NPC Deputy Calls for Enhanced Environmental Protection in Three Gorges AreaA deputy to the Ninth National People's Congress (NPC) from southwest China's Chongqing Municipality has called for strengthened efforts to protect the environment in the Three Gorges area of the Yangtze River.Chen Wanzhi, an NPC deputy and deputy head of the Chongqing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau, said he will co-sponsor a motion to the effect with other deputies to the NPC Fourth Session due to open Monday. Annual industrial wastewater discharge into the Three Gorges area exceeds one billion tons, while only 7.7 percent of the urban wastewater in the area is treated, he said. Solid industrial wastes dumped in the Three Gorges reservoir area now amount to over 30 million tons, occupying large areas of land and causing pollution to rivers, he said. Vessels sailing on the Yangtze River are discharging 30,000 tons of garbage into the reservoir area a year, causing not only pollution but also accidents on the Yangtze from time to time, Chen said. The deputy warned that urgent measures must be taken from now on, as the operation of the Three Gorges dam in the near future makes the river running slower, resulting in more serious pollution. Over the past five years, the Chongqing city has closed down nearly 3,000 polluting enterprises, bringing under control soil erosion in an area of 13,800 square kilometers and started the building of a batch of sewage and wastewater treatment plants. But these efforts are far from being enough, he said. Chen suggests the central government include environmental protection in the Three Gorges area in the 10th five-year plan, which is expected to be adopted by the coming NPC session. |
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