The World Bank has approved loans totaling 100 million U.S. dollars to five provinces of China to promote integrated forestry, the bank's China office announced Wednesday.

The loans under the Integrated Forestry Development Project aimed to increase diversified forest cover and improve the management of forest resources in Anhui, Hebei, Liaoning, Shanxi and Zhejiang provinces, said Liu Jin, the World Bank's senior rural development specialist.

"While the previous World Bank-supported projects focused on improving timber production and plantation quality and standards, the new project is focusing on piloting solutions in managing forests with significant environment protection functions," Liu said.

The new project will create forest cover in areas prone to wind and water erosion, improve the existing plantation forests and turn single-species forests into mixed species forests that are better for the environment.

Individual farmers, farmer groups and communities would be encouraged to participate in activities that were expected to bring to them the dual benefits of improved environment and increased incomes, said a statement from the World Bank.

A monitoring and evaluation system would be established to measure project implementation impacts, particularly environmental benefits, and generate lessons for other parts of China.

The World Bank has been the largest external funder of China's forestry programs.

It has financed eight forestry projects in China since 1987, including a loan of 60 million U.S. dollars to east China's Shandong Province in May to support an afforestation project there.

The projects in China have resulted in the development of about 3.8 million hectares of forest plantations, production of about 188 million cubic meters of wood, and sequestration of some 566 million tons of carbon dioxide, according to the World Bank.