FUZHOU: To keep its top place in the national ecological environment quality rankings, Fujian Province will further improve environmental protection measures this year.

The measures emphasize water protection in the province's key valleys as well as the prevention and cleaning up of industrial pollution, said Li Zaiming, director of the Fujian Provincial Environment Protection Bureau.

Though the 12 main water systems in Fujian have sustained relatively good quality in recent years, some urban drainage areas and main reservoirs have been tainted by excessive levels of pollutants such as nitrogen and phosphorus.

Initial investigations suggested that the pollution mainly originated on livestock farms and in urban areas.

Li said the provincial government has designated areas where the construction of livestock farms is forbidden, and has drawn up revised standards and deadlines for the renovation of existing farms.

This year the province will also start the second phase of the dredging project at the Minjiang River, one of the two major rivers in Fujian, Li said.

Fujian will further reduce the use of coal and promote environmentally friendly fuels in urban areas. In addition, the government has urged coal-fired power plants to use high-quality coal that has a low sulphur content, he added.

According to statistics recently released by the State Environmental Protection Administration, Fujian ranked first in the country in the comprehensive environment quality indices in 2004. The province also topped the ranking in 2003.

Last year, the provincial government spent 10.6 billion yuan (US$1.3 billion) on environmental protection, accounting for 1.75 per cent of its gross domestic product.

In 2004, 85 per cent of the 23 cities in Fujian reached an "excellent" rating for air quality with the others at the "good" level, much higher than the national average of 41.7 per cent.

(China Daily 03/16/2005 page3)