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No.173

 

CHINA  SCIENCE  AND  TECHNOLOGY
NEWSLETTER
The Ministry of Science and Technology
People's Republic of China

N0.173 December 30,1998

 
IN THIS ISSUE

  • Blue Sea Action Plan Kicked Off

  • 21 World Heritages in China

  • China's GPS Tracking Station in Antarctic

  • Ocean No.1Completes Its Pacific Expedition

  • China's Regulations on Environmental Protection for Construction Projects

  • Major Part of Three Gorge Project Completes

  • China's Meteorological Research Capability Enhanced


SPECIAL    ISSUES

   
Blue Sea Action Plan Kicked Off

  State Bureau of Environmental Protection (SBEP) formally kicked off its “Blue Bohai Sea Action Plan” on December 8, 1998. The action plan will be implemented as an example for other coastal areas in the country on coastal environment protection.

    As briefed by Mr. Zhu Guangyao, Deputy Administrator of SBEP, thanks to the RC Law on Marine Environment Protection since 1983, China has been continuously strengthening its control over major contamination sources so as toalleviate the pressure of land based pollution on marine environment. During the periods of the 7th and 8th FiveYear Plan, the state had approved 280 major pollution control projects with defined deadlines. By the end of 1997, industrial waste water purification rate and qualified waste water discharge rate of coastal areas had reached 85.3% and 64.3% respectively.

    River is a major channel through which land based pollutants flow into the ocean. Last few years have applauded for China's enhanced efforts in preventing and controlling surface water pollution. In 1996, 1111 paper mills whose annual output volume was under 5000 tons in the Huaihe River valley were shut down and in the following year 1562 major pollution enterprises in this region were ordered to prises of 15 industries contributing to serious pollution, which has greatly reduced the contamination of land based pollutants on marine environment.

    Coastal cities have enjoyed great improvement of their waste water treatment facilities. A number of secondary sewage treatment plants have been established in Tianjin, Qingdao, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai and Shantou respectively, which made urban waste water treatment ratio go up sharply.

    Up to date, there are 59 marine or coastal nature preservation zones in the country with an area totaled 3.67 million hectares, of which 16 are classed at national level with a total area of 900,000 hectares. These nature preservation zones have become an effective protection for marine environment and its resources.

    So far China's environmental protection department has established a coastal environment control contingent of 35,000 people and set up nearly 300 sea water and base line monitoring stations in the coastal areas.

    However, Mr. Zhu pointed out that we should not be too optimistic about coastal and marine environmental protection though China has taken great measures in this field.

    Many-year observations have shown that recent years witnessed declined sea water quality in China's coastal areas along with seriously affected marine ecological environment, worsening landbased pollution sources and increasingly serious problem of regional marine environment. For example, extensive red tide appeared in Guangdong coastal area and Liaodong Gulf area last March and September respectively had caused huge economic losses.

    To spare no efforts to improve its coastal environment, SBEP has decided to kick off its “Blue Bohai Sea Action Plan” and make it a breakthrough for coastal and marine environmental pollution control. According to the schedule, on the basis of controlling land based pollution sources, the state will strengthen the legislature and enforcement process, further check up and control major pollution cities and their adjacent coastal areas, river mouths and gulf areas and promote the improvement of coastal environment so as to materialize the virtuous circle defined by the action plan. Blue Bohai Sea Action Plan will focus on its key controlling marine areas, key river mouths and key pollutants. Its key marine areas will cover Laizhou Gulf, Bohai Gulf and Liaodong Gulf and the marine areas adjacent to the 13 key cities; key river mouths are: Liaohe, Haihe, Huanghe, Xiaoqinghe and Wulihe; key pollutants to be checked are: nitrogen, phosphorus, COD and oil. Coastal environmental protection of Bohai Sea will be implemented in three phases. By 2005, its industrial pollution sources shall meet required standards; by 2010 coastal environment quality and its associated ecological system shall be improved and by 2030 environment quality and ecological system shall take a favourable turn.

    On the basis of experience accumulated in the implementation of Blue Bohai Sea Action Plan, China will gradually enforce its national “Blue Sea Action Plan” so as to eventually improve coastal and marine environment quality and realize the virtuous circle of ecological system there.

