China injected 1.8 billion yuan (over US$217 million) in 2003 into the protection of grassland, statistics from the Ministry of Agriculture showed.

The investment was mainly used for grassland vegetation recovery and grass seed optimization, a news release from the ministry said.

In Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Gansu and Qinghai, major regions plagued by ecological deterioration, depasturing prohibition, either seasonal or permanent, was implemented last year.

In the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region alone, over 13 million hectares of grassland was closed to livestock last year. In the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, all grassland was zoned as forbidden areas.

The news release also said that in 2003 the country's law executors investigated 6,985 cases involving violation of the Grassland Law, which came into effect last year, and violators got due punishment.

A symposium on grassland protection was held Friday in Beijing to mark the anniversary of the implementation of the law.

Experts and officials from the Ministry of Agriculture, the National People's Congress, the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, a national political advisory body, and the Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council participated in the symposium.

(Xinhua News Agency February 28, 2004)