The 12th meeting of the Commission for Further Reform under the CPC Hunan Provincial Committee was held on June 10, 2021. It reviewed and approved a guideline to implement a forest chief scheme nationwide amid the country's continuous efforts to protect forests and grasslands, marking the comprehensive establishment of the scheme in Hunan Province. The forest chief scheme consists of the five levels of province, city, county, town and township, and village. At the provincial level, the chief forest officer shall be the secretary of the provincial Party committee; and, the first deputy chief forest officer shall be the governor of the province.

The implementation of the forest chief scheme is a major measure for Hunan Province to implement Xi Jinping’s thoughts on ecological civilization and the spirit of his important instructions on Hunan’s work. The guideline clarified that a sound forest chief scheme and a forest and grassland resources protection and development system should be established. It called for “guaranteeing reserves, increasing quantity, and improving quality” of forest and grassland resources; ensuring the continued improvement of the ecosystem; and, making positive contributions to the goal of peak carbon dioxide emissions and carbon neutrality. It also set targets for three periods of December 2021, 2025, and 2035. According to the plan, by 2035, Hunan provincial forest coverage rate will have reached 60%, the forest stock volume will not be less than 1 billion cubic meters, the grassland comprehensive vegetation coverage will reach above 87%, and the wetland protection rate will reach 75%.

The guideline said that a department cooperation mechanism for forest chief scheme should be established. The provincial Party committee and relevant departments of the provincial government, under the command and coordination of the provincial forest chief, each will take their own responsibilities and perform their duties to jointly promote the work in progress. The forest chief scheme work office should be located at the Hunan Provincial Forestry Administration.

It also put forward that the main tasks for the full implementation of the forest head scheme are to strengthen the ecological protection, ecological restoration, disaster prevention and control of forest and grassland resources, deepen reform and innovation in the forest and grassland, strengthen monitoring and supervision of forest and grassland resources, and strengthen grassroots infrastructure construction.

This article is from Hunan Provincial Government www.enghunan.gov.cn.

Translator: Yu Jiangjiang

Chinese source: hunan.gov.cn