An oil pipeline leak in Xuyi, Jiangsu province in April 2010. (Photo/Xinhua)
Jiangsu province in eastern China discharges the most industrial sewage in country, while the central province of Henan has the worst living environment, revealed two environmental studies published by Beijing Technology and Business University.
The World Economy Research Center of the university released an annual survey on city management and living environments on Sunday, showing that the composite index for 279 of nearly 300 China's cities declined this year. Though economic efficiency has improved, social, development and environmental efficiency has declined.
Among mainland China's province-level regions, Henan has been in the worst condition for four consecutive years. The cities of Beijing, Shenzhen and Sanya on the southern island province of Hainan were the top three cities with the best living environment, while cities in China's central west and northeast legions were at the bottom. Jinchang in the western province of Gansu has been ranked the worst city for seven consecutive years.
The center released another survey on the "greenness" of the economy and the green GDP index in China's nearly 300 polled provinces and cities on the same day, showing that among province-level regions, Jiangsu discharged the most industrial sewage. China's southern regions contained ten of the top water polluters in the country.
The three cities which performed best on the green economy index were Shenzhen, Haikou in Hainan province and Xiamen in Fujian province, while the top worst were Changzhi in Shanxi province, Anshun in Guizhou province and Luliang in Shanxi province.
The northwestern autonomous region of Ningxia ranked last.
The survey said China's industrial pollution has seriously affected all aspects of the environment from rivers, lakes and seas to the air. While the discharge of industrial sewage has spread from the east to the west of the country, as well as from the south to the north, smog pollution has also crept from the north to the south.
Ji Zhu, director of the World Economy Research Center, warned that pollution will significantly increase the incidence of cancer in the country. The main obstacles for China's environment and green economy are theoretical loopholes, wrong policies, unreasonable mechanisms, lack of warning mechanisms and moral education, Ji said.