 

21 World Heritages in China

  The Summer Palace and the Temple of Heaven located in Beijing have recently been listed in World Heritages compiled by World Heritage Committee of UNESCO, which made China's possessions of world unique cultural relics and natural landscapes 21 in number, ranked the fourth place in the world.

    The Temple of Heaven occupying an area totaled 2.7 million square meters is the largest existing ancient architectural complex in the country dedicated to thanksgiving ceremony. The Summer Palace, one of the country's ten major scenery and relics, is a grand collection of gardening arts of both Chinese and western styles. The said two heritages are the loyal family's functional places that are best preserved in the country.

    Founded in 1976, World Heritage Committee requires each heritage applicant to maintain and restore the original face of the place as much as possible. The so-called world heritage includes both cultural and natural ones.

    In accordance with Convention on Protecting World Cultural and Natural Heritages adopted in 1972, authentic and unique cultural heritages in the world will be placed under the protection of all UNESCO members and they are entitled to be free from attacking even in wartime or military coup. So far there are 582 cultural and natural heritages in the world being listed in the account of the Committee.

    Having signed the Convention in 1985, China promised to restore and protect historical relics on its territories and sent its applications for world heritage the following year. Mount Tai, the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, Mogao Cave, Emperor Qingshi's Mausoleum and Zhoukoudian, original place of Beijing Ape, are China's first group of world heritages listed in 1987. During the past 12 years, China had submitted 30 applicants with 21 being selected. Of them, Mount Tai, Mount Huan and Mount E'mei-Leshan Gigantic Buddha are full heritages combined both cultural and natural values. The selected 17 cultural heritages include the Potala Palace in Tibet, Lushan Scenery and Historical Relics, Suzhou Gardens and Lijiang Ancient Town in Yunnan; Jiuzhaigou Valley, Huanglong and Wulingyuan were selected as natural heritages for their astonishingly beautiful landscapes.

NEWS BRIEFS

 

China's GPS Tracking Station in Antarctic

  Having listed “the abnormal Antarctic environment and its impacts on global changes” as a major project inChinas 9th FiveYear Plan, China has established a GPS tracking platform in the Zhongshan Station in Antarctic with the help of its 15th Antarctic Scientific Expedition .

    Mr. Wang Fuhong, a graduate student studying for his master degree in geodesy inWuhan University is assigned to establish the said platform to track the environment there all the year round. Mr. Wang has already made the first observations there.

    The establishment of the said station will not only benefit studying the movement of Antarctic plate accurately but also be of importance to the studies of earth dynamics, atmospheric physics and GPS orbiting in China.

    As briefed by Mr. Chen , Director of Administrative Office, China Antarctic Surveying and Mapping Research Center, the establishment of the GPS tracking station will not only heighten China's position in Antarctic studies in the world but also make sharing data with other GPS stations in the same region such as that of US, Germany and Australia possible, which means that China may obtain GPS observational data collected from several other platforms.

Ocean No.1Completes Its Pacific Expedition


  Having successfully completed its scientific expedition over the Pacific Ocean, “Ocean No.1”, a Chinese scientific research vessel cast its anchor in Qingdao on December 2, 1998.

    Launched on May 18, 1998 to survey China's multimetal nodule development zone in international ocean floor of northeast Pacific Ocean, the scientific expedition has experienced a 199day and 20thousand nautical miles journey with the participation of 100 scientists from 14 Chinese research institutions and 5 foreign experts from US, Germany and Russia.

    Around the major tasks of surveying multimetal nodules DY958 in Pacific Ocean, investigators had completed optical ranging for 1677.7 km, 177.6 km more than planned with effective deep sea ranging reaching 1415.8 km (84.4%). The expedition has for the first time defined an area of more than 10 thousand km2 richin cobalt and sodium nodules. More than 4000 kg nodule crust and rock samples collected by the expedition have laid a good foundation for further exploring new mineral resources in the ocean.

    Research results and valuable data from this journey provide scientific evidence necessary for understanding the law of the distribution and changing process of polymetallic subscales, preliminary defining the scope and geological reserves for commercial exploitation and fulfilling the tasks assigned by United Nations of giving up 50% of the total region before March 5, 1999.

China's Regulations on
Environmental Protection for Construction Projects


   
On November 29, Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji signed an decree to issue Regulations on Environmental Protection for Construction Projects.

