Survey Shows Rise in Forest ResourcesThe results of the fifth national survey on forest resources from 1994 to the end of 1998 were released yesterday, indicating that the current forest area has increased by 1.43 per cent and is now 158.941 million hectares and the forest coverage rate is 16.55 per cent compared to the 1993 national survey.Following the revised standards in forest law, the current forest coverage rate has increased by 1.43 per cent from the earlier 15.12 per cent in 1993, when the fourth national survey was finished, while the total forest area has increased by 13.7 million hectares in the past five years. The report also revealed the average forest coverage rate of the 11 western provinces and autonomous regions was at 9.06 per cent, far lower than the national average level of 16.55 per cent. The artificial forest area still remains at the top of the world, having reached 46.667 million hectares, said Vice-Minister of Forestry Ma Fu. However, survey statistics show that 2.81 million hectares of forest land has been used for other purposes from 1994 to 1998, an increase of 27.7 per cent than that during 1989 to 1993. Exceeding deforestation remains another serious problem, since regional governments and factories consume an average of 86.79 million cubic metres of trees, more than the State limitation each year from 1994 to 1998, according to the fifth survey report. To solve the increasing demand for trees along with the western campaign, the ministry has started to plant fast growing trees of 6.7 million hectares in East and Central China which is expected to be finished in a decade's time. The sixth survey, ranging from 1999 to 2003 will cover Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions as well as some uncovered areas in Xinjiang, Tibet, Qinghai, Gansu and Inner Mongolia. |
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