China to set up national body to manage natural resources  

中央官员：中国将建立管理自然资源的“国资委”

(ECNS) -- China will set up a national body to achieve more concerted and integral management of natural resources, a central government official said on Saturday.

Yang Weiming, deputy director of the Office of the Central Leading Group on Financial and Economic Affairs, said during a meeting on ecological protection in Moganshan, Zhejiang province, that a plan to set up such a national body is under discussion.

"Currently, China has multiple government departments responsible for natural resource management, which has resulted in inconsistent development and damage to the integrity of nature."

Yang said not all land will be developed equally. China will consider what areas need to be developed with priority, which should be protected and what could be partly developed.

In future, China plans to utilize three types of land functionality – urban, agricultural, ecological.

Yang also mentioned levying a tax on underground water extraction and harsher punishments to preserve water resources.