China will invest a record-high 100 billion yuan (US$12 billion) over the next 10 years to convert farming fields to forests and grasslands, resources with the State Forestry Administration said.
The drive will keep pace with the western development strategy to control soil erosion and improve the ecological environment of the west, said Li Yucai, vice-director of the State Forestry Administration.
The project will be implemented in 1,108 counties in 24 provinces or regions in central and western China, involving some 300 million farmers, Li said.
The strategy plans to transform 5.3 million hectares of farmland into grasslands and forest. After completion of the project, soil erosion will be under control in some 36.7 million hectares of land, and forest coverage will be increased by 3.9 percent, according to the official.
With constant effort, the three-year pilot project has made great achievements, setting a sound foundation for the kick-off of the project, according to the administration.
Since 1999, 20 provinces, regions or cities in central and western areas have participated in the pilot project, accomplishing the reforestation of some 1.7 million hectares of cultivated farmlands.
Returning farmland to forests and grasslands has been a top priority of local government in these regions.
After three years of experimentation, incentive policies and measures have been designed to provide food and living subsidies to compensate those families that are involved in the project.
A total of 663 million kg of food and 450 million yuan (US$54 million) have been provided to the farmers in Shaanxi, Gansu and Sichuan provinces, where the pilot project was first launched in 1999.
Apart from the farm-to-forest (grassland) conversion project, the State Forestry Administration is also involved with five other major projects: the natural forests protection project; the "Three North" forest shelter belt project in north, northwest and northeast China; prevention and control of desertification in surrounding areas of Beijing; wildlife protection and nature reserve construction project; and the construction of forestry industrial bases with an emphasis on fast-growing and high-yielding vegetation in key areas.
(China Daily 10/08/2001)
