Green coverage grows, boosting poverty relief, wildlife protection

China has witnessed remarkable growth of green coverage due to the implementation of afforestation projects, with more than 7 million hectares of trees planted last year, according to a report.

Last year, 7.06 million hectares of trees were planted and 3.14 million hectares of degraded grassland were treated, according to a report released by the National Afforestation Committee on Thursday, the 42nd National Tree Planting Day.

The forest coverage rate in China increased to nearly 23 percent by the end of last year. Now, the country contains 220 million hectares of forests.

Thanks to the country's afforestation efforts, the report showed that 803,000 hectares of farmland were turned into forest or grassland last year and a total of 2.26 million hectares of sandy land was placed under protection.

As part of the plan to build a "Beautiful China", the country has vowed to increase its forest coverage to 26 percent by 2035.

According to the report, China now has 194 forest cities, with an average green coverage of 41 percent. In addition 7,586 villages have been designated as "national forest villages".

It also showed that the country's forest tourism received 1.8 billion visits last year, an increase of 12.5 percent year-on-year, creating a comprehensive economic value of about 1.75 trillion yuan ($250 billion).

The afforestation has benefited many people across the country, especially in remote areas.

According to the report, nearly 1 million people under the poverty line were working as forest rangers last year.

Moreover, the greening efforts have helped at least 3 million people escape poverty, the report said. In the Tibet autonomous region, for example, many of its rural residents have been benefiting from income growth by providing labor to afforestation projects.

In 2019, the regional government continued to promote its green landscaping work and accelerated the planting of more trees in the region's six river basins, with more than 87,000 hectares of land planted. In addition, the region has successfully finished the task of adding trees to 1,079 villages that had none.

This year, the local government is encouraging 90 percent of rural residents to participate in various afforestation projects. Also, it set a target to plant 62,820 hectares of trees in 2020.

In Libo county, Guizhou province, afforestation and the development of eco-friendly industries, such as tourism and the planting of herbs with high economic value, have also contributed to poverty elimination in the county, where more than half the population used to live in poverty.

The report said that all residents of Libo shook off poverty by the end of last year.

Along with the massive greening project, China continued to promote the idea of building an eco-friendly country via the establishment of a mechanism last year, emphasizing the protection of both the country's all-nature reserves and the wildlife living in them.

Since 2015, China has approved the construction of 10 pilot national parks covering more than 20 square kilometers. The pilot will end this year.

Four of the country's 10 pilot parks－Northeast China Tiger and Leopard National Park, Giant Panda National Park, Qilian Mountain National Park and Hainan Rainforest National Park－have already established overall development plans, according to the report.

Further, it said the country's second territorial wildlife resources inspection, which kicked off in 2011, has been successful so far. Last year, 49 animal species and more than 300 plants were inspected.

Daqiong contributed to this story.