A 10-year reforestation project in China that will cover 97 percent
of the country -- and on a scale rivaling that of any land
reclamation projects previously undertaken in the world, according
to Lei Jiafu, deputy director of the State Forestry Administration.
Lei announced at a press conference Tuesday that seventy-six
million hectares (293,436 square miles or over twice the size of
the state of Colorado) of forest will be planted.
Lei said the planting is one of six key programs to protect and
renew forests in China: The Natural Forest Protection Program for
reclamation of natural forest; the Key Shelterbelt Development
Programs in northwest China, north China and northeast China as
well as middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River for control
of sand damage, soil erosion and other ecological problems; the
Program for Conversion of Cropland to Forests; the Program to
Combat Desertification around Beijing and Tianjin; the Wildlife
Conservation and Nature Reserve Development to protect biological
species; and the Fast-growing and High-yield Timber Planting
Development Program to address supply problems related to timber
and forestry products.
The wide range, large scale and huge investment involved in these
programs exceeds that of such historical efforts as Remaking Nature
Program of the former Soviet Union and the Prairie Reclamation
Project in the United States and the Green Dam Program of five
countries in North Africa, Lei said.
According to Lei, two key measures are to be taken to keep a
balance between timber supply and demand in China. One is to
enlarge the area of artificial planting, especially to increase the
ratio of short-period fast-growing and high-yield timber. The
construction of fast-growing and high-yield timber bases are now
under way, with 200 million mu (33.3 million acres) of
afforestation scheduled for 10 to 15 years. These, plus the
existing 80 million mu (13.3 million acres), will meet the demand
of domestic timber markets at large.
The other measure aims to save timber by increasing the timber’s
utilization ratio. Now, the comprehensive utilization ratio of
timber in China is only 40 percent, compared with some 70 percent
on average in the world. Relevant experts estimate that the
increase of 1 percentage point of the comprehensive utilization
ratio of timber may reduce the consumption by 400,000 cubic
meters.
“We therefore should improve the technological level of current
timber processing,” Lei said.
Lei said that imports of timber to China have increased a little in
the recent three to five years, but basically have remained stable
at a level of 20 million cubic meters of timber and artificial
board. The import of timber alone fluctuated between 13 to 15
million cubic meters. It’s estimated that the level of import will
be maintained. China will depend on its own – by enhancing cutting
of artificial forests – to meet the market demand.
(china.org.cn May 15, 2002)
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