Chinese Vice Minister of Water Resources Zhou Ying said that China has planned to fulfill its UN Millennium Development Goal in safe drinking water in 2009, 6 years ahead of schedule.
She made the remark at the closing session of the World Water Week in Stockholm, Sweden.
According to the UN MDG, by 2015, the people who cannot have access to safe drinking water should be halved.
Zhou Ying said China has solved the safe drinking water problem for 67 million people between 2001 and 2005. China also plans to solve the problem for another 160 million people between 2006 and 2010. This will make China realize the UN Goal in water by 2009.
To realize such a goal, China will gradually form a sustainable water management and utilization system.
The vice minister said China has begun to pay attention to water conservation and protection while utilizing it as a resource so that an integrated management system will be formed.
China has issued a series of laws including the Water Law, Flood Prevention Law, Water and Soil Protection Law and Water Pollution Prevention and Treatment Law.
Against the background that China wants to build a resource-efficient and environmentally friendly society, the Ministry of Water Resources is facing new challenges.
Zhou Ying said they will try to make breakthroughs in the following aspects:
First, to realize the co-existence of flood and people, change the method of controlling flood into managing flood and utilizing the flood so that it will become a kind of resource for development.
Second, to actively explore ways of water conservation so that agricultural use of water will be more efficient and industrial water utilization will decrease by 30% while household water use will be kept within 460 cubic meters per year in the following five years.
Third, to manage the demand of water so that the economic development potential should be compatible to the water capacity and the water resources environment will be protected.
Fourth, to strengthen the water pollution prevention and treatment by promoting clean production mechanism and forming a complete water pollution emergency management system.
Zhou Ying said that China also looks forward to international cooperation with developed countries in fund, technology and management of water. The final goal is to keep the blue sky and clear water to the next generation.
Meanwhile, she also pointed out that the great challenge facing China now is the contradiction between fast economic development and the increasing resource demand and the deterioration of environment.
By People's Daily Online Stockholm Correspondent Xuefei Chen
|
Comment
Tell A Friend
Print Format
Save Article