Want to know more about the vast stretches of China's west? This
story edited by Xinhua News Agency and translated by china.org.cn
presents some specific figures concerning the development of the
region in relation to education, environmental protection and
forestry construction.
Ningxia: 400,000 become literate
According to the fifth national population census, at the end of
2000 in
Ningxia 82 percent of the population under age 60 has at least
a primary school education, an increase of 13 percent over 1990.
The decade witnessed a reduction of 400,000 illiteracies. In 1990,
Ningxia implemented a nine-year compulsory education system, giving
top priority to Xihaigu region, one of the poorest areas in China.
The region tried hard to guarantee that all children of school age
could go to school. Meanwhile, the province launched an
anti-illiteracy campaign aimed at population above the age of
15.
Yunnan: Over 300 bird species found in White Horse Snow Mountain
Reserve
A
recent investigation report shows 319 bird species recorded in
White Horse Snow Mountain Nature Reserve, which is called "home of
birds" in
Yunnan Province. The department of forestry of Yunnan Province
previously had recorded 216 bird species. The management bureau
carried out the recent survey called "Investigation on bird's
reproduction in White Horse Snow Mountain Reserve."
Guangxi: 5.77 million acres of forests funded by state
With the launching of a pilot project on financing forest ecology
building in southwest China's
Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, 2.33 million hectares (5.77
million acres) of key shelter forests and special-purposed forests
received state funds. They account for 23 percent of the total
forested areas in Guangxi.
Among the 2.33 million hectares (5.77 million acres) of forest
land, 2.16 million hectares (5.33 million acres) are woodland,
150,000 hectares (370,658 acres) are shrubbery, 15,333 hectares
(37,889 acres) are under forest, and 10,000 hectares (24,711 acres)
are sparse woodland. Each hectare will get 75 yuan (US$9.06)
subsidy from the state.
Sichuan: 131,789 acres of forests grow from aerial
seeding
Aerial seeding has covered 53,333 hectares (131,789 acres) of land
annually on an average in
Sichuan Province, according to the provincial forestry
administration. Over the past four decades, such kind of
afforestation has been implemented in 64 counties of 16 cities and
prefectures. The total seeded area reached 2.19 million hectares
(5.41 million acres) of which about 733,000 hectares (1.81 million
acres) have become forests. These forested areas are now a vanguard
to the ecological environment at the upper reaches of Yangtze
River, and are playing an increasingly more important role in water
reserves, flood prevention, fertilizer maintenance, wind and sand
control and climate adjustment. In addition, the aerial seeding of
forest in the Liangshan area provides thousands of cubic meters of
intermediate cutting timbers to large paper factories in Yibin and
Leshan cities. The income of local people and income from
subsidiary forestry products account for more than 25 percent of
the total local agriculture incomes. The total income from forest
byproducts is 20 times the figure before the implementation of
aerial seeding.
Gansu: 7 foreign-aided projects to bolster ecology
Starting this year, Gansu
Province launched one after another seven foreign aided projects to
protect forest ecology. With the implementation of the strategy to
develop west China, the ecological construction in China's west
areas has received wide attention from many foreign governments,
organizations and experts who have come to visit Gansu, offering
financial aid and cooperation.
(新華社[Xinhua News
Agency], translated by Li Liangdu for china.org.cn, May 6,
2002)