Shaanxi Returns 380,000 Ha of Cropland to Forested LandShaanxi Province in northwest China has returned 5.7 million mu (380,000 hectares) of mountainside arable land to forests.According to a nationwide program to restore forests (grassland) by cutting back on the amount of cropland, the province launched a 12-year project last year aimed to increase the province's forest area to 130 million mu (8.6 million hectares) including 16 million mu (1.07 million hectares) farmland to be turned into forests, and 70 million mu (4.6 million hectares) afforestation area. At the same time, the grassland area will be increased to 46 million mu (about three million hectares), said a local forestry official, adding the project will help the province increase the coverage of tree acreage to 43 percent of its total area by 2010. The province will work hard to implement the project to further improve the ecological environment, the official said. |
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