Special Supplement: Working toward cleaner, greener tomorrow

In an attempt to build an energy-saving and environment-friendly society, the Wuxi government has taken a series of measures to eradicate the "roots of pollution" and mete out severe punishment to enterprises failing to meet environmental requirements.

The local government has so far closed 500 small chemical plants and established six working mechanisms to ensure safe water supply for residents.

The government has also conducted round-the-clock monitoring of water quality at Taihu Lake and shut down all commercial activities likely to lead to pollution.

About 160 boats used as floating restaurants or for tourism-related sailing on the lake without meeting environmental requirements have been turned away from Taihu Lake.

"We cannot miss even a tiny possibility of creating pollution in Taihu Lake. The lake constitutes the most beautiful part of Wuxi, so we should protect it well," said Yang Weize, the Secretary of the Wuxi Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China.

City officials have reached the consensus that pollution must be tackled not only for the purpose of providing residents with a safe water supply, but also for the larger goal of achieving the sustainable development of Wuxi.

To reach this goal, the city government has launched an ecological project to revive the environment of Taihu Lake. According to the plan, all human activities like agriculture, fishing and feeding livestock have to be moved 200 m away from the shores of the lake before the end of 2008.

This ecological zone will eventually be an orbit area to protect Taihu. The project will also gradually ban traditional agriculture within a one-km radius of the lake, while feeding farms will have to move beyond a five-km radius.

Another long-term resettling plan is also in the offing for enterprises in the center of the city, which will lead to the formation of the Wuxi Industrial Corridor, composed of Taihu New City and the Taihu International Science and Technology Zone.

The Wuxi government has decided to use 20% of its increased revenue each year on environmental protection, and it expects the financial expenditure in this regard to constitute 3% of the GDP in 2010.

The authorities also envisage a decrease in the emission of COD and sulfur dioxide by 20%, according to the city's 11th Five-year Plan.

To meet these goals, Wuxi's enterprises will have to pay higher compensation fees for the consumption of natural resources, like mines, water, forests and land.

Every enterprise has been urged to include energy-saving goals in their strategic plan. Such goals are to be manifested at every stage of operation, from product design and management to marketing.

Meanwhile, the Wuxi government is encouraging energy-saving pioneers to sell their index to other enterprises running behind on environmental protection. The policy incentives offered are expected to inspire the creation of an increasing number of energy-saving enterprises, while the rest will likely no longer wish to continue to pay higher prices for wasting resources or creating pollution.

"However, once we hesitate or relax, the polluting projects of some enterprises in Wuxi would restart soon," Yang Weize warned.

Therefore, the government is calling for a clarification of the duties of each enterprise, stating to what extent every company needs to contribute to energy conservation and environmental protection, and aiming to realize the harmonious promotion of both the development of enterprises and environmental protection.

Further, emphasis placed on environment protection work has been made an important index for assessing the work of Wuxi officials.

"We have to hold high responsibility for the Party, people and history. It should be a tough battle combining two battlefields: reducing pollution and continuing industrial structure upgrades," said Liu Yamin, Wuxi's Environment Protection Bureau chief.

In the long-term battle against pollution, the Wuxi Environment Protection Bureau will play an important role, hosting 13 projects and offering cooperation to 34 others.

Enterprises that continue to ignore environmental protection would not only be punished, but also urged to apologize in the media, Liu said.

He also emphasized that the Wuxi government will join hands with citizens in the fight against environmental damage, calling upon them to provide first hand information to environmental authorities.

(China Daily 09/05/2007 page4)