With a total grant of 178 million euros for China's forestry projects over the past 20 years, Germany has become China's main benefactor in its cooperation with foreign countries in forestry development.  

Addressing the "Sino-German Development Cooperation in the Forestry Sector: Experiences and Prospects" seminar Wednesday, Zhou Shengxian, director of the State Forestry Administration (SFA), said the two countries' cooperation in forestry has set a good example for the rest of the world.

Since the mid-1980s, with German financial support, 32 projects on ecological afforestation, disease- and pest-control, training and education, and sustainable utilization have been implemented in 20 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities in China, according to the SFA.

In addition, over 90 counties bordering the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, which suffered greatly from seriously deteriorated ecological conditions, have benefited from the 20 Sino-German Afforestation Projects (SGAPs), with some 570,000 ha of new forests planted and more than 100 afforestation facilities built.

Zhou said that these projects are not only helpful for ecological improvement and poverty reduction in these counties, but have also remedied a shortage of funds for forest development in China, and have improved the ecosystems in the project areas.

The afforestation projects have also introduced advanced overseas techniques and management concepts, and fostered a team of highly qualified foresters, said Wang Jun, an official with the Ministry of Finance.

Joachim Broudre-Groege, German ambassador to China, had high praise for the accomplishments of the projects, and said that the German government was willing to continue to work with the Chinese government and make more contributions to the development of China's forestry.

Sponsored by the Ministry of Finance, the SFA and Germany's Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, the three-day workshop aims to summarize experience in Sino-German cooperation in the forestry field and honor those experts and teams who have made outstanding contributions.

(Xinhua News Agency November 27, 2003)