Honorable Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen,

　　As we all know, water and soil constitute the preconditions for the survival and development of every form of life. They represent main components of the ecolog ical environment and the basis of sustainable development.

　　I would like to take this opportunity to present to you an overview of water and soil conservation and water resources protection in China.

　　1. WATER ANG SOIL EROSION AND ITS TREATMENT IN CHINA

　　1.1 Issues and Damage

　　China is a country suffering from severe water and soil erosion. According to th e remote - sensing survey conducted in the early 1990s, an aggregate area of 3.6 7 million square kilometers has been affected by water and soil erosion, account ing for 38.2% of China's total territory. Out of this figure, 1.79 million squar e kilometers are suffering from water erosion and 1.88 million square kilometers from wind erosion. Water and soil erosion occurs in all seven major river basin s in China, among which, the middle reach of the Yellow River and the upper and middle reach of Yangtze River are the most serious cases. Water and soil erosion has imposed harsh constraints on social and economic development and brought ab out some major adverse consequences, as follows:

　　1) The destruction of land resources and degradation of arable lands.

　　According to incomplete statistics,in the past 40years China has lost 40million mu of land becaust of water and soil erosion,with an annual aveage loss of over one million mu.At least 5 billion tons of fertile soil is eroded each year.

　　2) The Silting-up of riverbdes and the aggravation of flood disastes.

　　Owing to water and soil erosion in the Loess Plateau,the average height of the r iver bed in the lower reach of the Yellow is 5 to 7meters above surrounding area s,resulting in the emergence of a famous `suspension river'.

　　3) Reduction in the operational life of water and hydropower projects and hinder ing the integrated utilization of water resources.

　　Atotal of 20 billion tons of sediments have accumulated in China's large,medium- sized and small reservoirs.

　　4)Degradation of the edological environment,causing inconvenience to people's li fe and work.

　　1.2 Achievements and experience

　　Since the forndation of New China,the Chinese government has been giving great a ttention to the prevention and treatment of water and soil erosion,regarding it as the basis of social and economic development and a long-term national policy, Through the long-term national struggle against water erosion,land erosion and s and erosion,an aggregate of 740,000 square kilometers of eroded areas have alrea dy been treated,averaging of 30,000-40,000 square kilometers per yearover the pa st several years.Through erosion treatment projects,remarkable progress has been registered in improving the ecological environement,promoting agriculture devel opment,increasing the income of farmers,alleviating water and soil erosion,and r educing the amount of sediments in rivers.

　　The Chinese prople have accumulated rich experience in water and soil erosion th rough long-term practice.Thery are as follows:

　　1)In line with the laws of water and soil erosion,treatment projects should be b ased on the units of river basins,should combine engineering measures and biolog ical measures with sornd cultivation practice, and should ensure an integrated a pproach and unified planning of those concerned with mountains,water,farmland ,f orestry and roads,Long-term practice has proven that ,although afforestation is one important measure for water and soil preservation,no single measure can on i ts own solve water and soil erosion.Only an integrated approach can control the encroachment of water and wind on soils and ultimately prevent water and soil er osion.

　　2) The treatment of water and soil erosion whould be closely linkly with people' s aspirations for poverty alleviation and economic development,in order to raise their enthusiasm towards erosion control projects .For instance.the practice of leasing waste mountains,waste valleys,waste hills and waste beaches to farmers for comprehensive development has been widely implemented in China .This practic e relis on polices to mobilize a large number of rural households in the treatm ent of thousands of valleys and slopes across the country.It not only helps impr ove ecological environment,but also helps improve local production conditions an d expand the environmental carrying capacity.It enables people to realize a bett er living standard with better water and soil conditions.

　　3) Governments at all levels should set up special funds for key erosion treatme nt projects.which can play a demonstration role in stimulating a larger number o f projects.So far.the government has implemented key treatment projects in 350 c ounties involving 17 provinces,autonomous regions and municpalities and seven ma jor river basins and covering 600,000wquare kilometers.

　　1.3 Strategies and polices

　　In spite of the impressive achievements in water and soil erosion treatment in C hina ,we still have a long way to go in order to fully address the issues left o ver from several thousand years of history,In addition,along with economic and p opulation growth.we often face the dilemma of treatment on one hand and destruct ion on the other hand.Each year,an additional 10,000square kilometers of land is addected by water and soil erosion due to human activities.

　　In order to achieve a fundamental improvement of the ecological environemt in Ch ina in the next century,President Jiang Zemin called upon the country to reconst ruct a northwest region with beautiful mountains and rivers,and ultimately chang e the adverse ecological environemt inherited from history.At present,people acr oss the country are enthusiastically responding to this great call and are takin gconcrete steps to implemet this huge project.Major actions imclude:

　　1) Accelerating water and soil conservation and environmental rehabilitation pro jects,with focus on the Yangtze River basin and the Yellow River basin,By 2010,w ater and soil erosion should be brought under control in middle and upper reach es of these two rivers and local ecological and environmental conditions should be improved.

