http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i55/beethovenmusic/xin_49205032410310931377425.jpg

Many people know that the expansion of China's economy is the fastest in the world, but few people know that the expansion of the China's forest is also the fastest in the world. In reality, China is the only place where forest is aggressively growing while in many parts of the world, from Amazonia to Southeast Asia, and to Africa, the forests are shrinking, and dying.

Forest covered 9% of China's territory in 1949. The coverage has increased to 16% now and is project to reach 20% in 2020.


http://www.chinagate.com.cn/english/1845.htm


Afforestation: A Strenuous Ecological Project

by Li Kangmei

The global forest coverage is dwindling by 17 million hectares each year.


This problem is arousing concern among the international community. The Paris Declaration adopted by 2,500 specialists from 130 countries and regions in September 1991 appealed to the world to reestablish global green vegetation. The 1992 World Conference on Environment and Development, with the participation of heads of state and government from many countries, listed the global forest as a major topic for discussion.


China, through strenuous effort, has increased both forest coverage and forest stock volume in recent years.


Cultivating Forest Resources


Each year, China creates 5.3 million hectares of forests, afforests another 3.7 million hectares of mountains where hunting and grazing are prohibited, and plants 2.4 billion trees by advancing the compulsory tree-planting campaign. These efforts have stabilized the coverage of the nation’s manually planted forests at 33 million hectares, and China now ranks first in the world in both the speed and scale of afforestation. The country’s current forest coverage rate is nearly 6 percentage points higher than what it was in the early 1950s.


To expedite the development of forestry and strengthen forest protection, the Chinese government has issued a series of legal documents in this regard in recent years. The first economic legislation promulgated by China was the Forest Law which, with the Wildlife Protection Law and other forestry-related decrees enacted thereafter, has put China on the track of governing forestry by law.


In addition, the government has tightened up control over the number of trees allowed to be cut down each year, and firmly curbed the reckless felling of trees that had occurred in some areas.


The country has devoted special efforts on a batch of forest ecological projects. In November 1978, immediately after China launched the reform and opening program, the State Council decided to construct a huge shelter belt crossing north, northeast and northwest China, known as the Three-North Shelter Belt Development Program. This gigantic project, referred to abroad as China’s green Great Wall, is expected to shelter over 4 million square km of land. At present, this largest ecological project in the world has already entered its final phase.


Construction of key ecological projects has significantly improved the ecological environment in the targeted locations, yielding tremendous social benefits. During the construction of the Three-North Shelter Belt over the past 19 years, a total of 18 million hectares of forests have been created, raising the forest coverage rate in the three-north regions from 5.05 percent to 9 percent, and bringing large tracts of desertified land and extensive areas suffering soil erosion under control.


The Three-North Shelter Belt project has also improved the ecological environment for 11 million hectares of farmland frequently hit by sandstorms and hot and dry blasts in the past, helping enhance their grain output by over 10 fold. The 893 hectares of pastures in these regions, formerly deteriorated as a result of desertification and salinization, have also been put under effective protection and registered a 20 percent increase in grass output.


Other forest ecological projects have advanced simultaneously. By 1996, the shelter belts meandering 18,000 km along China’s coastlines had basically merged together; the conservation forest project on the upper-middle reaches of the Yangtze River had completed afforestation covering 670,000 hectares of land; the Taihang Mountain afforestation project had created 600,000 hectares of forests; the national desertification control program had treated and developed 870,000 hectares of deserts; and the four newly launched shelter belt projects in Huaihe, Pearl and Liaohe river valleys and on the upper-middle reaches of the Yellow River had achieved noticeable progress.


These key state projects, covering 60 percent of China’s total land area, are forming an ecological protection network for the nation’s vast territory and a green shelter for its economic development.


Similar efforts have been made by various local authorities. In recent years, Yunnan Province in southwest China has constantly increased input in forestry, increasing its forest area by 200,000 hectares annually. Between 1989-96, the province afforested 3 million hectares of plains and mountains, increasing forest coverage by 16 million hectares when offsetting consumption. The forest coverage rate in Xishuangbanna has surged from 50 percent to the present 63 percent, while that in the Simao Prefecture has increased by 10 percentage points.


By 1997, the country had put 700,000 square km of land suffering soil erosion under control, stabilized the coverage of manually planted forests at 33 million hectares, and raised its forest coverage rate to 13.9 percent.


Grim Situation


Despite unremitting efforts, forest coverage on China’s 9.6 million square km of land is still very limited. With its overall forest coverage rate much lower than the world average of 25 percent, China now only registers one-sixth of the global per-capita forest area.


Compared with many other countries, China faces more arduous tasks in forest protection and development. While providing consumption for 22 percent of the world’s population and ecological protection for 7 percent of the global land area, but with only 3-4 percent of the world’s forest resources, China must also tackle problems of ecological environment destruction both left by history and occurring currently.


In general, the trend of ecological deterioration has not yet been fundamentally curbed, and the country still faces a very grim situation.


At present, the land area affected by soil erosion covers 3.67 million square km, and 5 billion tons of soil continue to be lost annually. The 1.61 million square km of desertified land nationwide exceeds the country’s total acreage of cultivated land. Moreover, land desertification continues to expand at an annual speed of 2,460 square km, destroying nearly 100 million hectares of pastures and burying large tracts of farmland under sand. Water deficiency is threatening more than 200 Chinese cities, with the daily short supply exceeding 20 million tons. The species of wild fauna and flora have plummeted, with 15-20 percent on the brink of distinction. The occurrence rate of natural disasters has gone up, resulting in 3 million collapsed houses and 200 million victims annually.


Owing to the country’s sparse forest area, a huge amount of sand has been washed into rivers, muddying the water, raising river beds, and silting up numerous lakes and reservoirs. Besides its ascending river bed, the Yellow River has frequently reported dried sections in recent years. The Yangtze River is turning muddy, sounding an alarm that it is likely to become another Yellow River.


