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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, November 27, 2001

China to Start up 4th-Phase "Three-north" Shelter Belt Construction

China's efforts to build the world's largest shelterbelt has entered a new stage with focus placed on controlling desertification and soil erosion in the Loess Plateau. When the project is completed in 2050, the ecological environment will be improved greatly in 40 percent of the country' s land area.


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China has made an indefatigable effort in building its mammoth "three-north" (north, northwest and northeast China) shelter belt. An ecological project of the world's largest on which over 23 years it has so far used, the belt has come to appear over 22 million hectares of the country's land.

To review past achievements and move on new construction tasks, the State Forest Bureau and the State Planning Commission saw to it that a grand commendation meeting was held at which 55 advanced units along with 107 advanced and 8 model workers were cited this day.

The 4th-phase project for construction of the "three-north" shelter belt as has been planned is to be launched in an area over 590 counties (banners, cities and districts) in 13 provinces, ethnic minorities autonomous regions and municipalities.

According to plan, up to 2010, over 9.5 million hectares of forest will be built to add to 27.87 million hectares of land having been put under forest protection. Upon completion of the project in building 9.5 million hectares of forestry land, forest coverage will be 1.8 percentage up and under cover of a comparatively complete regional forest shelter system the "three-north" areas will have an initially improved eco-system.

A ten-year effort made in desert areas would put 40 percent of desert land under control and a stop to desertification of land in the afforested areas. Along with a marked drop in the incidence of sandstorms and natural calamities a basic change will be made in eco-environment of the three large desert areas, Maowusu, Horqin and Hulunbeir.

Zhou Shengxian, director of the State Forest Bureau pointed out that the "three-north" shelter belt project is one among the six major forest project of China, that prevention and control of desertification of land must be made the focus and target of the project for 4th-phase "three-north" shelter belt construction. In work arrangement, funds must be given first priority, goals have to be set and responsibilities specified.

Meantime, a greater effort must be made in the fight to prevent soil erosion on the loess plateau and make sure it be basically curbed. In the course of construction of the 4th-phase project, all-round infrastructure construction work is needed.

Construction of the "three-north" forest shelter is a large trans-centennial ecological project as demanded for protection of land, speeding up economic development and all-round social progress in China. The project will take altogether 73 years starting in 1978 to 2050.



By People's Daily Online
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