　　2) Utilizing various mechanisms.including lease,aucttion andshared ownership,to encourage and enlist all sectors of the society to participate in the cmprehensi ve treatment and development of waste mountains,waste valleys,waste hills and wa ste heaches.

　　3) Strictly enforcing the water and soil conservation law,strengthening the orga nization,coordination and supervision of law enforcement,establishing the legal framework and law enforcement mechanism for water and soil preservation,and cont raooing the emergence of new areas of erosion because of human interference.

　　2. WATER POLLUTION IN CHINA AND ITS

　　PREVENTION AND TREATMENT

　　2.1 Issues

　　Since water is a kind of irreplaceable resource,and since China is being challen ged by a severe shortage of water resources,.it is an imperative and important t ask to preserve and make optimal use of available water resources.In China.the p er capita share of water resources is only 2300cubic meters,only one-quarter of the world average,Population and economic growth are both further aggravating th is water shortage.

　　Water pollution adds a new dimension to the water shortage in China.According to the 1997 statistics of the National Water Environment Monitoring Network,the ov erall situation of water quality in major rivers was worse than that of 1996 .It was the 18th consecutive year that saw worse ollution than the years before.Amo ng 51,124 kilometers of river courses monitored,only 58% could reach the Grade T hree surgace water quality atandard,Fully 12% of river courses feel elow the Gra de Five quality standard because of extreme pollution.

　　Water pollution in China has the following characteristics:

　　1) Pollution originater in part of the river and then,along the river course,ext ends to upstream,downstream and into aparian regions,finally affecting the entir e river basin,

　　2) Areas surrounding cities have severe water pollution,which gradually expands to ruralareas,destroying agricultural ecology and the environmet.

　　c) Underground water pollution develops from isolated spots into large areas and from shallow aquifers into deep aquifers.

　　3) The number of seasonal water pollution accidents is increasing year by year,W ater abundant southern China is beginning to experience a shortage of high quali ty water owing to pollution.

　　4) The eutrophication of some lakes has threatened the safety of water supply an d fishery industry.This phenomenon is also growing in reservoirs.

　　2.2 Counter measures

　　In the past several years.the Chinese gorernment has placed high ecphasis on the protedtion of water resources.It has been designated as an important component of national strategy for sustainable development.A series of laws and regulation s have been enacted on water pollution prevention and treatment.During the Ninth Five-Year Plan period.China concentrates its water pollution control efforts on the Huai River,the Liao River,the Hai River,Dianci Lake.Tai Lake and Cao Lake w ith remarkable progress being achieved.However,we have not ultimately reversed t he trend of aggravating water pollution.

　　In future.we prepare to take the following actions to strengthen water resources protection:

　　1) Formulate water resource protection plans for river basins and strictly imple ment these plans.

　　2) In the process of utilizing and allocating water resources.we should take an integrated approach,guaranteeing a proper flow for rivers and a proper water lev el for lakes.reservoirs and underground aquifers.

　　3) Categorize water systems into different function regions ,Protection zones sh ould be stablished around supply sources for drinding water,water bodies located in scenc and historical areas,important fisheries and other water bodies with w pecial economic and cultural values ,Strict measures should be taken in order to ensure that water quality in protected regions can meet the quality standards r equired by their designated functions.

　　4) Enhance the management of sources of pollution discharge,strictly limit pollu tion discharge into water bodies,and institute total quantity control on polluti on discharge,We must prepare to carry out technical renovation and management ad justment in enterprises polluting the water environment.take comprehensive pollu tion prevention and treatment measures.utilize water resources in a proper way , and reduce the amount of waste water and pollutant discharge.

　　5) Establish an economic compensation mechanism for water resources protection a nd ecological rehabilitation,Polluters should be responsible for the treatment o f pollution and bear all costs incurred.

　　6) Encourage the research,development,introduction,assimilation and disseminatio n of water protection technologies.

　　Ladies and Gentlemen.

　　Water is the source of life and soil is the basis of existence .Water and soil r esources form the material basis of human existence.The creation of a sound ecol ogical environment is not only benefical to the present generation,but also to f uture generations.The protection of water and soil resources and intensified tre atment of water and soil erosion and water pollution present a tedious but urgen t task before us .We are fully confident in and committed to the fulfillment of this task,.In the meantime.we hope our international friends corld assist us in tackling this challenge and that though international cooperation we eill strive for a remarkable improvement of ecological and environmental conditions in Chin a.thereby contributing to the sustainable development of economy in China and ar ound the world.

　　Thank you.