Growing silt and other adverse factors have cut the coverage of Dongting Lake from 4,300 square km in the early 1950s to the present 2,600 square km, and reduced the water surface of Poyang Lake from 5,100 square km to 2,900 square km, dramatically diminishing their flood water storage capacity.


Apart from topographic and climatic factors, limited forest area also is a direct cause of China’s frequent flood and drought calamities.


Ecological Project


The value of protecting forest resources greatly outstrips profits from timber production. According to estimates by China’s scientific research institutes, the country’s 134 million hectares of forests can store 340 billion tons of water annually, an amount equivalent to 75 percent of the nation’s total reservoir capacity. Each year, the forests also prevent 7.68 billion tons of sand from silting up rivers and lakes and stem some 24 billion tons of sand from causing further soil erosion.


Facts prove that it is necessary to plant trees and afforest barren land on a large scale. Otherwise, the country’s valuable cultivated land may entail further damage, various natural disasters will not decrease, and the people will not enjoy a sound natural environment.


To protect forests, the Ministry of Forestry has launched reforms in forest areas, shifting the strategy of felling from natural to manually planted forests. Endeavors will be pooled to increase the proportion of manually planted forests designated as timber resources under intensive management to 15-20 percent of the nation’s total forest area.


By then, no felling will be conducted in natural forests, a way to effectively protect forest resources and allow for their ecological functions. By the year 2000, China plans to raise its forestry comprehensive utilization rate to 60 percent, expand the area covered by economic trees to 27 million hectares, and build 1,000 forest parks. The forestry sector’s total output value is expected to top 300 billion yuan through the development of all relevant trades.


China recently set the short-, medium- and long-term goals for completing its ecological environment construction program, a grand systematic project.


For the short-term goal, it will take some 15 years to curb the trend of a deteriorating ecological environment, put man-made soil erosion under control, and stop the expansion of land affected by soil erosion and desertification.


It will require another 15 years to meet the medium-term goal of significantly improving the ecological environment.


The long-term goal, to be attained by the mid-21st century, focuses on the establishment of a sound ecological system suiting the sustainable development of China’s national economy and ensuring that most parts of the country are adorned with beautiful landscapes featuring green mountains and clear waters.

Good for China's environment. It is good that the Chinese have a tough government to implement such policy. On for China's future!

Good to know this.

Northern Shaanxi, a barren land with few trees just 20 years ago, is now one of the frontiers of China's fledgling greenland.

Northern Shaaxi before
http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i55/beethovenmusic/05187cf8a5d328f925977d7318968bf8.jpg

Northern Shaanxi now

http://files.photojerk.com/beethovenmusic/016A2B4B.jpg

http://files.photojerk.com/beethovenmusic/shanbei/016A3D22.jfif

http://files.photojerk.com/beethovenmusic/shanbei/016A2E32.jfif

http://files.photojerk.com/beethovenmusic/shanbei/016A3ADE.jfif

http://files.photojerk.com/beethovenmusic/shanbei/016A4A82.jfif

http://files.photojerk.com/beethovenmusic/shanbei/016A09B3.jfif

http://files.photojerk.com/beethovenmusic/shanbei/016A39BC.jfif

Northern Shaanxi, a barren land with few trees just 20 years ago, is now one of the frontiers of China's fledgling greenland.

http://files.photojerk.com/beethovenmusic/shanbei/016A44C8.jfif

http://files.photojerk.com/beethovenmusic/shanbei/016A46A5.jfif

http://files.photojerk.com/beethovenmusic/shanbei/016A46F8.jfif

http://files.photojerk.com/beethovenmusic/shanbei/016A48A8.jfif

http://files.photojerk.com/beethovenmusic/shanbei/016A413E.jfif

beautiful...

Northern Shaanxi, a barren land with few trees just 20 years ago, is now one of the frontiers of China's fledgling greenland.

http://files.photojerk.com/beethovenmusic/shanbei/016A471D.jfif

http://files.photojerk.com/beethovenmusic/shanbei/016A473F.jfif

http://files.photojerk.com/beethovenmusic/shanbei/016A3958.jfif

http://files.photojerk.com/beethovenmusic/shanbei/016A4194.jfif

http://files.photojerk.com/beethovenmusic/shanbei/016A5278.jfif

Wow, that's great news!

Northern Shaanxi, a barren land with few trees just 20 years ago, is now one of the frontiers of China's fledgling greenland.

http://files.photojerk.com/beethovenmusic/shanbei/016A5396.jfif

http://files.photojerk.com/beethovenmusic/shanbei/0169B5A3.jfif

http://files.photojerk.com/beethovenmusic/shanbei/0169B5C0.jfif

http://files.photojerk.com/beethovenmusic/shanbei/0169B6F5.jfif

http://files.photojerk.com/beethovenmusic/0169B7D3.jfif

http://files.photojerk.com/beethovenmusic/0169B9AF.jfif

Agriculture has been completely withdrawn from Northen Shaanxi

http://files.photojerk.com/beethovenmusic/0169B55C.jfif

http://files.photojerk.com/beethovenmusic/0169B98D.jfif

http://files.photojerk.com/beethovenmusic/0169B604.jfif

Northern Shaanxi, a barren land with few trees just 20 years ago, is now one of the frontiers of China's fledgling greenland.

