BEIJING - China on Tuesday launched the fourth census on its environmental protection industry in an effort to prepare scientific data for the nation's policymakers, according to the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP).

The census will cover the manufacturing and operation of environmental protection products, resource recycling and environmentally friendly products in 2011.

Services related to the environmental protection industry, including the operation of environmental protection facilities and the construction of environment-related projects, will also be included in the census.

In order to get a clear picture of the environmental protection industry, the nation urgently needs this census, Wu Xiaoqing, vice minister of the MEP, said at a launch ceremony on Tuesday.

The industry's focus is transitioning from manufacturing to service, said Wu, adding that the market had demanded higher quality and improved delivery capacity in the sector.

Wu said upgrading the industry by linking all its segments through environmental services is a major task for the next step.

The nationwide project is aimed at establishing a lasting, renewable database for the industry and publishing investigative reports.

The census will be jointly carried out by the MEP, the National Bureau of Statistics and the National Development and Reform Commission.

Similar projects were carried out in 1993, 2000 and 2004.

The results of the new census are scheduled to be released in the first half of 2013, according to the MEP.

China's environmental protection industry has been growing rapidly in recent years. Revenues from the industry's output topped 1.1 trillion yuan (about 175.6 billion U.S. dollars) in 2010, government data showed.

A development program of the sector in the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015) period forecasts the value of the industry's output will hit 4.5 trillion yuan in 2015.

The value of services related to the sector is forecast to reach 500 billion yuan, according to the program.