Improving people's living environment is an invaluable step for establishing a well-off society in an all-around way, said Song Jian in an exclusive interview with the Environment China Supplement.

Song is chairman of the All-China Environment Federation and former vice-chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

A well-off society aims to achieve comprehensive development of society on the basis of improving social productivity and people's living standards, said Song.

For realizing the harmonious co-existence between nature and humans, a good environment for living and producing is a must.

When people's demands for food and clothes have been met, people's desires for a healthy environment will surely increase, Song said.

And such requirement is expected to become increasingly strong. It is a necessity for the evolution of human beings, Song said.

Environmental protection is also a challenge in the drive of establishing a well-off society. A well-off society in an all-around way not only requires producing rich material resources, but also demands the public to explore and use natural resources in a scientific way and to encourage a resource-saving society.

"Environmental protection requires the use of resources in a sustainable way. And policies and regulations of environmental protection should target exploration of the effective use of resources," Song said.

It requires the country to develop a circular economy, reduce the emission of pollutants and discard the extensive economic development model due to the pressure this exerts on consumption levels, a factor that is detrimental to resource availability.

China should learn lessons from the experiences of developed countries with primary industrialization.

The country should focus on sustainable development. Through innovation of technology and science, China should make efforts to create a balance among speed, structure, quality and returns of economy, Song said.

The government should better handle the relation between economic development and environmental protection.

In the pursuit of acceptable economic achievements, the government should also pay attention to the indices of environment, natural resources and human rights, Song called.

Laws and regulations, especially on environmental protection, should be strictly enforced.

The development of industries and construction projects should be carried out in line with an environmental impact assessment, Song said.

"The economy should be developed in a sustainable way within the limits of maintaining a sustainable environment," Song said.

Currently, in China, maintaining and protecting the environment requires joint efforts from the government at all levels, the economic circle, the industrial circles and non-governmental organizations.

More importantly, it also needs to strengthen public awareness and participation, according to Song.

He said that the concept of building an environmentally-friendly society should be pushed forward in the aspects of education, legislation, administration, economic construction, scientific research, technology development, art and culture.

"Only in this way can we raise public awareness of environmental issues," he said.

But Song also expressed concerns towards the current environmental standard, saying that the current conditions could not meet the standard of a well-off society.

Over recent years, with the combined efforts of the government and society, pollution in rivers such as Liaohe and Huaihe has been reduced, though the levels of pollution in the Songhuajiang and Pearl rivers have worsened, Song reported.

Among the 340 cities under the surveillance of environment watchdogs, the air in 27 per cent of cities has been seriously polluted.

In recent years, with the improvement of Chinese living standards, the structure of pollutants has changed with the reduction of industrial waste but the increase of domestic waste.

Meanwhile, pollution in the country's vast rural areas has increased and must not be neglected.

Climate change has also contributed to deterioration of the ecosystem.

In North China, without sufficient rainfall, water supplies are becoming an important issue. Other ecological problems, such as deforestation and drought are contributing further to the destruction of bio-diversity. These are all urgent issues for China's environmental problems, Song said.

In a report submitted by the Chinese Academy of Sciences about the relation between the environmental quality and residents' health, it is said that the country's current environmental quality is having a very negative influence on citizen's health.

About 75 per cent of chronic diseases are generated from the pollution from daily life and work. It is estimated that by 2010, deaths from cancers will increase to 2 million from 1.55 million in 2003. Now the world has reached a consensus that polluted water and air are big killers, according to Song.

There are many reasons for China's environmental issues that have undoubtedly emerged, because it is currently in the primary stage of industrialization.

The fact that China's per capita income is not very high makes it difficult to pour hefty investment into the cause of environmental protection, Song said.

"But it is assuring to see that the central government has realized the importance of environmental protection and put forward the notion of sustainable development and a circular economy and spread the values of scientific development," Song said.

The government has raised high requirements for legislation, law enforcement and policy-making on environmental issues.

We should have strong confidence that under the efforts of the government and society, the Chinese will work hard to protect the environment and maintain sustainable development, Song concluded.

(China Daily October 10, 2005)