The Kunming government responded to recent reports on Monday that Kunming plans to charge every tourist who registers in the Dianchi Lake Basin hotel 10 yuan a day as compensation for the ecological resources, saying it was just an assumption, ChinaNews.com reports.
The Dianchi Lake Basin in Kunming, Yunnan province has been heavy polluted by sewage and rubbish. [File Photo]
The draft regulation for Dianchi Lake issued by the Standing Committee of Yunan Province was released last month and stated that compensation could be charged at all hotels in the area, up to 2900 square kilometers of the Dianchi Lake Basin.
The compensation outlined in the draft aroused great debates online. Netizens accuse the local government of passing environmental responsibility onto tourists rather than local high-polluting enterprises.
Liu Wei, direct general at the Dianchi Administration of Kunming, said that levying ecological compensation fees through legislation can enhance environmental awareness and can maximize the economic benefits with minimal environmental costs.
"We will actively seek views from various sectors of the society and then develop a practical way", Liu added.
