China to Launch First Environment Monitoring Satellite     

China is to launch its first satellite to monitor the environment in the first half of 2008, the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) announced on December 7th, 2007.
    The satellite will be used to monitor the environment and report on natural disasters.
   "Our capability to manage the environment and forecast natural disasters will improve considerably with the operation of the satellite," said Wu Xiaoqing, Deputy Director of SEPA.
    So far, China has set up more than 2 000 stations on the ground to monitor the air, rivers and lakes, and the overall ecosystem.
    But the ground network still can not meet the demand of timely and dynamic monitoring on the fast-changing environment.