The United Nations has honoured the Chinese industrial boomtown of
Shenzhen and a desert-prone county in Inner Mongolia for their efforts in defending the environment.
Shenzhen, in southern China's Guangdong province, and Aohanqi, in north China's Inner Mongolia region, were officially added to the UN Environment Programme's (UNEP's) "Global 500 Roll of Honour for Environmental Achievement" on June 4.
The awards were part of the 30th international World Environment Day, which is being celebrated by UNEP in Shenzhen.
It is one of the most prestigious international environemental honours and has been given to over 500 cities and hundreds of individuals and organizations worldwide.
Other recipients of this year's award include a Jordanian princess, and five environmental groups from Angola, Ecuador, Kazakhstan, the Philippines and the United States, a UNEP statement said.
It is only the second time Chinese cities had been given the award since it was launched by UNEP in 1987. Dalian, a port city in northeast China's Liaoning province, last year became the first city in China to receive the award.
UNEP Executive Director Klaus Toepfer said
Shenzhen was chosen because of its efforts to harmonize economic development and environmental protection.
The city, whose skyline is dotted with highrises and has 45 percent of urban districts covered with greenery, was regarded as a fine example of eco-friendly economic development, Toepfer said.
Its efforts will be highlighted at the upcoming Earth Summit II in Johannesburg in August, he said.
Shenzhen officials plan to further improve the city by spending 60 million yuan (US$7.2 million) to plant trees and other greenery on barren land in the city, a report Wednesday in the website sina.com quoted city officials saying.
Aohanqi county, which is on the verge of a vast desert in north China's Inner Mongolia, was recognized for its achievements in the past 30 years to fight desertification in its suburbs.
Located in a semi-arid area at the southern fringe of the sandy region of Keerqin, Aohanqi was menaced by desertification due to the unsustainable use of natural resources. Large-scale environmental projects have been undertaken since the early 1970s.
At present forest coverage in the county has reached 43.5 percent, whereas shifting sand dunes have been reduced to 6,000 hectares from 38,000 hectares 30 years ago.
"The achievements of these two places epitomize China's intensive efforts to improve the environment over recent decades," Xie Zhenhua, director of China's State Environmental Protection Administration, said.
China has tightened laws against air pollution and household waste disposal in the past few years as environmental issues become a higher priority in the public policy agenda.
