Qingyuan plans to expand its forest resources in the next five years as part of China’s 12th Five-Year Plan. The city has set aside 21.41 million mu of land for forestry. That land accounts for 75.5 percent of the city’s total land area – an important environmental resource for Guangdong province.

The city on March 16 announced plans to add 1.30 million mu of forest lands to the city by 2015.

During the 11th Five-Year Plan period, the forest area of Qingyuan increased to 19.5097 million mu, with forest reserves increased to 63.819 million cubic meters, forest coverage rate to 67.8 percent and forestry output value to RMB5.3 billion. During those five years, reforested lands reached 1.2828 million mu, with the share of young and middle-age forests reaching 1.7493 million mu.

Zeng Xianlin, vice mayor of Qingyuan, said the city is striving for 20.408 million mu of forests by 2015, with planned forest reserves of 81.45 million cubic meters, a forest coverage rate of 70.9 percent and forestry output value of RMB9.7 billion. The city hopes to become a model for forestry development and green economic development, the vice mayor said.

During the next five years, the entire municipal forestry system will be fully dedicated to implementing eight key l projects and accelerating the development of the top 10 pillar industries tasks. The city’s forestry industry will build a forest carbon sink demonstration project, with priority given to 250,000 mu of carbon sink forest in the important ecological regions and areas with vulnerable ecological environment for enhancement of forest carbon sinks.

The city also will build shelter-belt projects along its rivers. Qingyuan plans to cultivate 500,000 mu of watershed forests in major river basins and along medium and large reservoirs, as well as in soil conservation forests.

The city will invest in environmental restoration projects, village landscaping projects, ecological disaster prevention and control projects and forest park construction projects as part of Qingyuan’s long-range green goals.