Ecology failed in 2006

China’s ecological protection level has failed to progress compared with other nations over the last three years due to its rapid industrialization, according to a report released on Saturday.
The country ranked 100th out of 118 developing and developed countries in China’s Modernization Report 2007, the same ranking as the last report in 2004.
The report detailed research and opinions of experts and scholars in the Chinese Academy of Science, the Ministry of Science and Technology and China’s elite universities.
The ranking of "ecological modernization" were based on 30 indicators, including carbon dioxide discharges, daily sewage disposal rates, forest coverage and drinking water safety.
The league table comprised four levels: the advanced group of 15 nations topped by Sweden; the middle group of 37 countries, represented by Spain; the primary level of 40 countries, including Brazil; and the low group of 26 nations, including China.
"Compared with social and economic modernization, China’s ecological modernization lags far behind," said He Chuanqi, director of the research group.
Ecological deterioration was a major problem for China, he said.
China’s economy has maintained a sharp growth in the past three decades, and GDP growth in 2006 hit 10.7 percent. However, the government has started to realize that environmental issues are an increasingly important factor which affects economic development.
Last year, the government failed to meet its own targets for energy consumption and pollution reduction.
The central government last month announced eight economic priorities for 2007, with environmental protection listed third after macro-economic controls and agricultural development.
The government needed to ensure economic development would not result in further environmental deterioration in the next 50 years,said He Chuanqi.