Five-yr plan on environmental protection issued

The Ministry of Environmental Protection issued a Five-Year Plan (2011-15) for national standards on environmental protection on Friday.

The ministry plans to finish enacting and revising 600 types of environmental standards and officially release 300 more by 2015.

The standards will cater to the specific characteristics of the country's pollution and will also be brought in line with international levels gradually.

They will cover mainly five aspects: water, air, soil, ecosystems, and sound and vibration, placing an emphasis on reducing the total amount of pollution, and prevention and control of heavy metals pollution and persistent organic pollutants.

The ministry has also decided to launch a system to assess the standards' effects, planning to start the assessment of about 30 standards by 2015.

The total number of environmental protection standards in 2010 was at about 1,300, with more than 500 released between 2005 and 2010.

wuwencong@chinadaily.com.cn