http://files.photojerk.com/beethovenmusic/0169B626.jfif

http://files.photojerk.com/beethovenmusic/0169B635.jfif

http://files.photojerk.com/beethovenmusic/0169B650.jfif

http://files.photojerk.com/beethovenmusic/0169B712.jfif

http://files.photojerk.com/beethovenmusic/0169B758.jpg

http://files.photojerk.com/beethovenmusic/0169B780.jfif

http://files.photojerk.com/beethovenmusic/0169B860.jfif

http://files.photojerk.com/beethovenmusic/0169B876.jfif

http://files.photojerk.com/beethovenmusic/0169B916.jfif

http://files.photojerk.com/beethovenmusic/0169B948.jfif

http://files.photojerk.com/beethovenmusic/shanbei/0169BA0B.jfif

http://files.photojerk.com/beethovenmusic/shanbei/0169BA2A.jfif

http://files.photojerk.com/beethovenmusic/shanbei/0169BA5F.jfif

http://files.photojerk.com/beethovenmusic/shanbei/0169BAB9.jfif

http://files.photojerk.com/beethovenmusic/shanbei/0169BC47.jfif

Northern Shaanxi, a barren land with few trees just 20 years ago, is now one of the frontiers of China's fledgling greenland.

http://files.photojerk.com/beethovenmusic/shanbei/0169BC94.jfif

http://files.photojerk.com/beethovenmusic/shanbei/0169BD02.jfif

http://files.photojerk.com/beethovenmusic/shanbei/0169BD4C.jpg

http://files.photojerk.com/beethovenmusic/shanbei/0169BE36.jfif

http://files.photojerk.com/beethovenmusic/shanbei/0169BE62.jfif

http://files.photojerk.com/beethovenmusic/shanbei/0169BEBE.jfif

http://files.photojerk.com/beethovenmusic/shanbei/0169C0C1.jfif

http://files.photojerk.com/beethovenmusic/shanbei/0169C2E4.jfif

China's "Three Northerns (Northeasten, Northern, Northwestern) green great-wall project" is dedicated to fight the expansion of unrellenting desert

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i55/beethovenmusic/7.gif

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i55/beethovenmusic/007.jpg

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i55/beethovenmusic/68fc144f42e8fdc52c2d192870fbe55a.jpg

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i55/beethovenmusic/xin_49205032410313593044927.jpg

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i55/beethovenmusic/xin_48205032410314062271420.jpg

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i55/beethovenmusic/xin_4620503241031531273607.jpg

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i55/beethovenmusic/NA136373030666239306536373530376530.jpg

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i55/beethovenmusic/NA131393738346266653065323833336364.jpg

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i55/beethovenmusic/NA131326138656161373231656534366639.jpg

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i55/beethovenmusic/NA130626234363637376137333931643766.jpg

http://files.photojerk.com/beethovenmusic/xin_49205032410312342616526.jpg

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i55/beethovenmusic/b6c8d70776ffbcb55e0292eced9c3e2c.jpg

Other chinese forumers may help me to find pictures to this topic, thanks in advance.

前面有几幅是延安吧,好熟悉的宝塔山.这几年"红色旅游"变化很大,改善革命老区生活.

That is excellent indeed, it sad me everytime i hear people saying that chinas growing at the expense of environment. Ive always wondered how on earth would there be people living in northern shanxi province when theres nothing but rolling hill of yellow sand, but look at it now, its simply miracle.

great...

What are those grid like things on the sand?

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i55/beethovenmusic/b6c8d70776ffbcb55e0292eced9c3e2c.jpg

What are those grid like things on the sand?

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i55/beethovenmusic/b6c8d70776ffbcb55e0292eced9c3e2c.jpg
Looks like they're trying to fight back the desert by planting hardy shrubs to stabilize the soil. Top soil erosion is an important factor in desertification.

How about near Beijing? I've read somewhere the desert's getting closer and closer to Beijing.

想不到中国还有这一套。在过多几十年，中国可能成了绿国了。

What are those grid like things on the sand?

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i55/beethovenmusic/b6c8d70776ffbcb55e0292eced9c3e2c.jpg

As far as I know, these are dead grass tissues. They are only aiming to stop the sand migration.

想不到中国还有这一套。在过多几十年，中国可能成了绿国了。

unfortunetly no, if we consider 60% of forest coverage as a threshold for "green country". According to national plan, China will have forest coverage of 25% in 2050. Although the plan may be relatively conservative, but I don't think China can reach 60% coverage in this century.

We should drive all the prisoners to desserts and have them plant trees and grasses, etc...

现在森林砍伐确实好很多了,但是草原沙漠化仍然很严重,速度明显比造林要快。。所以形势还是不容乐观

前几天我看报道，有些学者不支持在荒漠植树，会浪费本已稀缺的水资源，加速蒸发（沙漠江水本来就少）

Build a higher wall to stop the wind.

中国南方森林覆盖率50%，而且森林品质高

北方的话，不提也罢

Hi. I saw this thread and remembered that I found these images on the web.

Forest Growth from 1900-2000
http://www.sasi.group.shef.ac.uk/worldmapper/images/largepng/107.png

Total World Forests
http://www.sasi.group.shef.ac.uk/worldmapper/images/largepng/106.png

^^ Looks like other good performers in afforestation are Cuba, Vietnam, interesting.

