The Shanghai Greening Bureau has invented a new method to make tree-planting a favorable investment for companies, the Workers' Daily reported on Tuesday.

To date, over 50 Shanghai-based companies have registered to join the program which aims to build a 400-meter "green belt" around the municipality covering a total land area of 2,600 hectares.

Bureau chief Hu Yunhua said that, unlike previous programs, tree-planters must first purchase and plant seedlings. After five years, they will have the exclusive right to two-thirds of the trees, on the condition that they have met the planting requirements.

The program requires that 400 seedlings be planted on every mu (one-fifteenth hectare). In five years, about one fourth of these trees must remain to serve as an ecological forest, of which some 85 percent must be arbor trees. As a result, the green coverage rate must be no less than 80 percent.

Hu said the new program could save the government about 6.7 billion yuan (US$807.23 million) since it only needs to make an initial investment of 300 million yuan (US$36.14 million) to kick off the program.

Reforestation has traditionally been the task of governments, state-owned enterprises and schools, often in response to governmental appeals for voluntary tree-planting. With the enlistment of the private sector, it appears that the Chinese government has found a more efficient and cost-effective manner to restore the country's environment.

(Xinhua News Agency January 2, 2003)