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)