Countries with large forest cover aggressively exploit them instead of preserve them. While countries which have suffered significant deforestation over the centuries have good programs for reforestation (from the map: USA, China, Europe)

http://www.zaobao.com/special/newspapers/2006/06/cctv060618.html

中国每年因土地沙化造成直接经济损失超过540亿元

（中国）中国中央电视台 (2006-06-18)


　　今年是国际防治荒漠化年，6月17日是世界防治荒漠化和干旱日。中国国家林业局副局长祝列克当天表示，荒漠化已严重威胁中华民族生存空间、严重制约我国经济社会发展。每年因土地沙化造成的直接经济损失超过540亿元人民币。 　　

　　国家邮政局17日发行了“国际防治荒漠化年纪念邮资封”。祝列克是在其首发式上说这番话的。他说，近年来防沙治沙工作取得一定成效，荒漠化和沙化持续扩展的趋势得到初步遏制，沙化面积由1995年至1999年的年均扩展3436平方公里转变为2000年至2004年的年均净减少1283平方公里。 　　

　　“但是，我们仍应清醒地认识到，当前我国的沙化形势仍很严峻。”祝列克说，在全国有30个省份的889个县、旗、区分布有沙化土地。全国沙化土地有173.97万平方公里，占国土面积的18.12%。 　　

　　此外，在经济利益的驱动下，滥樵采、滥开垦、滥放牧、滥采挖、滥用水资源等问题仍没有得到根本解决。在全球气候变暖的背景下，干旱等不利的气候因素对加速荒漠化和引起沙尘天气的可能性仍然不可低估。 　　

　　荒漠化，特别是沙化问题，是全球性的生态环境问题，影响着全球三分之二的国家和地区、五分之一人口的生存和发展。截至目前，全球荒漠化土地面积为3600万平方公里，而且正以每年5万到7万平方公里的速度扩展。 　　

　　“面对荒漠化的威胁，我们的成就仍很脆弱。”祝列克表示，防沙治沙比以往任何时候都更需要全社会的共同努力。


A brief translation:
Desertification in China causes economic loss of 54 billion yuan every year. The expansion of desert in China has decelerated from 3436 square kilometers per year during 1995~1999 to 1283 square kilometers per year during 2000~2004. In comparison, the global expansion of desert is 50~70 thousand square kilometers per year.

I found this article.....

China goes green

China hopes that a massive wall of newly-planted trees will stop an expanding desert from destroying its cities.....

China is developing an ecological conscience, reports The Guardian. IT is spending billions on a Great Green Wall of trees to stop the desert from encroaching on its cities. For years, this seemed to be a losing battle. Rivers and lakes have dried up because of climate change and industrialization. Hillsides have been laid bare by logging and over-grazing.
As a result, deserts now cover more than a fifth of China's territory. And while the gobi and Taklimakan deserts expand towards the centres of population along the old Silk road, 400 million people risk losing their livelihoods.

Now, however, the government's forestry administration can say that the deserts are beginning to shrink, thanks to its tree-planting plans. One aspect of this is a special tree-planting day.
Since 1982, the average chinese citizen has planted 40Trees. the objective is to increase the land area covered by trees fromm 16.5 per cent to 20 by 2010.
Progress so far, though positive, has been modest in comparison with past damage. The Chinese gouvernment is making an effort at least, but sceptics doubt whether it is enough to keep pace with China's economic expansion.
David Walter, Today's News.

I recently saw a CBC-made documentary called "China Rises", it's one of the most objective China-related documentary I've ever seen made in the West, definitely much more objective than anything the U.S. has to hurl at us anyway...

The documentary was in four parts cover four different topics, one of them had to do with environment and had a good section on how Chinese is fighting against the desertification by planting trees.

http://www.cbc.ca/chinarises/intro/index.html
http://www.cbcshop.ca/CBC/shopping/product.aspx?Product_ID=ETDOC00109

Hi. I saw this thread and remembered that I found these images on the web.

Forest Growth from 1900-2000
http://www.sasi.group.shef.ac.uk/worldmapper/images/largepng/107.png

Total World Forests
http://www.sasi.group.shef.ac.uk/worldmapper/images/largepng/106.png


why does it look like the northern hemisphere has all the money and all the trees?

oh well, at least there growing somewere

why does it look like the northern hemisphere has all the money and all the trees?
Because if you cut the Earth in half at the equator, there is simply more land, country, and probably people in the northern hemisphere than the south.

I recently saw a CBC-made documentary called "China Rises", it's one of the most objective China-related documentary I've ever seen made in the West, definitely much more objective than anything the U.S. has to hurl at us anyway...

The documentary was in four parts cover four different topics, one of them had to do with environment and had a good section on how Chinese is fighting against the desertification by planting trees.

http://www.cbc.ca/chinarises/intro/index.html
http://www.cbcshop.ca/CBC/shopping/product.aspx?Product_ID=ETDOC00109
Thanks for posting this up :cheers:

Because if you cut the Earth in half at the equator, there is simply more land, country, and probably people in the northern hemisphere than the south.

thats true, i dont know i thought maybe there would be some elaborate socio-economic context for it, guess not

Xilin Gol League of Inner Mongolia starts to relocate people to save endangered grassland.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/video/2006-07/15/content_4837333.htm

Location of Xilin Gol League ( 锡林郭勒盟 )
http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i55/beethovenmusic/XilinGol-1-1.png

I'm totally amazed... every day China surprises me more and more.. in a positive way, that is :) It's really awesome the effort they're doing in preventing the desertification of the country. It's good that while China develops at such an advanced pace, they also don't forget to take care of the environment that is sustaining that fast development.

Just say THANK YOU China. 谢谢. Not many countries during their economic expansions did care about forests, but china is doing it. So congrats.

Thanks for your encouragement... my Spain friends... :D :D

Sadly though, world forest growth is insignificant compared to deforestation. Here's another map illustrating this:

http://www.sasi.group.shef.ac.uk/worldmapper/images/largepng/108.png

It is a bit naive to think that the modernization of China has no consequences to forests; much of their wood is imported from Russia and Brazil. Luckily, however, the growth of China's forests helps to offset this. :cheers1:

The snapshots across China in tree-planting day (March 12th).

