The central government will continue its drive to develop the country's vast western regions in the new year with more emphasis on seeking sustainable development, according to a plenary meeting of the State Council's guiding team for the development of the west.

At the meeting chaired by Premier Wen Jiabao Monday in Beijing, it was agreed that the development of the west, which began four years ago, has been stable but still remains a long-term task.

The implementation of the country's forestry programmes, including the programme to convert cultivated land into forests, will be pushed forward next year, agreed officials at the meeting. Most of the programmes are largely related to the western region.

A survey showed that this nationwide programme has helped improve local ecosystems and raise farmers' incomes, Xinhua News Agency reported Monday.

The programme was carried out as an experiment in Northwest China's Shaanxi and Gansu provinces and in Southwest China's Sichuan Province in 1999 in a bid to rebuild a sound environment.

After successful implementation in these regions, the programme was put in place in 25 other provinces at the beginning of last year. By the year 2010 the plan will involve an investment of 340 billion yuan (US$41 billion).

According to a survey conducted by the China International Engineering Consulting Corporation, the programme has basically reached national requirements and impacted western areas in a positive way.

For example, the area of land that is sparsely or not covered by plants in Yan'an and Yulin, in Northwest China's Shaanxi Province, decreased by 7.81 per cent from 1997 to 2002.

And by the end of 2002, more than 53 million farmers each received 215 kilograms of grain in subsidies.

The project offers annual subsidies of between 100 and 150 kilograms of food for each mu (0.067 hectares) of cultivated land the farmers have converted to forest.

According to the Xinhua report, more than 15 million hectares of forests will have been planted on retreated cultivated land or uncovered mountains and land by the end of the year, which accounts for half of the area that is planned by the programme.

At the plenary meeting of the State Council's guiding team for the development of the west, it was agreed that efforts will continue to combine environmental protection with increasing income for farmers and rural development.

Infrastructure construction in the west will be strengthened and the development of social services, such as education and health care, will also be given great importance.

Meanwhile, industrial restructuring will continue and reforms and an opening up policy will be sped up so that more professionals and funds can help the west.

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