Land Use in 10 Provinces Gets BoostThe task of land reclamation and consolidation in China has received a boost with the launch of a sustainable land use project yesterday in Beijing.Jointly launched by the United Nations Development Programme £¨UNDP£©, Ministry of Land and Resources and Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Co-operation, the project aims to provide assistance to governments to enhance land consolidation and reclamation process in China. UNDP will help establish 10 pilot project areas in 10 provinces across China. Kerstin Leitner, a UNDP representative, said the programme would assist the Chinese Government to develop a consistent policy framework including environmental management standards, protection of land use rights, gender equality and community participation principles. Planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation capacity will be strengthened and a range of consolidation and reclamation models will be developed and tested in pilot areas, Leitner said at the signing ceremony of the project. An integrated information system will be set up to provide community, managers and decision-makers with access to relevant information. The five-year project will involve US$6 million - 25 per cent of which provided by the UNDP with the rest coming from the Chinese Government. |
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