China to Spend 220 million Yuan on Afforestation TechnologyChina will spend 220 million yuan (about US$ 27 million) popularizing afforestation technology to boost its ambitious drive to green its mostly arid western regions, an forestry official said on April 28.China plans to turn more than 340,000 hectares of cultivated land back to forest and more than 430,000 hectares of bare mountains and lands in western China this year. However, the harsh conditions in the areas make it extremely difficult for trees and grass planted to survive, the official said. The State Forestry Administration mapped out a program to employ 187 items of technologies, which has received strong financial support from the central government. Zhu Lieke, director of the SFA's Science and Technology Department, said that investment in afforestation technology will increase along with the growth of afforestation funds. He said that the technology will raise the survival rate of tress and grass planted in the western areas to more than 80 percent, and help establish a sound system of supervision and management in afforestation. |
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