The Chinese central government has invested more than 200 billion yuan (over
25 billion U.S. dollars) to improve the environment in its western region in the
last five years, according to the National Development and Reform Commission
(NDRC).
The money was used to plant 40 million hectares of trees, to curb soil
erosion over an area of 540,000 square kilometers and return 19.33 million
hectares of grazing land to grassland, said Wang Jinxiang, vice-minister in
charge of the NDRC.
Wang made the remarks at a meeting on prevention of desertification which
just concluded in Tianjin, a north China port city that neighbors Beijing.
Wang said China has launched a series of projects to enhance ecological
preservation and improvement in western regions. These projects include
returning reclaimed land to forest, returning grazing land to grassland,
protection of natural forest, harnessing sources of sandstorms affecting Beijing
and Tianjin and conservation of soil and water.
The ten regions in western China cover a total area of 5.4 million square
kilometers, or 56 percent of China's total land area. They have a total
population of 300 million, 23 percent of China's total. But its per-capita gross
domestic product is only 60 percent of the national average.
The region is rich in cultural and natural resources, and boasts abundant
mineral and energy resources. The government launched a campaign to develop its
vast western region in 2000.
Despite achievements in recent years, Wang, the NDRC vice-minister, warned
that there is still a long way to go to ensure sound ecosystems in western
areas, citing frequent sandstorms which have plagued Beijing and other northern
areas in recent years.
According to NDRC figures, the western areas account for 80 percent of
China's total area of 3.56 million square kilometers that suffer soil erosion,
and more than 90 percent of the country's 2.62 million square kilometers of
desert area are located in western regions.
The figures also show that China has 180 million hectares of grassland that
have seriously deteriorated, most of which are located in western areas.
The central government will further push forward ecological construction in
western regions in the coming four years and more. Major projects will include
the protection of wetland resources, ecological improvement in areas around the
Qinghai Lake, the largest saltwater lake in China, and projects to protect the
environment along the Yellow River, the second longest waterway in China.
