Tuesday, December 12, 2000, updated at 16:01(GMT+8)
China
UNDP Satisfied with Forest-related Poverty Elimination Project
A poverty elimination project aided by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) has passed the appraisal of the UNDP and the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation.
The three-year project carried out in Hubei Province, central China, is the first of its kind which aims at eliminating poverty through reforestation.
The forestation project, which started in 1998 for a term of three years, has so far helped train 24,560 impoverished farmers in planting Chinese fir, Japanese larch, Chinese chestnut, gingko and other economic trees in an area of 245 hectares.
Local residents have seen their per-capita annual income rise from 790 yuan (US$95) before the inauguration of the project to 1,050 yuan (US$126).
A poverty elimination project aided by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) has passed the appraisal of the UNDP and the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation.