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Tumen River Area Priority Environmental Issues
Exective Summary

The purpose of the TDA/SAP in the RAS/98/G31 is to protect biodiversity and international waters in northeast Asia and to attract green investments, and the sector report is an important component of the TDA. The Tumen River Area Priority Environmental Issues Regional Sector Report is one of the most important sector reports in the TDA/SAP. It deals with one of the two key issues in the project. So, it is the most important sector report of the 8 sector reports.
- Main contents of the sector report
This sector reports is composed of 8 chapters, and it gives a comprehensive and detailed description to the major environmental issues and their relevant biodiversity in the international waters in the Tumen River area. Also it proposes corresponding measures and actions of environmental pollution control.

Chapter One defines the study scope of the Tumen River area and clarifies the study purpose of the report.

Chapters two through seven are the main body of the report. They describe in detail the environment, biodiversity, social and economic situations, water pollution, water environment monitoring, etc. in the Tumen River area. The biodiversity and water pollution whose impacts on the Tumen rive basin are the key contents of this report. The main pollution resources of the Tumen river basin are listed in the attachment in matrix.

Chapter Eight is a conclusion. It gives the prospect of the Tumen River in future, points out existing problems, and makes recommendations.

Because of various reasons, DPRK does not participate in the project, so the data about DPRK in this report is scant, and the analyses about DPRK are rather simplified. Despite this, some of the major river pollution sources in DPRK have been identified.

- This report, through detailed and thorough studies on the international waters in the Tumen River area, describes the water environment status of the Tumen River and makes objective evaluations about the threats to the international waters. In particular, it analyzes both point pollution sources and non-point pollution sources and traces to the original sources, and thus provides rich first hand materials for prospective investors. On the whole, the report supplies TDA with rich data and helps lay a solid foundation for SAP.

Summary of Recommendations

- The development of the Tumen River area, especially the development of its estuary area, is not only of pragmatic significance to the local economies of border areas among China, Russia and DPRK, but also of far-reaching significance to the stability, prosperity and sustainable development of the Northeast Asian countries, including China, DPRK, South Korea, Russia, Japan, Mongolia, etc.
- The poor water quality of the Tumen River has become a big impediment to the regional development, urban construction, and industrial development. The major measures to solve this problem are: First of all, both China and DPRK must implement the existing agreements between them and take measures to control effluent and residue discharges. Only when both China and DPRK join hands and take concerted actions can the pollution problem of the Tumen River be effectively solved. Secondly, some industrial pollution sources have to make renovations and treat their wastes within limited periods of time, and effluent must not be discharged into rivers until after it is effectively treated. Thirdly, urban sewage must be treated (in wastewater treatment plants and oxygenation ponds) before it is discharged into rivers.
- The riparian countries of the Tumen River area must cooperate in resources development, environmental protection, etc. Only concerted actions can coordinate among resources, environment and development. Setting up nature reserves is a basic measure to protect natural environment and natural resources, and it is also an effective measure to protect resources of animals and plants.

The issue of protecting biodiversity in the Tumen River area is faced with grave situations. The governments of all the involved countries must take effective measures, participate in international cooperation and protect biodiverstiy.

We should intensify legal management to protect wild animals, especially rare species, so that their number will not decrease and the wild life resources will not be damaged.

We must intensify researches on biological resources. We must start to set up farms for then right now. Or we may designate some reserves for then to stay in naturally.

We must be active in publicity so as to raise people's awareness of protecting and reasonable using resources of wild animals and plants. People should protect the resources of wild animals and plants self-consciously and make it a social moral to protect wild life forms.

- Cities are economic and social development centers, and they are the places where most of the environment problems are found. The urban environment infrastructure construction should be in conformity with the social economic development. We should vigorously speed up urban environment infrastructure construction and check urban environment pollution. Some of the infrastructures refer to water supply projects, garbage treatment yard, road pavement, urban reforestation, supply of clean energies, etc.
- Intensifying the buildup of environment monitoring ability and raising pollution control capability. It is imperative under the situation to establish water quality automatic monitoring systems along major rivers.
- In the construction of economic development zones, there must be rational plans, and tree/grass planting in the surrounding areas of the development zones must be intensified in order to avoid water/soil erosion.

The regional development and regional economic development must give emphasis to hi-tech industries, and severely polluting industries must be checked. Pollution treatment must be intensified to reduce the discharges of the "three wastes" (wastewater, waster gas and waste residue). Unified plans, reasonable layout, and good industrial structure adjustment

Put forward the clean productive technique. with paper producing, liquid of chemical fiber, Wine making as the emphasis, try the administration of controlling the pollution during the whole technical process, put the pollution control into every part of the industrial producing, cut down the consuming allotment of original material, water resources and energy sources, reduce the discarding quantity of pollutant, realize the changing of the terminal pollution control into the one in the whole process of producing.

- So far the waste discharges in the Tumen River area are not clear yet, and this is especially true of DPRK, so it is imperative to investigate pollution sources in the area.