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Premier Wen urges efforts in forestry reform

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-06-22 21:38

BEIJING: Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao Monday demanded an unswerving drive to promote the reform of collective forest right system to accelerate the development of the forestry industry.

Wen made the comments when he met participants of a national forestry conference, which aimed to study the sector's reform and promote the household contract system for collective forest land.

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The State Council (Cabinet) issued a statement last July that was effective immediately, in which it called for introduction of a household contract system in the management of collective forest land and ownership of wood.

The forest right reform is of similar historic significance of the contract responsibility system based on household management, Wen said.

China adopted the household contract responsibility system for collective farmland almost three decades ago.

According to local practices, the forest right reform worked well to boost farmers' enthusiasm for production, increase their income, promote the development of agriculture and rural economy, and improve the environment, Wen said.

He called for efforts to ensure equal access to operating rights among farmers, ensure they benefit from the system and provide more favorable policies and better services to farmers.

According to the State Council, production and management of forest land would be entrusted to farmers through 70-year contracts, while the nature of collective ownership remained unchanged. Users of such land could transfer, lease or mortgage the land using rights within the tenure.

The government planned to complete the reform in five years and form a sound development mechanism for collective forests based on the reform.

More should also be done to protect natural forests, restore farmland to forest and improve the living standard of forest growers.