Shaanxi Promotes Environmental ProtectionNorthwest China's Shaanxi Province has set a target to build itself into a base for developing environment protection technologies and environment-friendly industries in the next five years.According to a plan, the province will choose several universities and research institutes as bases for developing environmental protection technologies. The province will grant preferential treatment to these bases in terms of scientific research and industrialization of environment protection technologies. At the same time, the province is also encouraging the involvement of private enterprises in developing environmental protection technologies. Shaanxi Province, located on the middle reaches of the Yellow River, suffers from serious ecological deterioration. Some 40 percent of the province's total land area suffers from soil erosion and the amount of soil washed away totals 900 million tons annually. To curb the deterioration of the environment, the province has exerted great efforts to develop environment protection industries and has achieved encouraging results. Statistics show that the province's environment protection industry has grown by 20 percent annually over the 1996-2000 period. The province now takes precedence in developing high and new technologies, abating smoke, desulfurization, purifying polluted water, saving and comprehensively utilizing resources, and manufacturing and promoting highly-efficient and energy-saving furnaces. By the end of last year, there were 540 environment protection enterprises in the province, which generated 6.8 billion yuan in output value. |
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