Environmental Protection
“Giving the Environment and People the Top Priority” has been an imperative to enable city residents to breathe fresh air, drink clean water and eat safe food. In 2006, environmental concerns were addressed well. Statistics show that 93.7 percent of everyday life waste was dealt with properly. 98.1 percent of water in the city’s major reservoir for drinking water supply and 96.2 percent of the processed industrial wastewater met standards. Air quality reached national standards (at the first and second levels) on 359 days out of 365. A total of 399.46 square kilometers in the city met noise standards.
To encourage city residents to take part in environmental protection, the “Prize for Shenzhen Residents’ Environmental Protection” was established in 2004. The city government will invest 25 billion yuan in 294 projects in the fields of water, air, noise, and solid waste from 2006 through 2010.
Beautiful, Ecological Garden City
Shenzhen has a beautiful, natural environment. The green area of the city, with 16.01 square meters of greenery per person, covers 45 percent of the urban area. Forests cover 47.6 percent of the city’s total land area. The city has 442 parks totaling 240.40 hectares. Shenzhen has won awards from domestic and overseas authorities, which include “Nations in Bloom,” UNEP’s “Global Top 500 Laureate Roll of Honor,” “National Hygienic City,” “National Model City for Environmental Protection,” “Model City for Protection of Ozone Layer,” “National Greenery Model City,” “National Brilliant Tourism City.”
Shenzhen is the “City of Parks.” At present, the city has more than 400 parks, scenic zones, and forest parks. By 2010, the number of forest parks in the city will reach 17, which will make up 22.03 percent of the city’s total land area.
