Tree planting campaign deemed success
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E-mail China Daily, March 12, 2013
He said on National Tree Planting Day, March 12, a day dedicated to planting trees, people across the country, from college students to the elderly, are encouraged to plant trees, but no one really cares if the trees survive or if the ecological environment is improved.
He also said many old trees have been removed as "weeds" simply to make room for the planting of new trees.
"These are not scientific or correct ways of tree planting," he said.
Some residents said they felt the same way.
"We seem to plant millions of trees, but the environment does not seem to improve," said Shao Hui, a 27-year-old computer programmer. "It makes little sense if we plant millions of trees and see half of them perish later."
According to Feng, despite the fact the government has picked a single genus for tree planting — poplars and willows account for some 95 percent — the city has gradually increased the variety to increase the survival rate.
The government will further improve its maintenance to better protect the trees, he said.
Cities across China are boosting tree planting.
Hebei province will plant more than 100 million trees in areas surrounding the capital this year to help prevent sandstorms, the provincial forestry bureau said.
Planting has already begun for the new greenbelt, which will cover a total area of 280,000 hectares.
The province launched 10 green projects focused on environmental protection during the 12th Five-Year Plan period (2011-15), increasing the forest area by 1.4 million hectares in the province.
By 2015, Hebei province will have 5.8 million hectares of forest, giving it a coverage of 31 percent of the province's area.
According to the State Forestry Administration, last year the afforestation area nationwide was 6.01 million hectares.
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