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i55/beethovenmusic/P1010051.jpg

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i55/beethovenmusic/200431593355379.jpg

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i55/beethovenmusic/image001.jpg

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i55/beethovenmusic/zhishu.jpg

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i55/beethovenmusic/tw314_1812_32s44.jpg

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i55/beethovenmusic/ba03d1a0061703fae80cf9537e8545b3c_2.jpg

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i55/beethovenmusic/20060313143022807.jpg

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i55/beethovenmusic/2005315171528797.jpg

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i55/beethovenmusic/2005315171512394.jpg

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i55/beethovenmusic/200639163957918.jpg

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i55/beethovenmusic/06031019187518s.jpg

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i55/beethovenmusic/1140865167812.jpg

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i55/beethovenmusic/1150126274.jpg

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i55/beethovenmusic/314761593.jpg

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i55/beethovenmusic/705-1.jpg

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i55/beethovenmusic/126_200531302728.jpg

http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i55/beethovenmusic/126_20053130292.jpg

unfortunetly no, if we consider 60% of forest coverage as a threshold for "green country". According to national plan, China will have forest coverage of 25% in 2050. Although the plan may be relatively conservative, but I don't think China can reach 60% coverage in this century.

that's because certain area of china is just not suitable for vegetation.

Tibet, desert in Xinjiang etc.

We can fight semi-desert, but you cant simply just plant trees on desert.

do you have google earth coordinates of afforested, former semi derssert land?

Democracy is nothing but the Tyranny of Majorities, the most abominable tyranny of all, for it is not based on the authority of a religion, not upon the nobility of a race, not on the merits of talents and of riches. It merely rests upon numbers and hides behind the name of the people.-Proudhon, Pierre-Joseph

No. Liberal Democracy is the most advanced system human beings have yet devised to promote individual rights and prosperity. This point is so obvious that it should hardly need to be pointed out. Any educated person just has to look at the state of the world to recognise this fact.

Good for China's environment. It is good that the Chinese have a tough government to implement such policy. On for China's future!

The communist regimes in the USSR, East Germany and other Communist countries nearly destroyed their environments. The Communist Party of China is doing the same thing.

http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/12179835.htm

holy..........cant you discuss this in another thread?
Dont destroy this thread with a political discussion like that......

Coordinates?

^^ You're right. Platypus's political chauvinism shouldn't destroy this thread.

http://us.tom.com/english/1937.htm

The Afforestation Programs


1. The National Compulsory Tree Planting Campaign


In response to the proposal made by Mr.Deng Xiaoping, the Fourth Session of the Fifth National People's Congress adopted the Resolution on Carrying out the National Compulsory Tree Planting Campaign in December, 1981, stipulating that citizens of the People's Republic of China ranging from 11 to 60 (55 for females) years old, excluding the aged, the weak and the disabled, are obligated to plant 3-5 trees every year, or devote equivalent amount of efforts to the work on nursery operation, forest management and other related afforestation activities.


Since 1982, nearly 4 billion person/times have participated in the compulsory tree planting activities with 20.5 billion trees planted. In 1994, 490 million people planted 2.52 billion trees. The National Compulsory Tree Planting Campaign has propelled China's national afforestation drive and helped arouse people's awareness of the importance of afforestation and environmental protection.


2. Development of the Fast-growing and High-yielding Timber Bases


The Chinese Government decided in 1988 that, in the next 30 years, fast-growing and high-yielding timber bases of 20 million ha will be established. The first phase of this program, plans to establish 7.98 million ha of fast-growing and high-yielding timber plantations by the end of the century.


At present, the total area of fast-growing and high-yielding timber plantations has reached 3.4 million ha, of which 980.000 ha of high quality plantation have been established under the 1991 commenced National Afforestation Project Financed by a World Bank loan of US$ 300 million and domestic funding equivalent to US$ 200 million. With the completion of the first phase, 27 million cubic meters of timber will be produced by the year 2000, and 43.8 million cubic meters of timber be produced by 2010.


3. The Three-North Shelterbelt Development Program


The Three-North Shelterbelt Development Program, known as "China's Green Great Wall", stretches over 551 counties (banners, cities of 13 provinces (autonomous regions, municipalities) in northeast, north and northwest China, covering a total area of 4.069 million square kilometers, i.e.42.2% of China's total land area. The program started in 1978, and will complete in 2050 with a projected life span of 73 years. A total of 35.08 million ha of plantation are expected to be established under the program, which is the biggest ecological program in the world.


By 1994, 13 million ha of plantation had been established in the first and second phases, and as a result, 11 million ha of farmland have been protected by shelterbelts, 8.93 million ha of pasture land conserved and reclaimed, 30% of water and soil eroded area in the Loess Plateau brought under initial control and the flows of sandy soil to the Yellow River reduced by 10%.


4. Programme on Soil and Water Conservation Forest along the Upper and Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River


The Yangtze River is the longest river in China with a total length of 6300 kilometers, the area and population in its drainage area account for 18.8% and 33% respectively of the country's total.


The Master Plan for the First Phase of the Programme on Soil and Water Conservation Forest along the Upper and Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River, approved by the Chinese Government in 1989, is targeted to increase 6.67 million ha of forests by the year 2000,20 million ha of forests within a period of 30-40 years through afforestation and conservation of the existing forests and vegetations.


The program is in full swing in 271 counties of 12 provinces and municipalities with the priority given to the construction of 10 key project sites such as the projects in the Three Gorges, along the upper and middle reaches of the Jinsha River and Jialing River. The program, started in 1989, has established 5.46 million ha of plantation in total, of which 1 million ha were planted in 1994. Consequently, water and soil erosion in about 100 counties has been initially controlled.



5. The Coastal Shelterbelt Development Programme


The Coastal Shelterbelt Development Programme stretches as long as 18,000 kilometers from the mouth of the Yalujiang River in northern China's Liaoning Province to the mouth of Beilun River in Guangxi.

The Chinese Government decided in 1988 to set up a shelterbelt system in 195 designated counties of 11 coastal provinces (autonomous regions, municipalities). It is planned that by the year 2010, the plantation area will increase by 3.56 million ha so as to increase the forest cover to 39.1% from the 24.9% prior to the program, bring 7.71 million ha. of farmland under the protection of shelterbelts, and reduce the volume of water and soil erosion by 50%.


