China's Ministry of Finance and State Forestry Administration have decided to allocate 75 million yuan (US$9.38 million) a year to the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in the northwest for its forest protection, officials say on November 19.
Under a central government forest protection subsidy scheme, Xinjiang has been listed as one of 11 major provinces and autonomous regions which will receive special state funding for forest protection and ecological improvement.
Officials say Xinjiang will use the financial assistance for forest protection in an area of one million hectares.
Altogether 11 Provinces and Autonomous Regions Involved
All the 11 provinces and autonomous regions involved will carry out forest protection in a combined area of 13 million hectares with the annual state subsidy, which means 75 yuan for one hectare of forest.
Sources said that this forest protection subsidy scheme does not overlap with the national forest protection project launched in 1998.
Detailed Schemes to Be Worked out
The Chinese government has asked the 11 provinces and autonomous regions to work out detailed schemes according to their various climate and geological conditions and their different ecological situations.
(People’s Daily November 19, 2001)
