In 1988 a program was kicked off to prevent further soil

erosion along the upper reaches of the Yangtze River. This also

aimed to treat soil erosion along the upper and middle reaches of the river, and to improve the river's ecological balance.

In the late 1980s, the Ministry of Forestry decided to build

green shelter belts along the river's upper and middle reaches.

Sixty-nine counties along the upper reaches had shelter belts in

place by 1989.

Another project, this time to protect natural forest resources, was put in place after the Yangtze River was hit by a disastrous flood in 1998.

China launched the grain-for-green (returning farmland to

forests) project in 1999 to develop the west region of the country, and is now putting a major effort into it to reduce the severe damage caused by soil erosion.

(Xinhua News Agency March 20, 2002)