By Li Hongyang
Tree coverage has increased in China thanks
to the widespread implementation of afforestation last year, according to a
report released by the National Afforestation Committee on Sunday, which was
also the 45th National Tree Planting Day.
The report said that 3.83 million hectares
of trees were planted and 3.21 million hectares of degraded grassland were
treated last year.
The forest coverage rate in China has
reached around 24 percent, or some 231 million hectares, and grassland covers
about 265 million hectares, according to the report.
Last year, about 850,000 hectares of trees
were planted as part of the Three-North Shelter Forest Program, which aims to
improve the environment in northwestern, northern and northeastern China.
Some 18.8 million hectares of
desertification control have been completed in the past 10 years, holding back
encroaching deserts in many areas.
China's afforestation achievements were
noted in a study by the National Aeronautics and Space Agency in the United
States, which said that satellite imagery reveals that China and India are
leading the increase in forest coverage, with China alone accounting for a
quarter of the global net increase in green areas despite having only 6.6
percent of the world's vegetated area.
Nearly 100,000 kilometers of highway
greening were completed last year, and the greening rate along railway lines
reached about 87 percent.
The construction of ecological corridors
along rivers and lakes continues to advance, the NAC report said, and 63,000
square kilometers of land suffering from soil erosion have been treated.
As part of the plan to create a
"Beautiful China", the government plans to increase forested areas by
3.2 million hectares, and plant and restore 3.46 million hectares of grass in
2023.
The National Forestry and Grassland
Administration said it will determine the scale of greening activities after
assessing which areas are suitable for planting.
Source: https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202303/13/WS640e7a2ea31057c47ebb4006.html