Ten supervision groups, headed by directors of the State Forestry Administration (SFA), have been dispatched throughout China to preside over the investigation of nearly 50 major cases of illegal logging, woodland abuse and poaching of endangered animals.
Starting this week, the groups along with some reporters will press local authorities to investigate and prosecute 47 major cases of damaging forest resources, SFA sources said.
About 500,000 cases of this kind have been reported throughout China in recent years, official statistics indicated.
To stem the rising tide of such crimes, SFA has, since this June, launched a new nationwide forest protection campaign to crackdown on destruction of state forest resources.
"The policy for forestry protection, especially the logging ban of natural forests initiated after 1998's devastating summer floods, must be strictly enforced," Zhou Shengxian, an official of SFA, said at a recent press conference in Beijing.
SFA's latest move follows two major investigations of poaching of Tibet antelope and endangered animals in South China.
This current campaign is called "the third action following the first and second actions," Zhou said.
This will be another significant move aimed at protecting China's precious forestry resources, Zhou said.
Zhou pledged to make major cases of forest destruction known to the public with the help of media.
"People from all walks of life are welcome to provide tips of such cases," Zhou told reporters.
Zhou said he hopes the campaign to protect forests will further raise national awareness.
Ma Fu, SFA's deputy director, made it clear that, "The SFA will take the strictest measures to punish those who damage forests no matter who they are and what power they have."
The campaign is a major step by the administration to conform to the central government's strategy of achieving sustainable development of China's western regions.
The administration blamed local officials and authorities, who are often tempted by short-term economic gains from illegal timber businesses, for a large number of forest-related problems.
Ma acknowledged the overall quality of the country's forests has continued to decline because over-logging has depleted mature forests.
Mature forests in state-owned zones have been all but destroyed in recent years.
From 1994-98, most provinces exceeded their logging quotas, with more than 6 million cubic meters of timber over-logged in five major forest-growing provinces.
Two million hectares of forestland are damaged each year, Ma disclosed.
(China Daily)
