A World Bank-funded soil erosion treatment program will be
launched in the first half of this year to restore the ecological
systems in 37 counties and cities in Southwest China.
Xu Yanjie, a water conservation official with the
Guizhou Provincial Government, said the program will be
launched to restore around 3,000 square km of damaged ecological
systems before June 2006 with loans from the World Bank.
He said the six-year program will involve 274 small river
valleys which saw nearly half of their soil eroded due to
irrational land exploration.
The areas to be treated will cover the three provinces of
Yunnan, Guizhou,
Hubei and the
Chongqing Municipality. The total investment will add up to
1.62 billion yuan (US$200 million).
Of the investment, US$100 million will be funded by a World Bank
loan and the rest will be covered by funds from the Chinese
government and donations from the European Union.
According to official researchers, soil erosion has consumed
3,430 square km of land in the river valleys, accounting for 47.5
percent of the total land area in the 274 small river reaches.
Soil erosion has created major bottlenecks which have hindered
sustainable development in the area. Nearly half of the 37 counties
and cities are poverty-stricken and dependent on relief funds from
the Central Government to sustain rural life.
(Xinhua News Agency February 4, 2006)