China’s forest coverage rate has almost doubled in the past 50
years to reach 16.55 percent from 8.6 percent, according to a forum
on forest and environmental protection on Wednesday.
Addressing the forum in Beijing, Li
Yucai, vice-director of the State Forestry Administration, said
China had planted trees on 46 million hectares of land in the
1949-98 period, ranking first in the world.
The total forested area in China had reached 158 million hectares
by 1998, ranking fifth in the world, said the vice-director.
China has launched 10 large afforestation campaigns since late
1978, including the shelter belt in the vast northern part of China
which stretches from northwest China to northeast China, and
shelter belts in the country’s coastal areas and the upper and
middle reaches of the Yangtze River.
During the past five years, 2.9 million hetares of artificial
forests has been planted each year in 10 projects, Li said.
He
said 27 percent of urban China is covered with vegetation, compared
with 10 percent two decades ago.
Under a program unveiled recently, China plans to increase its
forest coverage rate to 26 percent by 2050.
The program was designed to curb the deterioration of the country’s
environment, and increase its forest resources and vegetation for
sustainable economic and social developments in the country.
(People’s
Daily 09/05/2001)