A project to promote the sustainable land use in China was jointly
launched here Tuesday by the Ministry of Land and Resources (MLR),
the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation (MOFTEC) and
the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
The five-year project, with total input of US$6 million, is the
first cooperation project between UNDP and the MLR.
Under the project, ten pilot areas will be selected from 200
state-level land consolidation and reclamation demonstration zones,
which have been set up nationwide with 1.2 billion yuan of
government funding.
The ten pilot areas, representing different geological and
socioeconomic features, will showcase the results of the
experiments on implementing new policies, promoting public
participation in law enforcement, protecting farmers' interests and
the surrounding environment, said Gao Xiangjun, director with the
Land Consolidation and Rehabilitation Center of the MLR.
Kerstin Leitner, representative of UNDP, said that in addition to
the funding aid, UNDP will help supply foreign experts for the
project.
She said that the population density in some other countries and
regions might be higher than that of China; however, some of them
can solve the conflict between limited land resources and large
population. China can borrow from their experience on the efficient
land use.
She noted that UNDP intends to help China import advanced
technologies and experiences, as well as increase public awareness
and understanding of land laws and policies.
According to Gao Xiangjun, since China's new Land Law went into
effect in 1999, some 46,000 ha. of arable land has been saved
through comprehensive land planning.
However, he pointed out that China's land consolidation and
reclamation with a primary purpose of saving farmland is still at a
low level.
Gao said MLR's cooperation with UNDP has opened a new channel of
finance for the comprehensive land planning and management in the
country. China is also experimenting with other ways of obtaining
funds, such as amassing capital on the stock market or getting
private firms to invest.
(Xinhua
News Agency 08/22/2001)