Beijing, the national capital, is working hard to build wooded
areas covering 125 sq. km., to form a green belt circling the downtown
area. A series of favorable polices have been issued by the city
government to encourage local institutions and individuals to join
in the afforestation efforts. According to the city government,
Beijing will increase its green coverage to 48 percent in the next
five years, with a per- capita green area of 45 sq.m. in urban areas.
The city will also build 10 forest-based tourism zones in the coming
five years.
Meanwhile, Beijing's surrounding areas, including the Inner Mongolia
Autonomous Region and Hebei Province, are also making efforts to
plant trees on mountains and deserts. Last year, Inner Mongolia
invested over 1.6 billion yuan for that purpose.
Zhangjiakou City, in Hebei province, has launched a 10-year program
to curb the spreading of deserts with a total investment of 6.89
billion yuan.
(China Daily 05/10/2001)
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