Chinese Vice-Premier Wen Jiabao presided over a meeting in Beijing Saturday to hear a report related to a comprehensive plan for developing a sustained forestry industry in China.

The plan has been drafted by some 300 experts from Chinese academies of science and engineering and the State Forestry Administration (SFA) since June last year as part of the government's effort to revitalize the forestry industry.

Wen said that it is a major issue in the world to improve ecological environment so as to realize the sustained development.

He said the Chinese government has attached great importance to this work, stressing that forestry development will lay foundation for sustained development of economy and society.

The plan has been finished on the basis of environmental research carried out in 25 provinces and regions and also on forestry development experience in six European and Asia-Pacific countries.

Wen described the research as thorough and innovative, saying that publishing the plan on the forestry development strategy is only the first step for the country's comprehensive forestry recovering program.

The plan's drafters are experts in some 40 fields, including forestry, forestry engineering, ecology, agronomy, biology, law and sociology.

According to the plan, China will step up forestry development by reforming the country's forestry administration system, which will shift its focus from timber production to ecological rehabilitation.

The new strategy outlines objectives, priorities and specific measures for forestry rehabilitation or revitalization and underlines the importance of the preservation of virgin forests, the Grain for Green Program, the prevention of desertification and forestry disaster control.

Wen urged equal attention be given to the implementation of the plan, and asked SFA to make policy adjustments in line with the new strategy.

(Xinhua News Agency September 29, 2002)