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2nd CCICED in Session in Beijing
The second China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development (CCICED) began its 5th session in Beijing on October 13.
Vice Premier Wen Jiabao, on behalf of the Chinese Government, delivered a report at Saturday's meeting.
While noting China has made significant progress in the past five years, Wen said that the country has new targets for ecological construction and environmental protection in the tenth five-year plan period (2001-2005).
According to these targets, by 2005, the worst areas of ecological damage in China will have been arrested, forest cover will have been raised to 18.2 percent, with green land in urban districts up to 35 percent. There has been a noticeable improvement in the quality of the environment in rural and urban areas, and with a 10 percent drop in the gross volume of major pollutants discharged in 2000, significant improvement will have been achieved in saving and protecting resources.
Wen also emphasized the importance of hastening the adjustment of the economic structure, speeding up implementation of environmental protection infrastructure, stepping up ecological construction and protection and exploring ways to carry out environmental protection.
Established in Beijing in 1992 as a senior advisory body, CCICED, with Wen as the chairman, offers advice to the Chinese government on how to balance environmental and developmental needs. It also aims to increase China's cooperation with international communities in the fields of environment and development.
Participants to the session will summarise the work of the past five years, listen to and discuss reports by representatives from Asian Development Bank, UN Environmental Program, UN Development Program, the State Development Planning Commission, the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation, the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Beijing Municipal Government, discuss and adopt reports of advice to the Chinese Government.
Participants will also put forward opinions and ideas for the creation of the third council.
The session will close on October 15.
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