The World Bank's Board of Executive Directors Wednesday approved a loan of US$100 million to the People's Republic of China to promote integrated forestry development in five provinces of China.

The new Integrated Forestry Development Project is expected to increase diversified forest cover and improve management of forest resources in Anhui, Hebei, Liaoning, Shanxi and Zhejiang provinces, by demonstrating the establishment and management of sustainable, multifunction forest plantations with significant environmental benefits.

"While the previous World Bank-supported projects focused on improving timber production and plantation quality and standards, the new project is focusing on piloting solutions in managing forests with significant environment protection functions," said Liu Jin, World Bank's Senior Rural Development Specialist and Task Team Leader for this project. "The new project will create forest cover in areas prone to wind and water erosion and improve the existing plantation forests by applying the latest technology and research results to modify and transform monoculture forests into mixed species forests that are better for the environment."

Specifically, in Anhui, Hebei, Liaoning and Shanxi provinces, the project will finance the establishment and management of new multifunction forest plantations on degraded and erosion-prone lands to create wind breaks and sand break forests, soil and water conservation forests, and farm land shelter belts. In Anhui and Zhejiang provinces, the project will finance the upgrading of existing degraded forest plantations and transform them into more sustainable multifunction forests so as to increase their vegetative cover, resiliency and erosion control potential. Individual farmers, farmer groups and communities will be encouraged to actively participate in these activities which are expected to bring to them the dual benefits of improved environment and increased incomes.

In addition, the project will provide support to China's ongoing forest land tenure reform. Specific activities will include organization of farmer associations at the township or village levels on a pilot basis, provision of training and technical services for capacity building in applicable technical skill, project management, forest management planning involving local forest authorities, village leaders and farmers. In addition, a monitoring and evaluation system will be established to measure project implementation impacts, particularly on environmental benefits, and generate lessons for dissemination to other parts of China.

The World Bank has been the largest external funder for China's forestry programs, having financed eight projects since 1987. These have resulted in the development of about 3.8 million hectares of forest plantations, production of about 188 million square meters of wood, and sequestration of some 566 million tons of carbon dioxide.

(China Development Gateway July 7, 2010)