Beijing: "China needs to increase investment in environmental protection," say experts.

The country's expenditure on environmental protection lags behind other major countries in terms of the proportion in gross domestic product (GDP), said experts at a conference of the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development (CCICED).

China spent a huge sum of 838.8 billion yuan ($104.8 billion) in protecting the environment in 2005, however, it made up only 1.3 percent of the country's total GDP.
  
In comparison, developed countries usually invest more than two percent of their GDP in environmental protection, the experts said.
  
According to the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA), although about one million factories in the country are generating pollution, there are only 50,000 environmental monitoring and inspection personnel at various levels.
  
Due to poor funds in the field, local environmental protection staff lack professional training and are not competent enough in their daily work, the SEPA said.
  
Though the Chinese government has constantly increased investment in environmental protection, experts estimate that another 90 billion yuan is needed in the 11th Five-Year Plan period (2006-2010).
  
Experts suggested that environment protection investment and financing channels should be further expanded to allow more capital into the field.
  
The CCICED was established in 1992 by the Chinese government in collaboration with foreign Governments and international organisations.