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China will quicken its afforestation drive in a move to improve
the deteriorating eco-environment across the country, said a senior
expert in Shanghai Tuesday.
At the ongoing 2000 Shanghai Forum of Science and Technology, Prof.
Jiang Zehui, president of the Chinese Academy of Forestry, expressed
her admiration of the achievements in afforestation and eco-environmental
construction in the past decade, which has been oriented towards
constructing city forests, planting trees along rivers, lakes, railways
and highways, as well as anti-desertification in the western part
of the country.
However, Prof. Jiang pointed out that the deterioration of the
eco-environment in China, as a whole, has not been under complete
control, the construction has lagged far behind the destruction
of the eco-environment and currently China has one of the most fragile
eco-environment in the world.
Statistics show that soil-eroded areas have expanded to 1.79 million
sq. km and desertified areas have reached 2.62 million sq. km and
continue to expand by 2,400 sq. km annually. In addition, 15-20
percent of plant species is on the verge of extinction.
According to Jiang, eco-environmental protection has become a vital
factor that affects the sustainable development of the national
economy and other social undertakings.
As for the long-term objective of China's efforts, Prof. Jiang
held that it should include the establishment of a high-quality
and efficient system in afforestation, forestry management, forestry
safety assurance and eco-environmental supervision.
Professor Jiang concluded her presentation by pointing out that
afforestation in cities should stress the ecological benefits rather
than to solely contribute to scenery-development.
At present, forest coverage in China stands at 16.5 percent, lagging
far behind countries with dense natural forest. In terms of man-made
forests, China ranks first in the world, with a combined area of
45 million hectares.
(People's Daily 11/08/2000)
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