China's forestry developments in 2012
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E-mail Xinhua, March 12, 2013
Nature reserves: China added eight natural preservation areas in 2012, and the State Council, China's Cabinet, elevated 23 regions as "National Nature Reserves."
At the end of 2012, China had 2,134 forestry nature reserves, accounting for 12.9 percent of the country's territory.
Wetland projects: Protection projects that China launched in 2012 helped bring 90,000 hectares of wetlands under protection and restored 20,000 hectares of wetlands.
During the 2011-2015 period, China plans to invest 13 billion yuan in wetland protection projects.
Grassland fostering: China's grassland protection projects covered 5.99 million hectares in 2012.
To date, China has contracted 270 million hectares of grasslands, accounting for 81 percent of the country's total exploitable grasslands.
Forestry management: China extended care and tended to 8.24 million hectares of forest in 2012.
Forest coverage: China aims to bring forest coverage to 23 percent, or 223 million hectares, by 2020, according to the sector's plan for the 2011-2020 period.
China's forest coverage reached 20.36 percent, or about 195 million hectares, by the end of 2008, according to the latest survey on China's forestry resources. The survey was conducted by the State Forestry Administration between 2004 and 2008, and involved more than 20,000 scientists and forestry workers.
