Zones suffer 'ecological damage'

BEIJING - Five crucial economic zones in China's 15 provinces are suffering environmental deterioration and ecological degradation due to the expansion of industrial projects, the Ministry of Environmental Protection warned on Wednesday.

The announcement came as the ministry finalizes an environmental impact review for development plans for these zones.

The report, the first of its kind, covers the following regions: the Pan-Bohai Bay area in North China, the western coast of the Taiwan Straits in East China, the Chengdu-Chongqing area in Southwest China, the Pan-Beibu Gulf Economic Zone in South China, and the middle and upper reaches of the Yellow River in Northwest China.