China bans commercial logging in NE forests

BEIJING - Commercial logging will be forbidden in key state forests in Northeast China on April 1, said China's forestry watchdog Thursday.

The State Forestry Administration (SFA) said commercial logging would be banned in state forests in Inner Mongolia and Jilin to assist in the recovery of China's wood resources.

Before this, Heilongjiang, another heavily forested area in Northeast China, banned commercial logging in state forests on April 1, 2014, the SFA said.

Supervision will be stepped up to ensure that the ban is carried out in full, and violators will be punished, the watchdog said.

The latest round of forestry measures were announced on March 17. By 2020, commercial logging of state forests will be reduced by about 20 percent and forested areas increased by more than 6.6 million hectares, an area more than twice the size of Belgium. Forest growing stock will increase by more than 1 billion cubic meters.

Forest zones will receive government grants when they stop logging to encourage green industries such as tourism and create jobs.

China has 4,855 state forests, about 40 percent of its total forest area, employing around 750,000 people directly.