The Western Region Development Strategy has made a good start at
helping to improve the ecology in the western area of China,
according to Li Zibin, vice chairman of the State Development
Planning Commission and the Leading Group Office for the
Development of the Western Region of the State Council, at the
August 8th State Council’s press conference.
The state increased its investment in the west regions last year,
with the support of active financial policies. Money from national
bonds of as much as 43 billion yuan (US$5.19 billion) went to
infrastructure construction, and this year’s investment will
surpass last year. Investment of fixed assets in the 12 regions of
the west for the first half of this year was 17.11 billion yuan
(US$2.1 billion), an increase of 28.8 percent over the same period
of the previous year and more than 10 percent higher than the
amount invested in any other region.
Key projects supported include the Qinghai-Tibet railway, west-
east power transmission, west-east gas pipeline, main lines of the
state highway system, and water conservancy hubs along the upper
stream of both the Yangtze River and Yellow River.
As
for the protection of the environment, some 5.79 million mus
(1 mu equals 1/15 hectare) of cultivated area in 2000 were
turned back into forests and pastures. This accounted for 102
percent of the target of 5.65 million mu. Some 7.17 million
mu of land suitable for forestation were planted with trees
and grass, making up 102 percent of the target of 7.01 million
mus. The average survival rate of the plantings amounted to
over 80 percent. Of the completed acreage of areas planted, 11.138
million mus was ecological forest, accounting for 85.9
percent of the completed forestation acreage. It is planned this
year for 8 million mus of cultivated land to be turned back
into forest and pasture, and 12 million mus of other land
suitable for forestation will be planted with trees and grass.
Under the leadership of the Party’s committees and governments at
all levels, many farmers have become involved in the work. Also
advancing steadily are projects as the protection of the natural
forest, the comprehensive management of the ecological and
environmental construction in the key areas, the control and
management of the areas that create sand storms around Beijing and
Tianjin, the restoration and construction of the natural grassland,
and water and soil conservancy.
“We have reduced lumbering of 18 million cubic meters from natural
forests according to the natural forest protection project along
with 85 million mus of forestation acreage,” Li Zibin
said.
In
1999, Premier Zhu Rongji suggested turning back cultivated area to
forest and pasture, afforest wastelands and give a food subsidy to
farmers that afforest their farmland as required. Later the State
Council decided to pay farmers 250 kg food for one mu of
afforested cultivated area.
Cheng Andong, governor of
Shaanxi Province in North China Plateau, also spoke at the
conference. He said that in Shaanxi, a province in northwest China,
farmers have afforested 12.8 million mus of lands with 4.06
million mus passing the national assessment. The food
subsidy has been distributed according to the provisions, he
said.
“I
believe we can reduce soil erosion of the Bobei district in North
China Plateau, which sees 1.6 billion tons of soil into the Yellow
Reviver, and finally purify the Yellow River water through our
generations’ efforts,” Cheng said.
(China.org.cn by Alex Xu 08/09/2001)