China has strengthened comprehensive control over soil erosion in seven major river basins including the Yangtze River and the Yellow River and has launched eco-environment construction projects in the seriously desertified areas, thereby gradually establishing a reasonable ecological construction layout.

At present, China has established 1,146 nature reserves of all types, which cover a total area of 88.13 million hectares, representing 8.8 percent of Chinese territory; China has closed 30.19 hectares of mountains and hills to facilitate afforestation. Some 12 provinces and autonomous regions have met the standard of afforestation set by the State and greened 1.8 million hectares of land.

During the "ninth Five Year Plan" period, China has accelerated soil erosion control and found a way for developing agriculture and the rural economy in coordination with the ecological environment. It's reported that China has more than 2,00 pilot units of eco-agriculture which cover an area of over 200 million mu (1 hectares = 15 mu) making up 13.7 percent of China's total cultivated land.

After the occurrence of floods in the valleys of the Yangtze River, Songhuajiang River and Nenjiang River in 1998, China enlarged the scope of the project for the protection of natural forests. Sichuan, Yunnan, Heilongjiang, Shanxi, Gansu, Inner Mongolia, Guangxi and other provinces and autonomous regions have successively declared an end to the logging of natural forests, water source forest and shelter-forests and have strengthened soil conservation, prevention of desertification and nature protection. So far, 10 percent of the desert and desertified lands have been brought under effective control.

During the "ninth Five-Year Plan" period, China has expanded the exemplary effect of its ecological construction. It has so far built 300 experimental counties of ecological agriculture, 101 of which are at State level. Seven demonstration units of ecological agriculture has been cited as members of the "world's top 500) by the United Nations. Besides, 112 ecological demonstration zones had been set up by the end of last year.

(People's Daily 10/11/2000)