Zhu Guangyao, deputy head of the State Environmental Protection Administration, said in Beijing on Saturday that environmental protection in China has undergone historic changes.

"Environmental protection has become a major task of China's modernization. Environmental capacity has become a major consideration in planning development projects. Environmental administration has become a major means to adjust economic structure. Environmental standards have become a major condition for market access. Environmental cost has become a major factor in the price formulation mechanism," Zhu told a conference on sustainable growth.

He said the new circumstances have given non-governmental organizations more opportunities to advise the government on environmental affairs, protect the environmental rights and interests of the public, mobilize the public to participate in environmental protection, and promote international exchanges and cooperation in this field.

The conference was sponsored by nearly 400 Chinese environmental NGOs. By 2005, China had 2,768 environmental NGOs representing 224,000 environmental activists.

Zeng Xiaodong, vice chairman of the All-China Environment Federation, said China has 315,000 NGOs of various sorts representing more than three million people. The number of environmental NGOs remains relatively small, but he predicted the number of environmental NGOs and environmental activists will grow fast in the next five to 10 years.

Activities of China's environmental NGOs include educating the public about the importance of environmental protection, promoting methods to cut consumption of electricity and water, championing environmental petitions, and organizing activities to clean the environment.

The legal service center under the All-China Environment Federation has provided legal assistance to victims of 68 pollution incidents since its establishment more than a year ago.