An ambitious reforestation plan has been
unveiled in China. All logging in non-commercial
woodlands will be banned
soon. State forestry bureau
director Wang Zhibao said
the plan would focus on
reforestation along the
Yangtze and Yellow rivers.
"Forests will be re-classified
into public-interest and
commercial zones," he said.
Commercial logging will be
completely banned in
regions classified public-interest, irrespective of
whether they are natural
forests or plantations.
All public-interest forests
will eventually be listed as
natural reserves, said Wang.
He said the plan also aims to
cut the rate of desertification,
which eats into more than
2,400 square km of forest
and farmland each year.
Farmers who had developed
land in public-interest
forests would be relocated or
compensated. "New plantations will be grown to provide fuel for farmers so they
will no longer cut down trees
in natural forests," said
Wang.
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