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Railway environment protection tops agenda
By Sun Xiaohua (China Daily)
Updated: 2005-09-19 05:49
China's top environment watchdog will begin environmental impact assessment
on the Qinghai-Tibet railway this week.
"The State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) will focus its
attention on the examination of the protection of ecosystems around the
construction site of the Qinghai-Tibet railway," said Zhu Xingxiang, head of the
administration's Department of Environmental Impact Assessment.
The Qinghai-Tibet railway, the highest-altitude railway in the world, is
built on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in northwestern China, where the ecosystem is
primary, unique and fragile.
The plateau is the place of origin of the country's five major river systems
- the Yellow River, Yangtze River, Lancang River, Nujiang River and Yarlung
Zangbo River. Also, the plateau is the home to some rare wildlife, such as the
Tibetan antelope, wild ass and snow leopard.
The mean annual temperature of the plateau is between -4 C and 6 C. Once
vegetation is destroyed it is almost impossible to recover.
"For protection of the vegetation along the railway line, we required that
earth excavation for construction be carried out at least 500 metres from the
railway lines," said Zhu. "And every piece of vegetation removed must be
replaced."
The other problem concerning SEPA is whether or not the freedom of migration
of Tibetan antelopes will be influenced.
Although September is not the best season for the examination of this
problem, some investigations will be carried out, according to Zhu
Every year, the migration period for the antelope is from June to August.
During the period in 2002 and 2003, to ensure smooth migration the project
was temporarily suspended, Zhu added.
Special passageways for the migration of Tibetan antelopes and wild yaks have
been designed and built. And passengers will see some signs along the railway
reminding them about the wildlife.
"We will also check the infrastructure construction of pollution control and
prevention mechanisms," said Zhu.
The country pays high attention to environmental protection during the
project.
It has invested 1.2 billion yuan (US$148 million) so far, the most spent on
environmental protection during a railway construction project in the country.
Work on the line from Golmud in Qinghai Province, to Lhasa, a distance of
1,142 kilometres, began on June 29, 2001. About 960 kilometres of the track are
over 4,000 metres above sea level, with the highest point 5,072 metres.
The project will be ready for trial operation by next July.
(China Daily 09/19/2005 page2)
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