Northeast Province Cuts Back on Timber ProductionHeilongjiang Province in northeast China has substantially cut back its timber production to implement the nation's forest protection project.The biggest timber producer in the nation -- Longjiang Forestry Industrial Corporation -- has reduced its production by 20 percent to 5.28 million cubic meters, compared with 6.78 million in 1997. The corporation boasts about 40 percent of the nation's forest reserve, and contributes about one tenth of the nation's timber output annually. With the launching of the forest protection drive nationwide in 1998, China issued bans or adopted a quota system in forest areas spanning more than 70 million hectares. About 6.6 million hectares of forest in Heilongjiang are protected areas, accounting for 73 percent of its total forest area. The province is expected to see its forest reserve exceed 800 million cubic meters by 2010. |
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