Waste Used to Solve Shortage of Sand， Gravel
　　A recent guideline published by 15 central government bodies encourages the use of industrial and construction waste to help address China’s growing shortage of sand and gravel for construction， and vows to realize better overseeing of sand digging in rivers.
　　The sediment concentration in China’s rivers has been plummeting over recent years， with that in major rivers emptying into the sea decreasing by about 80 percent over the past decade. According to the Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences， dam construction– which prevents sand from going downstream – and the country’s efforts in water and soil conservation are the two major causes of the vast decrease.
　　Despite the trend of an increasingly shrinking supply from watercourses， the demand for the material is on the rise.
　　While vowing to enforce strictly controlled sand excavation from watercourses， the guideline asks to ratchet up efforts in enhancing supply by sourcing sand from industrial waste such as mine tailings and construction waste.
　　Experts applauded the initiative as a win-win solution for ecological protection and economic development. They said that this could help ramp up protection without disrupting the supply of the material， which is key for sustaining economic development.
　　“Sand and gravel are important parts of the ecological system. Their improper exploitation could worsen environmental pollution and threaten ecological safety，” said Yan Gang， a researcher with the Chinese Academy of Environmental Planning. Experts said the guideline helps address the conflicts between sand exploitation and ecological and environmental protection.
　　No Leniency in Food， Drug， and IPR Crimes
　　Chinese police arrested 65，000 suspects involved in 39，000 criminal cases related to food， drugs， environment， and intellectual property rights（IPR） in 2019， the Ministry of Public Security disclosed recently. The cases pertained to activities and goods totaling a value of up to RMB 35.2 billion（about US $4.96 billion）.
　　In response to growing transnational criminal cases of IPR infringement， the ministry has established cooperation with 35 international organizations， countries， and regional law enforcement organs to combat such crimes， and participated in 19 international law enforcement operations such as Pangea in recent years. In response to the COVID-19 epidemic that broke out earlier this year， it also issued 10 measures to fight against crimes in areas of food， drugs， and IPR to support disease control and work resumption in China. 　　More Measures to Boost Tibetan Herders and Farmers’ Incomes
　　This year， Tibet Autonomous Region plans to offer training for 100，000 farmers and herders， help 600，000 more find jobs out of their hometowns， and increase local rural residents’ income by at least 13 percent. The region will give priority to seven sectors， namely， plantation of barley， vegetables， and feed grass， raising of yak， sheep， and pigs， and dairy products. It will also improve its transport， water conservation， and energy infrastructure and make more efforts to improve people’s livelihood and invigorate the countryside.
　　Human resources authorities in Tibet will collect data on the number of required workers by employers， requirements for their skills， work locations， and salaries， and then make the information available to the public. Construction projects for relocation will hire local farmers and herders to provide them with more sources of income.


　　Combating Wildlife-Related Crimes
　　A total of 1，749 people in China were prosecuted for damaging wildlife resources in the first quarter of the year， up 62.4 percent from the same period last year， according to the Supreme People’s Procuratorate.
　　The procuratorial organs approved the arrest of 400 suspects allegedly involved in such crimes between January and March， 14.9 percent more than in the same period in 2019. 176 suspects were arrested for charges of illegally purchasing， transporting， or selling rare or endangered wild animals and related products， accounting for 44 percent of the total arrests for the first quarter of the year.
　　The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress， China’s top legislature， adopted a decision thoroughly banning the illegal trading of wildlife and eliminating the consumption of wild animals on February 24， aiming to safeguard biological and ecological security and effectively prevent major public health risks.