Home to several great rivers, the western part of China has a variety of ecosystems and abundant biodiversity, making it essential for maintaining both domestic and global ecological security. The region is also rich in mineral reserves that make a huge contribution to national economic development.

Currently environmental protection in this region faces several urgent problems. Some areas have a very fragile ecology that faces a severe threat, such as desertification in the northwestern provinces, soil erosion in the loess plateau, and increasingly frequent debris flows in southwestern provinces.

Large parts of this region are frontier areas with various ethnic groups. These areas are relatively undeveloped and cannot invest much in protecting the environment. For example, in 2008 Yunnan province invested 1.48 billion yuan ($225 million), or 1 percent of its revenue, on environmental protection; at the same time Jiangsu province invested 9.518 billion yuan for the same purpose, which accounted for 2.93 percent of its revenue. Lack of funds has become a tight bottleneck for environmental protection in these regions.

The economic gap between the eastern and western regions has further widened recently, as the western provinces have slowed the exploitation of resources to better protect the environment. In order to better coordinate the overall development of the country, and maintain stability and security in the frontier areas, the State must let the western areas share the fruits of development.

In my opinion, the State should set up and strengthen the environmental protection mechanism for these regions:

First, the State should introduce special regulations for the protection of these diverse ecological areas as soon as possible, making clear the policies and standards pertaining to each.

Second, State revenue should offer more support for environmental protection in the western regions. It should raise the standard of revenue transfer, grant compensation to those who make contributions to environmental protection, and improve public services in the region, so that they can enjoy a fair share of the fruits of development.

The State should also invest more in counteracting environmental degradation and recovering degraded areas, such as improving the drainage areas of several rivers, enlarging the area combating desertification, and avoiding geological disasters.

The following regions in particular are facing over-exploitation of their resources: Dongchuan, Gejiu of Yunnan province, Baiyin, Yumen in Gansu province, Wanshan in Guizhou province, A'ershan in Inner Mongolian autonomous region, Shizuishan in Ningxia Hui autonomous region, Tongchuan in Shaanxi province, Huaying in Sichuan province, and Wansheng in Chongqing municipality.

The State should also invest more in the fund for returning farm land to forestry, wetland protection, and caring for forests in key river drainage areas. All are essential to environmental protection in the western regions.

Third, the country should introduce a carbon trading system and establish a proper management mechanism for it. In my opinion, it can make experiments in such western provinces as Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan, making them a global carbon trading center, so as to offer economic support for environmental protection.

Last, but by no means least, the State should introduce an environment tax after calculating the cost and benefits of environmental protection. On the principle of "he that exploits pays" and "he that protects benefits", the State can let the middle and eastern regions pay for environmental protection in the western regions, so as to better coordinate development. Of course, the collection of this tax should be under strict supervision, to ensure it is used for environmental protection.

The author is a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).

(China Daily 04/08/2011 page8)