(CN) State Forestry Administration Plans.

February 16, 2001

The State Forestry Administration has announced that sandstorms in northern

China are to be a thing of the past.

By the year 2010, trees and grass will cover 21.4 per cent of the land in 75

counties and districts in Beijing, Tianjin, provinces of Shanxi and Hebei and

the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

Zhou Shengxian, head of the administration, mapped out the blueprint for the

" Beijing-rim Sandstorm-preventing Project " at a meeting attended by provincial

forestry authorities held yesterday in Beijing.

One of the principal causes of sandstorms is considered to be a lack of

vegetation, which currently covers only 6.7 per cent of the land in the regions.

The project is a part of the State Forestry Administration's ambition to

complete a thorough face-lift of China's ecology system.

According to Zhou, six key forestry projects will be launched over the next few

years to complete the mission:

Protecting natural forests.

Cutting down trees will be banned in regions along the upper reaches of the

Yangtze River and the upper and middle reaches of the Yellow River, with timber

output reduced by about 20 million cubic metres.

A total of 96.2 billion yuan (US$11.6 billion) will be used to plant trees on

12.6 million hectares.

Planting 23 million hectares of forests in the " three norths " area - northern

China, northwestern China and northeastern China - and the regions along the

middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River.

Fighting soil erosion.

Major tree and grass planting will take place on former cultivated lands. By

2010, soil erosion on 23 million hectares should be under control.

Saving rare wild animals.

Up to 10 species of wild animals, including pandas and golden monkeys, will be

protected, along with various ecosystems. More natural reserves will be

established, accounting for 16.14 per cent of the country's area by 2010.

Establishing commercial forests.

Once the project is completed, a volume of roughly 133 million cubic metres of

timber will be turned out every year, satisfying 40 per cent of domestic demand.

--

02/16/2001

Author: JIN BAICHENG, China Daily staff

Recommended Posts