China, Germany Cooperate in Shelter Forest Construction in NingxiaThe last five years have seen a big cooperative effort by Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region with Germany in building a 130 thousand mu (15 mu =one hectare) shelter forest at the east foot of Helan Mountain, resulting in a marked improvement of ecological environment in the region.A constructive project noted for its bountiful ecological, economic and social returns, with a fund provided gratis by the Bank of Rejuvenation, Sino-Germany shelter forest has been listed since 1997 as a key project to be built in Ningxia. The local Bureau of Forest has by acting on the principle of "high starting point, high quality. high standard, strict demand" succeeded in afforesting 135 thousand mu of land during a span of 5 years. With these are also 450 thousand mu of hillsides closed as conservancy area. The project has not only effectively helped in an improvement of ecological environment at the eastern foot of Helan Mountain in laying the foundation for bigger afforestation projects but has also led to a growth of 23 million yuan of income by local farmers in the region. |
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