In an effort to improve air quality in and around Olympic host cities, the Chinese Government has warned farmers of an impending crackdown if they violate a ban on burning crop stubble.

The ban runs from May to the end of September in Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Henan, Shandong, Shanxi, Anhui, Jiangsu and Liaoning, all areas around Olympic venues, according to a directive issued last Sunday by the Ministry of Environmental Protection and the Ministry of Agriculture.

Beijing has been plagued by air pollution caused by crop stubble burning in areas around the capital in recent years.

In June last year, two days with very bad air quality were blamed on such activities.

The Ministry of Environment Protection also monitored the aggravating crop stalk burning in major agricultural provinces like Hebei, Henan, Shandong, Jiangsu and Anhui from May to June last year.

The burning sites in these provinces had increased to different degrees, compared with the same period in 2006, the report said.

Burning has been widely adopted by Chinese farmers as an easy and cheap way of removing stalks after harvests over the years.

Farmers in northern China often grow two crops a year. They are used to burning crop stalks left after the harvest to clear the fields for second plantings of wheat and other grains.

The two ministries directed their respective local bureaus in the nine provinces and municipalities to step up surveillance and prosecution of stalk burning.

During the period of the ban, the two ministries will jointly deploy an inspection group to relevant provinces and cities to supervise and inspect the ban and make sure it is properly enforced.

From May to September, the Ministry of Environmental Protection will use satellites to monitor the burning of crop stalks across the country. It will publish the results on the Internet and newspapers, the Beijing News reported on Monday.

Beijing and six other cities including Hong Kong, Shenyang, Tianjin, Qingdao, Qinhuangdao and Shanghai are to co-host sports events for this year's Olympic Games, which begin on August 8.

China Daily - Xinhua

(China Daily 05/09/2008 page3)