Since commencement of the program in 1991, a total of 1.57 million ha of plantation have been established, of which 324,000 ha were afforested in 1994. The forested area along the coast has reached 6.67 million ha and a 15,000-kilometre-long major shelterbelt has taken shape bringing 6.17 million ha of farmland under effective protection.


6. Plain Farmland Shelterbelt Development Program


In China, there are 918 plain counties, and the plain area constitutes 15% of China's total land area, 45% of its cultivated land and 50% of its population.


The Chinese Government worked out the development blueprint for the national plain afforestation drive in 1988. A total of 724 counties, which account for 79% of the China's plain counties, have their plain area afforested, and 44 of which reached the criteria in 1994. The farmland area under shelterbelt protection has reached 33.33 million ha which is 85% of the total farmland area suitable for shelterbelt establishment.


Along with the emergence of vast expanses of plantations, the ecosystem and environment in China's plain areas have undergone substantial changes, the farmland has been brought under effective protection, and the realization of timber self-sufficiency in many places has promoted the rural economic development.


7. The National Programme to Combat Desertification


Deserts and desertified land caused by wind erosion takes up 1/3 of China's total land area. The Chinese Government approved in 1991 the Outline on Desertification Prevention and Control between 1991-2000,planning to bring 6.66 million ha of wind eroded and desertified land under control within 10 years.


A total of 866,000 ha of sandy land were reclaimed and developed in 1994. Since the program started 3 years ago, 2.244 million ha of sandy land have been developed in accumulation through establishing 400,000 ha of sand fixation plantations, 270,000 ha of aerially seeded forests, 1.24 million ha of sandy area enclosed for natural regeneration, 76,000 ha of cash plants and reclaiming 104,000 ha of sandy land.


8. The Taihang Mountain Afforestation Programme


The Taihang Mountain Afforestation Programme involves 110 counties of Shanxi, Hebei, Henan Provinces and Beijing City.


The objective of the program is: by the year 2000, the total afforested area is expected to reach 6.933 million ha. with a green cover of 54.4%, of which the forest area will amount to 5.313 million ha with a forest cover of 43.6%.


During the trial period from 1987 to 1993, about 1.28 million ha of forests were established, and 245,000 ha were afforested in 1994 when the program was in full swing, which is 142.6% higher than the previous year.


9. The State-owned Forest Farms


China has established more than 4,200 state-owned forest farms with a total area of 53.333 million ha of which 25.333 million ha are forest areas with a stocking volume of 1.6 billion cubic meters. Both the forest area and the stocking volume in state forest farms account for 20% respectively of the country's total.


In state-owned forest farms, 8 million ha of plantations have been established accumulatively and 13.333 million ha of natural forests improved with an accumulative timber production of 130 million cubic meters. In 1994, 333,000 ha of plantations were established, 666,000 ha of middle and young aged forests tended and 100,000 ha of low-yield forest upgraded, producing nearly 10 million cubic meters of timber.


10. The Collectively-owned Forest Farms at Township and Village Levels


The rural collectively-owned forest farms in China are reputed as "Green Enterprises". By 1994, more than 150,000 collective-owned forest farms at township and village levels have been set up with a total area of 16.666 million ha and a standing volume of 400 million cubic meters. The colllectively-owned forest farms at township and village levels are now under the development on large scale and management in scientific and highly-effective way.


In 1994, 1.066 million ha of young plantations were established and 133,000 ha of middle and young aged forests tended by township and village forest farms, producing 4.9 million cubic meters of timber.

Forest farms at township and village levels have provided the society, for more than 30 years, with fruit and forest by-products, valuing over 3 billion yuan. At present, the annual income of township and village forest farms in the country reaches 2.2 billion yuan, which has made the forest farms become "Green Banks" in large rural areas.


11. Establishment of Plantations in State Forest Areas


There are, at present, 138 forest bureaus in state forest areas with a total area of 41.33 million ha with a standing stock volume of 2.7 billion cubic meters and total forested area of 24 million ha of which, 22 million ha are timber forest areas with a stocking volume of 1.97 billion cubic meters.


China has put a strong emphasis on the build-up of forest resources. By 1994, 9.6 million ha of regeneration areas have been completed accumulatively in logged areas with a regeneration rate being, for many years of 98.6%, which has basically kept regeneration in pace with harvesting. The accumulated area of established plantations has reached 4.4 million ha. There are 15 forestry bureaus with established plantations being over 66,000 ha and 46 over 33,000 ha. Nearly 6.66 million ha of forests have been tended, over 40 high quality seed bases and more than 50 standardized nurseries established.


12. Forest Management


China has carried out such development policy in its forest management, as taking silviculture as bases, combining harvesting with afforestation and utilizing forest resources in a sustainable way. Regulations on the Management of Forest Harvesting and Regeneration has been implemented strictly to determine scientifically tree ages and quantity for final cutting and ways of harvesting and regeneration. Now appropriate harvesting and timely regeneration have been obtained, equal stress has been laid on both forest tending and management, increase of forest growth been taken as priority and build-up of timber forests in scientific way realized. A Decision on the Enhancement of Middle and Young Aged Forest Tending Work made by the Ministry of Forestry in 1992 has promoted overall tending work on middle and young aged forests. There are, at present, 77 million ha. of middle and young aged forests in the country, of which 20 million ha have been ended.

http://www.fao.org/docrep/007/ae535e/ae535e05.htm

damn long article, some interesting pics though

Congrats to China for doing so much to fight against the ecological loss that is occuring due to its rapid growth! It really is amazing!

I had no idea that my country has such a large forested area growth.

