China sees sustained progress in land greening

BEIJING, March 20 (Xinhua) -- China has seen solid progress in land greening with its forest area and stock volume both expanding for 40 consecutive years, the National Forestry and Grassland Administration said on Friday.

The country's forest area has reached 3.614 billion mu (about 241 million hectares), with the forest coverage rate rising to 25.09 percent, making China the world's fastest-growing contributor to global greening.

During the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), China launched major programs to protect and restore key ecosystems, with desertification and sandification areas continuing to shrink.

A total of 549 million mu of land were afforested, over 4.34 million mu of wetlands restored, and 152 million mu of desertified land treated during the period, the administration data showed.

These efforts have generated both environmental and economic benefits. Today, the annual value of ecosystem services provided by China's forestry and grassland systems exceeds 30 trillion yuan (about 4.35 trillion U.S. dollars).

Meanwhile, the annual forest food production surpassed 240 million tonnes, while ecotourism attracted 3 billion visits each year, according to the administration. ■