On Oct. 10th, according to the port of the Three Gorges Project, for a better eco-environment along the Yangtze River, Yichang has taken rigorous measures to curb illegal wharfs development along the main channel and tributary of the Yangtze River, banning 151 illegal ones including 49 spotted by the provincial government. Over 500 production equipments have been dismantled and about 2.9 million tons of gravels have been moved away.

　　Yichang has extended the governed areas from main channel of the Yangtze River toward its tributaries, such as Qingjiang River and Xaingxi River. The regulating focus will shift from illegal wharfs for gravel shipping to wharfs failing to meet environment standards and those with heavy pollutions. For those wharfs that need improvement, they were required to meet “8 standards for environment renovation”, such as greening rate should be no less than 10%.

　　After the governance, the total amount of wharfs in Yichang has decreased from 347 to 155, with 192 banned (including 41 need to be improved). Afforestation efforts have also been carried out in the banned wharfs, and the greening area has reached over 300,000 square meters, the restored shore line has numbered over 25 kilometer, with better eco-environment and higher rate of resources utilization.

　　In the near future, Yichang will make greater efforts to speed up governance of unqualified wharfs, complete “regulating and upgrading” work before December 31, and make sure to complete the improvement for all wharfs; to build at least one gravel hub in each city and county; to install video monitoring system along shoreline with banned wharfs or wharfs in function, in case the illegal wharfs restarted. (Reporter: Rong Fei)