I'm glad to hear this. Way to go!

Good stuff.

Very, very good.

The next step ist to clean up the rivers and lakes.

Democracy is nothing but the Tyranny of Majorities, the most abominable tyranny of all, for it is not based on the authority of a religion, not upon the nobility of a race, not on the merits of talents and of riches. It merely rests upon numbers and hides behind the name of the people.-Proudhon, Pierre-Joseph


No. Liberal Democracy is the most advanced system human beings have yet devised to promote individual rights and prosperity. This point is so obvious that it should hardly need to be pointed out. Any educated person just has to look at the state of the world to recognise this fact.

holy..........cant you discuss this in another thread?
Dont destroy this thread with a political discussion like that......


pflo777 why do you tell me not to "destroy the thread" with political discussion? "Kiss the Rain" has a signature that is blatently political (see above), yet you didn't comment on that. I am happy to avoid politics until someone else posts a political comment which I thing is wrong. I then feel I have a right to respond.

when it comes to political position, I am absolutely on your side platypus, but I am long enough in this forum to know where those discussions end.....

And they usually end in the locking of a thread, or in flame wars over pages.....
we had that times and again...
And btw, he didnt post it in this thread, he used it as his signature, therefore you can discuss it also in another thread, or in a special thread, just for this topic......

有2张照片是日本北海道，那个有湖的和那个秋天地

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/14/world/14forest.html?ref=asia

Many Nations’ Forests Regrow, Study Finds

By ELISABETH ROSENTHAL
Published: November 14, 2006


A large and growing number of countries are reversing the longstanding trend toward destruction of their forests, a surprising new analysis has found.



“From the new data it seems possible that we could reverse a global trend that many people thought was irreversible,” said Pekka Kauppi of the University of Helsinki in Finland, a lead author of the study, which appears today in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The report, by a team of researchers in Europe, the United States and Asia, is a ray of hope at a time of ominous environmental warnings about global warming caused by man-made carbon emissions. Forests can act as pollution sinks, easing the emissions’ effects to some degree.

The scientists say their study suggests that environmental damage can be reversed with a combination of policy and luck. Twenty years ago most scientists believed that deforestation was an inexorable result of industrialization and that the earth would soon be virtually denuded of trees.

“This is the first time we have documented that many countries have turned the corner, that gradually forests are coming back,” said one of the authors, Jesse Ausubel of Rockefeller University in New York, who added that he personally had expected to live in a “skinhead” earth by 2050.

But some experts reacted with caution to the results. The lack of good data on forests in many parts of the world means that it is hard to be confident about the study’s “positive indications of an important change,” said Peter Holmgren, chief of forest resources development at the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome.

He noted that much of the data for the new study was provided by governments, which he says do not do a good job of measuring forests, or by aerial surveillance, which is notoriously unreliable.

“There are trends that these guys have observed that seem true, but it’s difficult to state for certain,” Mr. Holmgren said. “Is there a global paradigm change? We really don’t know yet.” He called for countries to undertake systematic forest inventories.

The report acknowledges that in a few countries, notably Brazil and Indonesia, the destruction of forests remains a serious and worsening problem. Because of the continuing cutting in those countries, the global trend is still negative.

Yet the researchers, using new analytical techniques, calculated that in the last 15 years forests had actually expanded in 22 of the 50 countries with the most forest, and that many others were poised to make the transition from deforestation to reforestation in the coming decades.

The reversal is partly a result of social changes that occur as countries develop and become wealthier, the study said. For example, as rural dwellers move to the cities there are fewer people in the countryside to cut down trees for uses like heating and building.

But in nations like China, India and Turkey the shift also involved a strong measure of public policy, including tree-planting campaigns, restrictions on clear-cutting and more efficient agricultural practices, which means that less land needs to be cleared for growing food.

“On a global level, deforestation will be reversed if we maintain this trend, which has involved a lot of different factors: a shift to highly productive agriculture in some places, as well as people like you and me reading newspapers on the Internet so that forest is not destroyed,” Dr. Ausubel said.

The researchers analyzed new information from the Food and Agriculture Organization on the world’s forests from 1990 and 2005, as well as the contents of national databases.

Instead of merely estimating the area of forest in each part of the world, they developed new research tools that took into account the volume of timber, the amount of biomass, the density of forest areas and the carbon-capturing capacity of local trees.

A vast majority of the richer and more developed countries had more forest area and denser forests in 2005 than in 1990. In the United States and Western Europe the transition began decades ago, but it has increased rapidly in the last 15 years, the researchers found.

More encouraging, the authors said, countries like Vietnam and Turkey seem to have reversed the trend, as have giants like India and China.

But Dr. Holmgren cautioned that there were still many problems in many parts of the world, where overcutting and poor forest management are rampant.

He added that the evidence for a reversal of deforestation remained weak in many nations. He noted, for example, that while China had planted huge swaths of forest, it was unclear if these were sustainable.

“Are people in northern Thailand moving off of marginal farmland and going to Bangkok so the land can revert to forest?” he asked. “It’s a scenario, but I’m not sure we really know that.”

很多都是面子工程，三北防护林工程早就没人提了现在。

I wish this would be done on a global scale. One of the few morally good things the communist govt of China has done.

off topic, but a country of only 200 plas years, with a bloody history of wiping out tens of millions native people, not to mention the black slaves, really has no point to talk about any moral superiority.

US has a holiday called thanksgiving? Any sense of shame?

^^ Focus on the present. The United States has come a long way since then. What we want to see are indicators that China is making the same steps in recognizing the value of human rights as many developed nations have. The past is neither here nor there. Progress is the key.

By the way, I read in an article (I'll have to find it) that the afforestation campaigns that China has been doing have been largely unsuccessful. Due to the lack of adequate rainfall in the areas they've replanted trees, most of the trees that they have planted have died.

