Green fingers take root to boost tree coverage

An aerial view of the West Lake in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, on Nov 23, 2022. [Photo/IC]

Tree coverage has increased in China thanks to the widespread implementation of afforestation last year, according to a report released by the National Afforestation Committee on Sunday, which was also the 45th National Tree Planting Day.

The report said that 3.83 million hectares of trees were planted and 3.21 million hectares of degraded grassland were treated last year.

The forest coverage rate in China has reached around 24 percent, or some 231 million hectares, and grassland covers about 265 million hectares, according to the report.

Last year, about 850,000 hectares of trees were planted as part of the Three-North Shelter Forest Program, which aims to improve the environment in northwestern, northern and northeastern China.

Some 18.8 million hectares of desertification control have been completed in the past 10 years, holding back encroaching deserts in many areas.

China's afforestation achievements were noted in a study by the National Aeronautics and Space Agency in the United States, which said that satellite imagery reveals that China and India are leading the increase in forest coverage, with China alone accounting for a quarter of the global net increase in green areas despite having only 6.6 percent of the world's vegetated area.

Nearly 100,000 kilometers of highway greening were completed last year, and the greening rate along railway lines reached about 87 percent.

The construction of ecological corridors along rivers and lakes continues to advance, the NAC report said, and 63,000 square kilometers of land suffering from soil erosion have been treated.

As part of the plan to create a "Beautiful China", the government plans to increase forested areas by 3.2 million hectares, and plant and restore 3.46 million hectares of grass in 2023.

The National Forestry and Grassland Administration said it will determine the scale of greening activities after assessing which areas are suitable for planting.