The Forestry Bureau of Wancheng district in Nanyang put a lot of effort into ecological conservation all through 2020.

For example, it completed 8,500 mu (one mu equals 0.067 hectares) of new afforestation with more than 600,000 seedlings of all types planted, which reached 128 percent of the target.

The bureau also took care of a further 6,500 mu of forests and 3,500 mu of seedlings and flowers. Its achievements led to Wancheng's winning the gold medal in the Nanyang Qingshan Competition after review by the National Reserve Forest Project Construction Delegation.  

People plant trees on Dec 6, 2020. [Photos/01ny.cn]

Efficient measures to implement afforestation

On Dec 6, 2020, a winter voluntary tree-planting activity was held in the Yilin wastelands of Wancheng district, with more than 200 public servants and locals taking part.  

The district Party committee and government held meetings to study the afforestation projects of 2020. The district green committee issued the "2020 Wancheng District Afforestation Plan", signing a letter of commitment on ecological protection.

The district innovated the publicity platform, broadened the publicity channel, and made full use of modern science and technology to achieve sustainable and harmonious development.

Meanwhile, the winter and spring voluntary tree planting activities have been successfully completed, forming a strong atmosphere of communal environmental protection.

In 2020, the district government raised 35 million yuan ($5.41 million) for afforestation and seedling subsidies.

At the same time, it allocated 3 million yuan for observation and evaluation of relevant competitions and compensations, fully mobilizing the initiative of towns and villages.

The local government has explored a new model of market-oriented scientific afforestation, long-term management and protection, and healthy operations.

By supporting training of forestry technicians and technical guidance, it monitors the process of digging holes and planting of seedlings as well as watering and protecting them to ensure the quality of afforestation.

Taking a holistic approach to exceed all targets

With the goal of "building a high-quality forest park", the district completed 4,300 mu of new afforestation and planted more than 300,000 tree species including elm, white waxwood and magnolia.

By exploring a new cooperative mode of "government plus enterprises plus collective villages plus farmers", it aimed to create a "mountain of flowers and fruits" with plants perpetually in bloom.

In accordance with the requirement of a grid of 300 mu, the district upheld the standard of "one road, two ditches and six rows of trees" with rural roads, branches and rivers as the backbone of the forest belt, and improved sections of the 300,000 mu farmland forest network that are equivalent to the 1,500 mu afforestation area.

Along the newly-built highway of Tongcun high standards were applied to the 3-15 meter wide strip of land designated for the construction of a wide forest belt. The district continued to build farmland and forest networks within one kilometer of each side of expressways, national highways and provincial highways.

Eight hundred mu of rural areas were afforested and more than 80,000 seedlings planted. The government created a demonstration zone of green ecological development in eight towns and 10 villages and communities.

In accordance with provincial and municipal requirements it promoted the construction of forest towns and villages with characteristic activities.

In the Hanzuk section of 312 National Road and Zhouying Village, it developed a wide forest belt of 900 mu with 50,000 planted seedlings.

It also developed fruits such as kiwifruit, soft-seed pomegranate and grapes and high-quality seedlings such as Chinese rose, magnolia and catalpa.

Each town and village cultivated 1 or 2 high-quality forest and fruit varieties. Eight hundred mu of high-quality forest and fruit areas were reclaimed across the whole district, and 3,500 mu of flowers and nursery plants based on Guzhuang Chinese roses were grown.

Ground-based disease and insect pest prevention and control was extended to an area of 4,500 mu while the aircraft control area reached 27,000 mu, a pollution control rate of more than 90 percent. Over 13,000 mu of land have been quarantined, at the same rate of coverage.

Wancheng formulated the 2020 Plan for Poverty Alleviation in the Forestry Industry, raised the income of poor households by employing afforestation workers and forest protection workers, transferred 625 mu of land and 125 poor households, and provided jobs for 9,000 poor people.

The Chinese rose garden along the Li River in Wancheng district, Nanyang [Photo/01ny.cn]

Implementing the "Fourteenth Five-Year Plan" with "Six Improvements" and "Four Advancements"

Now that Spring Festival has ended the forestry bureau continues to pursue a series of policies including the national reserve forest construction, ecological corridor network construction, farmland shelterbelt system construction, urban and rural afforestation and the creation of provincial forest parks.

It strives to maintain an ecological environment featuring improvements in farmland forest network, urban and rural gardens, corridor forests, rural forests and fruit orchards, and courtyard gardens. It will apply national forest reserve standards and make advances in afforestation, flower and trees breeding bases and new scenic spots based on river greening, and will introduce a forest chief system throughout the district.

The national forest reserve area in Hanzuk town of Wancheng distrcit, Nanyang [Photo/01ny.cn]