People’s Daily
March 23, 2006

China is stepping up its fight against sewage and waste in the Yangtze River in answer to growing public concern about ecological disaster.

China is stepping up its fight against sewage and waste in the Yangtze River in answer to growing public concern about ecological disaster. Wang Yuqing, vice-minister of the State Environmental Protection Administration, said a blueprint was now being crafted to curb the deteriorating water quality in its upper reaches, which run through Southwestern China’s Sichuan Province and Chongqing Municipality. “Fighting against the sewage and waste in the Yangtze River is the top concern of the next five years,” said Wang. Efforts will also be helpful to the launch of the Three Gorges Dam Project, the world’s largest hydropower project, and China’s ambitious water diversion project to funnel waters from the Yangtze River to North China, including Beijing and Tianjin cities. “Cleaning up the upper reaches of the Yangtze River will ensure residents in the dam regions and in North China get clean, good-quality water,” he said. The Yangtze River flows from Northwest China’s Qinghai Province and empties into the East China Sea near Shanghai. It forms the backbone of China’s major economic activities and population. But environmental negligence and rapid economic expansion have been detrimental to the ecological well-being of the region. Industrial sewage discharged into the Yangtze River has hit 15 billion tons, accounting for 45.2 per cent of China’s total, while domestic sewage reached 35.8 billion tons, 35.7 per cent of the total, official statistics indicate. “The pollution is worsening the water quality and creating a big menace to the subsistence of wildlife, some of which are endangered species like white-flag dolphin and black finless porpoise,” said Wang.