China remains vulnerable to bio-pirates who plunder its biological resources such as plants, animals, and their genetic material, a senior environment official has said.
Wu Xiaoqing is deputy head of the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA). He said in an interview in Beijing that foreign companies patent the stolen resources and then sell them on the Chinese and world markets.
The fate of China's wild soybean genes, Wu said, is a perfect example. Of the 20,140 plant resources the United States was said to have imported from China as of June 30, 2002, 4,452 were soybeans. Of those, the number of wild soybean resources was 168.
However, an independent agricultural analyst said that only 2,177 resources were approved by Chinese authorities and wild soybeans were not even on the list.
"That is why China, the native soil of soybeans and home to more than 90 percent of the global wild soybean resources, is now the world's largest importer of the crop," the analyst said. "The majority of our soybean resources have been patented by other countries."
Wu said that 20 to 40 percent of China's biological resources are also currently under threat because of serious environmental degradation and land development.
Legislation should serve as the backbone for protecting China's biodiversity, he said.
More than 40 countries have so far implemented laws and regulations relating to this issue, he said.
Legislation here had been under discussion for five years, but it was not until October that the SEPA and 15 other ministries jointly enacted a preliminary outline, he said.
Before 2020, the conservation of China's biological species will experience a "qualitative, comprehensive" change from the current position, the document said. Biodiversity conservation is already part of the central government's 11th Five-Year Plan (2006-10) for national socioeconomic development.
Questions:
1.As of June 30, 2002, how many plant resources did the United States import from China?
2.According to Wu, what percentage of China’s resources are currently under threat?
3.How many countries have so far implemented laws and regulations relating to the issue of biodiversity
Answers:
1.20,140.
2.20 to 40 percent.
3.More than 40.
（英语点津 Celene 编辑）
About the broadcaster:
Jonathan Stewart is a media and journalism expert from the United States with four years of experience as a writer and instructor. He accepted a foreign expert position with chinadaily.com.cn in June 2007 following the completion of his Master of Arts degree in International Relations and Comparative Politics.
