China's ecological competitiveness has increased as ecological indicators continue to improve, an official said at the 9th China Forum on International Ecological Competitiveness on Sunday.
China's forest cover has reached 22.96 percent and the forest stock volume has hit 17.56 billion cubic meters, while grassland vegetation cover and wetland protection rate increased to 55.7 percent and 52.2 percent, respectively, said Hu Zhangcui, an official with the National Afforestation Committee, at the forum held in Hulun Buir, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.
To restore and improve the ecology, Haidong City in northwest China's Qinghai Province issued the first regulation in the province to require eligible local residents to plant at least three trees annually, and now the forest coverage along the Yellow River in the city has greatly increased.
In Gansu's capital Lanzhou, authorities are using the water from the Yellow River to plant trees on mountains with the help of modern technology.
The city has planted 160 million plants, afforesting an area of 620,000 mu (about 41,333 hectares) on the mountains, which helps prevent 611,200 tons of silt from being washed into the Yellow River.
Gansu's Hexi Corridor which used to be haunted by sandstorms is now covered with thick greenery thanks to the efforts of generations of only six families who planted 217,000 mu (about 14,466 hectares) of forests in the past four decades.
China Forum on International Ecological Competitiveness has become an important platform for high-level dialogues and cooperation since 2008. The forum this year will promote cooperation in green industries with a focus on ecological governance, energy and environment, agriculture and animal husbandry, tourism, and smart economy, as well as accelerate the integration of resources, capital and innovation to promote quality development and enhance ecological competitiveness.
(Cover image via CFP)
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