    The Regulations stipulate that any construction project exerting an influence onenvironment on PRC's territories or in the marine areas under its jurisdiction shall observe the said regulations.

    Any construction project that will produce pollutants shall observe the national and local pollution emission standards; in the areas where total emission volume of key pollutants is controlled, construction projects shall also meet the requirement for the total emission volume of key pollutants.

    Industrial construction project shall apply clean production techniques of energy efficiency and less pollution and practice rational utilization of natural resources so as to prevent environmental pollution and ecological damage.

    Any project of reconstruction, extension and technical transformation must take measures to control environmental pollution and ecological damages caused by the previous project.

    The Regulations have also made detailed stipulations on assessment of environmental impacts, construction of environmental protection facilities and legal responsibilities.

    The Regulations stipulate that development of river valleys, construction of development zones, construction of new urban areas and reconstruction of old urban areas shall, when making construction plans, evaluate the possible environmental impacts. Detailed bylaws will be formulated by environmental protection authorities together with other relevant authorities under the State Council.

    The environmental protection and control for marine petroleum prospecting and exploitation shall meet with relevant standards defined by the regulations on environmental protection for marine petroleum prospecting and exploitation published by the State Council.

    Environmental protection of military construction projects shall apply the relevant regulations issue by Central Military Commission of the P.R.C..

    With 34 articles in 5 chapters, the Regulations came into effect on the same dayas it published.


Major Part of Three Gorge Project Completes

  In the last year since Three Gorges witnessed its cut-off, Three Gorge Project has been well financed with its progress going smoothly as scheduled for the year. At present, phase II cofferdam base digging has started in an intensified manner. Wang Jiazhu, Vice President of Yangtze River Three Gorge Project Development General Corporation briefed that the project investment has been confined to the total budget approved by the state with the quality of entire project basically meeting the designing requirement.

    1998 is the first year to implement phase two part of Three Gorge Project with a total annual investment budget of 9275 billion yuan. By the end of November, several major components of this year have been completed as scheduled. They are: makeshift navigation lock for phase two river diversion and navigation courses for both upper and lower reaches having been completed as scheduled; phase two cofferdam filling up to designed height. The project has stood the test of 8 major flood peaks occurred this year without leakage. So far the cubic metre of earth and stone digging for the permanent navigation lock has been completed by 90% of the total required volume. The dam and working site for 6 power generating sets on the left bank of Three Gorge Dam have completed with its base digging process and started with concrete filling now. In accordance with the master progress plan and implementation contract, the dam site of phase two will complete its digging at the end of this year, permanent navigation lock be basically completed next October and dam site be fully filled up with concrete from January to March 1999.

China's Meteorological
Research Capability Enhanced

  It is reported that China has established its meteorological research contingent centered around Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences with regional meteorological research centers as major extensions and provincial meteorological institutes as grass root units, including institutes of meteorological universities and research entities of meteorological professional units. The contingent now has a population of 2000 full-time and 1500 part-time research professionals. While sticking to the basic principles of meteorological service for modernization construction and economic and social development, Chinese meteorological community has harvested many important results on basic theories of atmospheric sciences, applied research and technical development in the area. In addition, Qinghai- Tibet Plateau Scientific Experiment has born rich fruits and short-term climate prediction-one of the most important national projects has come into full-fledged action and achieved phased results. China has also witnessed new research results in the field of development of atmospheric sounding instruments, computer-based telecommunication technology, application of meteorological satellites, weather modifications and agrometeorological applications. These results have played positive roles in promoting modernization of meteorological services and national economic development.

    As shown by incomplete statistics, during the period from 1980 to 1997, Chinese meteorological community has been conferred with 40 national prizes for S&T progress, of which 7 are top awards and more than 1000 prizes for provincial or ministerial S&T progress.


       Comments or inquiries on editorial matters or Newsletter content should be directed to:Mr. Dong Jianlong, Department of International Cooperation, MOST 15B, Fuxing Road Beijing 100862, PR China  Tel: (8610)68512650 Fax: (8610) 68512594, or Mr. Wang Jianping, Editor,NEWSLETTER, 15 Fuxing Road Beijing 100038, PR China, Tel:(8610) 68515544 Ext. 2921