BEIJING, March 12 (Xinhuanet) -- China will support and guide non-government organizations (NGO) devoted to environmental protection, said a senior official from China's environmental watchdog here Friday.

    Pan Yue, vice-director of the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA), made this remark at the annual assembly of nationwide environmental officials.

    He said SEPA will help to establish an NGO cooperation network in two years and provide professional training for small grassroots groups.

    According to the official statistics, there are over 2000 environmental NGOs in China, most of which are small, roughly organized and lacking in communications framework.

    "I believe NGOs will surely play a key role in China's environmental protection, because the government cannot do everything. However, they need coordination, training and support," said Pan, who is an advocate of public participation in China's environmental protection.

    "China is transforming from a highly-consuming and polluting growth model to a sustainable one. In this process, the public's commitment and strength should be unleashed, encouraged and well-guided," said Pan.

    He said SEPA is training, as the first step of its plan, dozens of NGOs made up of Beijing's college students. Besides, SEPA held the first "Green China" forum in December 2003, which isdesigned to become a platform for NGOs and officials to exchange views.

    China's fledgling environmental NGOs, the most active among their peers in other fields, now wield more clout than ever.

    In 2001, 20 NGOs joined in the drafting of Beijing's plan for a"Green Olympics" in 2008.

    In 2002, over 30 NGOs joined the World Summit on Sustainable Development held in Johannesburg, South Africa. It was the first time China's NGOs voiced their concerns on global events at such alarge scale.

    "It is a long way to go to establish full public participation,a disclosure system for environmental information and a democraticdecision-making process for environmental issues, but it's SEPA's ultimate goal," said Pan. Enditem