A senior official from the State Council's Office of the Leading Group for Western Region Development said on Friday that the environment of China's vast and economically underdeveloped western region will be protected forever with a new regulation this year.

The new regulation is to be introduced by the end of 2005. It will be the first comprehensive one of its kind for the western region, which accounts for half the country's area and whose per capita GDP is 65 percent the national average.

Wang Jinxiang, deputy director of the office, told China Daily the core of the regulation would ensure that the ecosystems of the most precious areas are protected during development.

"Such details like whether or what kind of factories can be built in different areas will be included," said Wang.

A compensation mechanism for the use of resources may also be included, he said.

The region is home to China's water sources and largest power supplies, but it also has 80 percent of its desertified areas, and has experienced 70 percent of its most serious water and soil loss.

In the Environmental Sustainability Index report, released last month in Switzerland, China was ranked 133rd out of 142 countries. The countries toward the end of the list were short on natural resources or managed them poorly.

The protection of ecosystems in several fragile locations, such as around the Yangtze, Yellow and Lancang-Mekong rivers, is a must for all levels of government, Vice-Premier Zeng Peiyan reiterated on Friday during a meeting commemorating the fifth anniversary of the State's "Go-west" strategy.

Despite the region's problems, remarkable achievements have been made in the past five years, thanks to the government's increasing financial assistance for ecological projects, he said.

By the end of last year, local people had rehabilitated and cultivated land into forests, planting about 11.3 million hectares of trees on previously barren land and mountains.

"The State will surely step up its support for the development of the western region in the future," noted Zeng.

This year will also see the issue of a circular on human resource development in the region, said Dai Guiying, director of the office's department of human resource development and regulations.

Although the office has launched a 10-year strategy in that regard, a serious 'brain drain' resulting in a lack of highly skilled people is still curtailing development.

"The problem is especially serious at grassroots level, where qualified teachers, technicians and vets are in great demand," said Dai.

Wang, who has worked in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, says in the south of the region, nearly half of all doctors are unqualified.

"Human resource development is the weakest point when it comes to the region's development and it will be the next focus of our work," he said.

Dai said she hopes "serving in the west for a short period can become a rule for all new civil servants."

Wang also said the western development law is in its final draft and is expected to be introduced in three to five years.

"We are considering including such safeguards on channels of capital supply for the region," said Wang.

Zhang Jianyu, a visiting scholar to Tsinghua University, pointed out that State authorities should take into consideration the reality of unbalanced development between the nation's east and west while making policies.

Between 2000 and 2005, central government has allocated 460 billion yuan (US$55.4 billion) for infrastructure construction in the western region and over 500 billion yuan (US$60.2 billion) in transfer payments and special subsidies, according to the office.

Between 2000 and 2003, the region's annual GDP growth has been 10 percent on average. It has made substantial progress in infrastructure development in the past five years, with 60 key projects launched at a cost of 850 billion yuan (US$102.4 billion).

(China Daily February 5, 2005)