20th Germany-sponsored Forestation Project in Northwest ChinaThe 20th Germany-sponsored forestation project in China has been launched in Yan'an, the famous revolutionary base in northwest China's Shaanxi Province.With 12 million marks (about 5.5 million U.S. dollars) from the German government, China will plant 15,700 hectares of forest and another 2,300 hectares of forest that yields economic earnings, and consolidate some 18,000 hectares of farmland in nine years in Yan'an. China and Germany began to cooperate in forestation efforts eight years ago. Since then, Germany has donated some 220 million marks (about 100 million U.S. dollars) to China for forestation purpose and Germany-aided forests have covered some 100 counties and towns all over the country. China started a large program to return cultivated land to forests last year. Using overseas aid to plant more forests will be another important way to protect the environment, said Quan Zhichang, director of the local forestry office. |
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