A senior environmental official yesterday welcomed a European Union-funded biodiversity initiative amid grave warnings that the country's environment is continuing to deteriorate.
The United Nations Development Programme signed five grant agreements worth US$13 million with the EU and the central government, which are designed to give environmental concerns a higher profile in mainland development planning.
'China is faced with a severe situation in biodiversity conservation,' State Environmental Protection Administration deputy director Wu Xiaoqing said at yesterday's signing ceremony, which marked International Biodiversity Day.
'Growing population and rapid economic development have posed grave threats to the country's biodiversity.'
He said protecting biodiversity should be integrated into the government's development plans and should also be considered in the assessment of local officials' political performance.
'We must forbid those projects that cause pollution or damage to the environment and regard biodiversity conservation as an integral part of the environmental assessment of other projects,' Mr Wu said.
The agreements were part of a US$70 million joint initiative launched by the UNDP, EU and China a year ago aimed at preserving biodiversity in the country's western and central regions, with 14 more grant agreements to be signed later this year.