REGIONAL> Profiles
Hunan governor visits China Daily website
(chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2008-03-11 18:41

 

Hunan Governor Zhou Qiang is interviewd by chinadaily.com.cn March 11, 2008. [chinadaily.com.cn]

Cleaning up the Province

Zhou, awarded a Champion of the Earth by the United Nations in 2005, established a blueprint for the provincial government’s efforts to maintain a sustainable development path.

Hunan will push forward the development of the Changsha, Zhuzhou and Xiangtan regions, investing heavily in an experimental zone towards a balanced development of the province. In December 2007, the State Council, China's Cabinet, designated these three cities as an experimental zone for energy-saving and environmentally friendly programs.

Located in the northeastern part of Hunan, Changsha, Zhuzhou and Xiangtan are traditional industrial cities and face a lack of resources and environmental pollution.

"We will also strive to make breakthroughs in areas such as energy-saving, environmental protection and financial services," Zhou explained.

Hunan will try to reduce its energy intensity, or the amount of energy needed to produce a unit of GDP, by 4 percent this year.

It also aims to cut its carbon dioxide and chemical oxygen emissions by 2 percent. Last year, the province saw its energy intensity and pollutant emissions fall for the first time.

Zhou said Hunan will embark on a number of environmental clean-up projects. These include a campaign to clean up pollution in the Xiangjiang River and Dongting Lake regions, and invest 10 billion yuan in the next three years to establish water treatment facilities in all the cities and towns in the province.

Hunan has already suspended the operations of 234 paper mills around Dongting Lake, one of the five largest freshwater lakes in the nation. Local authorities have also set a deadline for another 596 paper mills to clean up their acts.