China is to launch its first national survey to generate statistics on pollution sources, the official Xinhua news agency reported Friday.

The survey, beginning in February, will identify industrial, agricultural and residential pollution, according to a statement by Zhou Shengxian, director of the State Environmental Protection Administration.

Booming economic growth has pushed up many measures of pollution in China, where coal is a key fuel. These coal trucks are lined up in a market in May.
(Elizabeth Dalziel/Associated Press)

"The result of the census will not be linked to any punishment or evaluation of the performance of local administrations," Zhou said at a meeting of the State Council, China's top executive and administrative body.

The government has launched measures to cut pollution but has been hampered by a lack of knowledge about the problem. The State Council decided in 2006 to undertake the census to provide statistics.

"Collecting data of various pollution sources will be an important basis for environmental protection, a crucial gist for optimizing economic structure and an important step toward an environment-friendly society," vice-premier Zeng Peiyan said.

According to the environmental administration, China's booming economy has increased some measures of pollution:

• Sulfur dioxide emissions were 27.8 per cent higher in 2005 than in 2000.
• A quarter of all surface water is completely unusable, 62 per cent is unsuitable for fish and 90 per cent of the rivers running through cities are polluted.

But China did cut sulfur dioxide emissions, chemical oxygen demand (a measure of water pollution) and the energy used per unit of gross domestic product in the first nine months of 2007, Xinhua said.

The survey will take till mid-year to collect data, with findings expected in 2009. The government has budgeted $100 million US for the project, and every province, region and municipality has set up a survey office.

As well as pollution, the survey will count the number of environmental remediation facilities.