Forest authorities throughout China have imposed fines in 10 cases of illegal logging - a chronic problem threatening the sustainability of forest resources and the rehabilitation of ecosystems.

Those involved were also exposed to the media during the new round of crackdowns on widespread criminal activity in forests.

Meanwhile, the State Forestry Administration (SFA) has urged its local agencies to deal with another eight reported major cases of forest crime involving bodies corporate, firms or timber businessmen in Heilongjiang, Jilin, Sichuan, Yunnan, Shaanxi provinces and Chongqing Municipality.

Lei Jiafu, SFA's deputy director, emphasized at a televised conference that "investigation into such cases must be finished with those involved either fined or punished in accordance with existing forestry law."

The fines for the five companies already punished, involved in the crime during their construction of roads, industrial parks and hydropower stations or mining, were up to five times the damage they caused, from a ceiling of 10.5 million yuan (US$1.2 million) to 580,000 yuan (US$60,000).

Zuo Guangquan, head of the Yunlong County Forest Bureau in southwest China's Yunnan Province, was sacked for dereliction of duty and 10 other suspects have been prosecuted for unlawful felling, Wang Zhuxiong, head of the SFA's forest police, said.

"Illegal logging including excessive and non-licensed tree cutting, reclamation of woodland for farming and occupation of forest for construction projects has been making a comeback recently," Lei said.

During the first six months of this year, a total of 5,681 cases of the crime were reported, up about 60 percent over the same period of last year. Major cases increased by 117 percent, sources with SFA's forest police said.

SFA earlier this month launched a special intensive crackdown on forest crime to prevent the country's forests, especially native forests, from being further damaged.

The beefed up operations are expected to take about two months.

China has, since 1998, shifted its policy from timber production through massive logging to sustainable use of its forestry resources as a major effort to rehabilitate the ecosystem and protect the environment.

However, regional protectionism still exists and some local authorities blindly seek high economic growth at the cost of environment.

(China Daily June 30, 2004)