The control of water pollution has been included in China’s 12th five-year plan (2011-15), the first time the subject has featured in a five-year plan, reported China Daily.

Wang Bin, deputy director of the department of marine environment protection at the State Oceanic Administration, said that China’s marine and coastal areas are suffering from massive pollution. About 5bn tons of polluted water pours into the Bohai Sea annually, he said, while six of the country’s 10 largest rivers are heavily polluted with waste water, including the Yellow River and the Yangtze River.

According to Wang, China will protect both the upstream areas of watersheds and the near-shore areas in the coming five years and control discharges from coastal industries. The government is also planning to limit the amount of pollution that flows into the sea.