The environmental quality in China "basically remained the same" in 2004 as compared with the previous year, says a report published Thursday by the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA). With worsening soil erosion, urban pollution, acid rain and other environmental headaches, the situation is still "serious."

The quality of urban air, surface water, offshore sea water and the ecological environment in 2004 either remained "similar" or "unchanged" or had "no remarkable improvement", according to SEPA's annual report.

"The environmental problems that plagued the country in 2003 remain unchanged and call for even greater efforts," said a senior correspondent who has long been covering this beat.

According to the report, the seven major rivers and 25 out of the 27 major lakes in China were polluted, some seriously. The Haihe River in north China is the most polluted river in the country, followed by the Liaohe River, Huaihe River, Yellow River, Yangtze River and Pearl River.

The quality of groundwater in 52 out of 187 cities is worsening.35 percent of offshore sea water was only up to or inferior to the Grade IV sea water quality standard.

More Chinese cities suffered from acid rain as the frequency of acid rain increased in 2004. Acid rain occurred in 298 Chinese cities, covering 56.5 percent of the total 527 cities monitored, 2.1 percentage points higher than that of 2003.

The number of cities with serious acid rain (lower than pH 5.6) reached 218, accounting for 41.4 percent of the total monitored cities, up four percentage points over 2003, the report says.

Statistics of 500 Chinese cities show that only 32.33 percent of domestic sewage and 57.76 percent of domestic garbage was treated in these cities on average in 2004.

"The facilities for waste treatment in Chinese cities are quite inadequate. They are unable to support sustainable development in cities," says the report.

Only 60.44 percent of hazardous waste, especially waste from hospitals, was treated in Chinese cities in 2004. In 155 of these cities, there were no public facilities at all for the treatment of such waste.

Areas suffering from soil erosion in China stood at 3.56 million square kilometers in 2004, accounting for 37.1 percent of the country's total land areas.

All Chinese provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities have soil erosion problems, the report says.

Officials ascribe much of the worsening environmental problem to rapid industrialization and economic growth.

"China is witnessing rapid economic growth, which has a major impact on the environment, intensifying environmental problems," said Wang Jirong, SEPA deputy director at the press conference organized by the Information Office of the State Council on Thursday.

"The environmental problems that developed countries gradually witness over more than a century have been witnessed by China in just the past two decades," Wang said.

The urbanization rate, 28 percent in 1993, rose to 41.7 percent in 2004, putting "great pressure" on resources and the environment.

Hoping to improve China's environmental protection, China has taken a series of measures in this regard.

SEPA published on May 10 nine major pollution case-studies and told local governments to take "real" and substantial steps to tackle the issues or face penalty.

This is the first time that SEPA has openly told local governments not to protect polluters. It has vowed to supervise the cases and intervene along with other law-enforcement departments when necessary.

The Chinese central government once again has pledged to take harsher measures to tackle environmental problems.

Source: Xinhua