One quarter of the Chinese population is drinking unclean water,
said a report released on Monday by one of the country's
environmental non-government organizations.
The Green Book of the Environment released by the
Beijing-based Friends of Nature said that at least 320 million
Chinese were risking their health by drinking unclean water, most
of whom live in the country's rural areas.
The report, citing statistics from the Environmental Monitoring
of China, said 34 percent of the country's 800 million rural
residents were drinking unclean water in 2006.
"About 70 percent of China's rivers are polluted and 96 percent
of rural villages do not have adequate sewage plants. These two
factors together pose huge threats to the health of the Chinese
rural population," said Yang Dongping, vice president of Friends of
Nature and chief editor of the Green Book of the
Environment.
Earlier this month, the Chinese Ministry of Water Resources
pledged to invest 32 billion yuan (about US$4 billion) over the
next ten years to ensure that 300 million rural residents, mainly
those in the western regions, have clean water to drink.
The Ministry of Water Resources will also cooperate closely with
the State Environmental Protection Administration to prevent water
pollution in rural areas.
(Xinhua News Agency March 14, 2007)