Could anyone confirm / deny this? I'll try to find the article later.

I think it's true, in many places, only 10% of planted trees finally survived. But people have been taking lessens from these experiences.

off topic, but a country of only 200 plas years, with a bloody history of wiping out tens of millions native people, not to mention the black slaves, really has no point to talk about any moral superiority.

off topic, but the USA doesn't dump baby girls in rivers and lakes like China does, nor does it run them over with tanks. No country on earth has or does contribute more to international aid than the USA.

let us get back to the discussion please.

off topic, but the USA doesn't dump baby girls in rivers and lakes like China does, nor does it run them over with tanks. No country on earth has or does contribute more to international aid than the USA.

let us get back to the discussion please.

Wigo might have over-reacted to your comment, but seriously why don't you just keep your ass away from this thread or even the entire Chinese forums? Yes, your government and your soldiers don't run tanks over your own countrymen, but they never hesitate to shoot/burn/rape civilians and run tanks over them in foreign countries that are thousands of miles away from you with the excuse of protecting the safety and interest of the USA. BTW, what a pathetic username you have got! :puke:

I think it's true, in many places, only 10% of planted trees finally survived. But people have been taking lessens from these experiences.

That is true. I'm sure future afforestation projects would yield more successful results.

As it is now, though, I think a lot of it is just a public relations campaign.

No country on earth has or does contribute more to international aid than the USA.
We can certiainly hope so, considering that the US kills more people in foreign countries, than any other country on earth.

off topic, but the USA doesn't dump baby girls in rivers and lakes like China does, nor does it run them over with tanks. No country on earth has or does contribute more to international aid than the USA.

let us get back to the discussion please.

Want to take credit for US? Hardly, because US didn't assist China any cents in ten-year forestation project of China. I did my intership in Natural resources Canada and read reports related to this. Which countries sponsored China in forestation project? Germany and Japan offer the major assistance for China's forestation. Germany not only provided facilities and built advanced green houses in Changbai mountain of Jilin province but also financial aids in Northwest of China. Japan provided loans (part of ODA) almost covering all China. Each year, Canada sent scientists and funds to China for cooperation in forestation with Chinese workers. There are also Sino-Italy and other European cooperation program for the project. .... Nah, I would expect US and Britain's actions like Germany and Japan, since the two countries feel like criticism. ;)

Germany and Japan offer the major assistance for China's forestation. Germany not only provided facilities and built advanced green houses in Changbai mountain of Jilin province but also financial aids in Northwest of China. Japan provided loans (part of ODA) almost covering all China.

True. Unfortunately, corruption leads to heavy misuse of the fund´s financial aid . I recently heard an interesting lecture of Prof. Dr. forest. Michael Mussong who was in charge as controller of several afforestation projects in Northwest China funded by GTZ (German Society for Technical Coorperation). According to him, some local authorities even collected money for the same area twice or even triple by cheating the international funding organisations. Other areas have been declared much bigger than they actually were to receive more funding (not necessary to say the extra money hasn´t been used for afforestation). Another problem leading to ineffiency is lack of expertise within the afforestation project´s working staff.

^^
That is the reason why I didn't reply when I watched those shiny green pictures. Corruption (evil) might be taken into account. One scientist from Canadian forest service said, the feedback from local government was far cry from the reality. The difficulty in afforestation and maintaining ,as local government said , always results in input of huge amount of international aids either from World bank or other countries. but with time going by, the funds had no effect when sponsors inspected those barren places and deserts. Thus, the sponsorship has stopped.

http://www.fao.org/icatalog/inter-e.htm

Click HTM link from the "State ot the World's Forests 2007" report.

China is the best in sustainable forest management, according to FAO United Nation.

This is Wonderful News....I'm Very Happy for China :-)

国家林业局长贾治邦：中国实现森林资源持续增长

　 2007年03月12日 新华网

　　12日是中国第29个植树节。全国绿化委员会副主任、国家林业局局长贾治邦接受新华社记者采访时表示，全国义务植树运动在中国持续开展26年来，有力推动了中国生态状况的改善。在世界森林资源日益减少的情况下，中国实现森林资源的持续增长。

　　据介绍，全国的森林覆盖率由1981年之前的12％提高到目前的18.21％，全国森林面积由17.29亿亩提高到26.2亿亩。

　　全国绿化委员会办公室发布的《2006年中国国土绿化状况公报》显示，去年参加义务植树人数达5.5亿人次，完成义务植树21.6亿株，新增基地面积481.6万亩。义务植树尽责率为55％，比上年提高10个百分点。

　　贾治邦说，全民义务植树运动为国家建设和人民生活提供了大量的林产品。仅以生产提供木材为例，50多年来，全国累计消耗森林资源高达130.12亿立方米，相当于全国森林资源已基本采伐利用了一遍。

　　此外，目前，全国已建立各级森林公园1928处，2006年有2亿人次到森林公园观光旅游，享受新鲜的空气和大自然的美景。

　　贾治邦说，全民义务植树运动还进一步推动了国土绿化进程。2006年，全国完成营造林面积7800多万亩。

　　贾治邦指出，“十一五”期间，中国将全面加强重点生态工程建设。加大对生态脆弱地区的生态建设，继续实施天然林保护、退耕还林还草、防护林体系建设、京津风沙源治理、草原保护、水土流失治理等重点生态工程，启动石漠化防治等新的生态建设工程，尽快建立以森林植被为主体、林草结合的国土生态安全体系。

　　据介绍，2006年，全国林业总产值超过9000亿元，木材产量7802万立方米，人造板产量6380万立方米，干鲜果品产量9000多万吨，野生动植物繁育利用产值2000亿元，森林旅游综合产值1000亿元，林产品贸易额突破470亿美元。