Projects protect natural resources

The Chaozhou government has restated its pledge to further improve the city's environment, on the back of achieving positive results from its past and current pollution control drives.

According to the local government, the city solved a number of prominent ecological problems last year, and Chaozhou's environmental quality continues to improve.

In 2020, the city's water quality met all national standards. A total of 357 days achieved good air quality last year, a rate of 97.8 percent, which is 2.2 percentage points higher than in 2019.

The annual precipitation in Chaozhou's urban areas was 804.7 millimeters, with no acid rain last year.

In recent years, the Chaozhou government has attached great significance to protecting the city's natural resources.

Fenghuang Mountain, located in the north of the city, is covered in lush forests and has a stable ecosystem. It plays a crucial role as an area of water conservation and an ecological shield for Chaozhou, and even for Guangdong province.

To better protect it, the Chaozhou government released regulations for the environmental protection of the mountain, which came into effect on Jan 1 this year.

The environmental drive in recent years has improved the water quality of the Fengjiang River and the concentration of ammonia nitrate－a substance that can kill aquatic life if its presence is high enough－has decreased year-on-year.

Last year, the annual average level in tested areas of the Feng jiang River decreased by 52 percent compared with 2017, according to the local government.

Weng Yang, an official at the Chaozhou ecology and environment bureau, said by increasing sewage treatment capacity by 51,000 metric tons, the river has been able to prosper.

That increased the effective sewage collection rate in the tested areas from 31 percent to 46 percent by the end of June.

For the next step, the Chaozhou government plans to start construction on key pollution control projects for the Fengjiang River in four stages, with total investment of 10.56 billion yuan ($1.63 billion). The projects are expected to be completed by 2023.