Successful regional ethnic autonomy in Tibet

Ecological development in forestry and grassland is making remarkable progress. According to the eighth national survey of forest resources conducted in 2014, the Region's forest coverage rate was as high as 11.98 percent, covering a total area of 14.7156 million ha. Wood stock accounted for 2.262 billion cubic meters of forest, 2.261 billion cubic meters of virgin forest, and 267 cubic meters per ha. of high forest. The key non-commercial forest totals 10.1127 million ha. Tibet leads the country in terms of per capita forest coverage, stock of forest, virgin forest and high forest, and area of key non-commercial forest. Compared with the third national survey of desertification and sandification, the fourth survey shows a 78,900 ha. decline in desertification and 65,700 ha. decline in sandification in Tibet. This signifies that the situation has been checked and is now taking a turn for the better. By the end of 2014, there was 84.33 million ha. of natural grassland in Tibet, 70.67 million of which is usable.

Eco-compensation pilot work is progressing. The central government applies eco-compensation policies to forest and grassland etc., in Tibet, having allocated more than four billion yuan each year to the Region. The state has also formulated the Measures for Management of Eco-Compensation Funds for Forest in Tibet Autonomous Region. From 2010, the central budget began granting annual 772 million yuan of eco-compensation to the Region's non-commercial forest. Based on the pilot work to award grassland ecological protection to five counties from 2009 to 2010, in 2011 a policy to subsidize grassland ecological protection was fully implemented in 74 counties across the Region. It entailed spending 2.00981 billion yuan of subsidies and awards each year on protecting the grassland environment and increasing the income of farmers and herdsmen. The state has implemented the transfer payment policy in key ecological reserves, covering 18 counties of Tibet and spending 1.083 billion yuan in 2014. These measures help to protect key non-commercial forest, prime grassland and key ecological areas.