Li Yuan, the deputy director of the Ecological Division of China's Ministry of Environmental Protection, has disclosed to local media that China will arrange a CNY1 billion special fund this year for environment protection and pollution control in the rural areas of the country.

At the 2009 China Environmental NGOs Sustainable Development Annual Conference, Li told more than 300 environmental professionals who were attending the conference that both economic construction and social development in the rural areas are facing a turning point and the critical environmental problems in these areas have caused a series of problems to society.

Investigation by MEP shows that more than 300 million people in rural China are drinking substandard water and more than 90 million people's lives are endangered by polluted water in the rural areas.

It is estimated that each year about 280 million tons of domestic waste, along with more than nine billion tons of waste water and other wastes, are produced in rural China. In addition, the use of fertilizer and pesticides has caused serious pollution to surface water and underground water in the rural regions.

Li stated that MEP is working on a plan for cleaning the rural environment, and this is expected to greatly improve the current environmental situation in rural areas.

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