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China to Set up National Ecological Function Conservation Areas
The State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) announced Thursday that China will establish 10 national ecological conservation areas, seven in west China and three in the east.
These conservation areas will be significant to balancing the regional ecological environment, relieving natural disasters such as flood and sandstorms, as well as reducing soil erosion, said Yang Chaohui, an official with the SEPA.
Several conservation areas lie in the sources of the country's major rivers, such as the Yangtze River, Yellow River, Tarim River in Northwest China and three major rivers in Northeast China.
The government will ban any heavily polluted construction projects in these conservation areas and some residents may be moved out of those densely populated areas, according to the SEPA source.
The 10 conservation areas will be run under relatively loose policies, compared with those on nature reserves, Yang said.
China aims to have human activities in these areas harmony with the ecological environment rather than driving humans absolutely away from the natural environment, he added.
Temporary management regulations on the conservation areas will soon be unveiled by SEPA for trial implementation before formal regulations are enacted.
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