserves, covering 6.6 percent of Chinese territory, established 96 ecological demonstration zones, including eight State-level ones, and the 5.6-million-mu (1 hectare = 15 mu) green-food bases have always been on the front ranks of the country. The Green Project also powerfully supports the province's pillar industries-- tourism and foodstuff industry. After the Blue Project was implemented, in regard to the the province's environmental situation, compared with that in 1995, the treatment rate of industrial waste gas and water and the comprehensive utilization rate of industrial solid junk has seen 10 percent increase.

Heilongjiang Province has successively launched the activity "Century Tour of Heilongjiang Environmental Protection" for many years, it has also organized the "6.5 World Environment Day", the "4.22 Earth Day", the "12.29 International Bio-diversity Day" and other environment protection related publicity activities. Great advances have been made in the scientific input and the attestation of environment protection products as well as in the monitoring information work. Heilongjiang has listed education in environment protection in the annual work plan of education commissions at all levels and its popularization rate has reached 60 percent. The founding work of "Green School" has been launched in high and primary schools of Heilongjiang and so far 300 such schools have been established.



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