“We must leave our descendants a clean and beautiful Yangtze River!” General Secretary Xi Jinping’s earnest exhortation still rings in our ears. According to latest data released by the National Forestry and Grassland Administration (NFGA), 11 provinces and municipalities along the Yangtze Economic Belt have completed afforestation of 15.46 million mu (approx. 10,306.67 square kilometers) since 2022, reducing the area of rocky desertification by 42.33 million mu (approx. 28,220 square kilometers) compared with that in 2016, and reducing the area of soil erosion by 70.95 million mu (approx. 47,300 square kilometers). As a leading bank supporting the construction of national forest reserves, China Development Bank (CDB) has actively implemented the strategic cooperation agreement signed with the NFGA for the “14th Five-Year Plan” period, taking it as a top priority of cooperation to promote major regional development strategies, focusing on the building of forest and grassland ecosystems to advance the environmental conservation and green development of the Yangtze River, and increasing support for the protection and restoration of forests, grasses and wetlands along the Yangtze Economic Belt.
By the end of August 2022, CDB has committed 130.8 billion yuan in loans to key ecological projects of forest and grassland, including the building of national forest reserves, in the Yangtze Economic Belt region, involving afforestation of 32 million mu (approx. 21333.33 square kilometers), covering all provinces in the Yangtze River Basin within the scope of the national forest reserve plan. It is estimated that, upon completion, the project will promote the annual growth of China’s forest stock of 21.33 million cubic meters, and absorb 38.4 million tons of carbon dioxide per year, delivering significant ecological benefits.
Over the years, CDB has given full play to its role as a development finance institution, promoting the development of forest and grassland ecosystem in the provinces and municipalities along the Yangtze Economic Belt, and helping enlarge the afforestation area and improve the quality of forest resources along the river. In practice, CDB has developed further inclined supporting credit policies and gave further preferential treatment to national forest reserve projects. The duration of loans can be extended up to 40 years, which better fits the characteristics of the forestry industry. Moreover, differentiated policies have been provided in such aspects as contract signing, fund management, fund payment, and account supervision. At present, the bank has issued loans of nearly 30 billion yuan according to the construction progress of various projects. At the same time, it has the formulated the overall layout and objectives of forest reserves in the Yangtze Economic Belt for the whole bank, defining the supporting areas and key regions, strengthening the innovation and popularization of financing models in light of the geographical location and forestry development conditions of the provinces and municipalities along the river, and promoting project implementation in accordance with local conditions.
As a city surrounded by rivers, gorges and mountains, Chongqing shoulders the “upstream responsibility” to play an exemplary role in promoting the green development of the Yangtze Economic Belt. The city is planned to increase its soil and water conservation rate to over 72% and its forest coverage rate to 57% by 2025. The bank actively implemented the tripartite agreement signed with the NFGA and Chongqing Municipal Government, and committed loans of 10 billion yuan for the building of forestry ecosystem and project of national forest reserves, supporting afforestation of 3.3 million mu (approx. 2200 square kilometers), and creating a landmark project for the building of ecological corridors in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River and the environmental conservation of the river. After completion, the project is expected to increase the annual forest stock by 3.045 million cubic meters, producing timber of 2.281 million cubic meters and fuel wood of 219,000 tons. Meanwhile, it can also help increase income for people living in the forest area through employment of ecological forest rangers and labor services. So far, CDB has issued 1.4 billion yuan of loans to the project.
Anji in Zhejiang Province is the birthplace of the “Two Mountains Theory”. With 1.8% of the national bamboo volume, the county has created a bamboo output value accounting for nearly 10% of the country’s total, making the “lucid waters and lush mountains” represented by bamboo resources become an important carrier of “invaluable assets”. CDB has strengthened the cooperation with the local government to support the implementation of the targeted quality-improvement project for the county’s 700,000 mu (approx. 466.67 square kilometers) of bamboo forest. Through the intensive management of bamboo resources and the construction of forest infrastructure, the county can improve the ecosystem of bamboo forests, revitalizing the economy of bamboo forests, enhancing the capacity of carbon sink, and developing a new path to realize the value of ecological resources. After the implementation of the project, it is expected to promote soil and water conservation of 65,000 tons per year and increase the forest stock of 1.6 million cubic meters. In addition, it can also help 49,000 rural households and 200,000 forest farmers in Anji to increase their annual income by more than 8,000 yuan, effectively boosting local rural revitalization and creating a green sample of common prosperity.
Recently, China has issued an action plan to further advance the ecological and environmental protection and restoration of the Yangtze River basin, making arrangements for carrying out large-scale afforestation campaigns along the Yangtze Economic Belt, comprehensively protecting natural forest resources, improving the quality and efficiency of natural forests, and strengthening the building of non-commercial forests. CDB will further study and practice Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization, implement the requirements of the action plan, take a holistic approach to conserving the mountains, rivers, forests, farmlands, lakes and grasslands, intensify support for the development of forest and grassland ecosystems including national forest reserves along the Yangtze Economic Belt, and help build a green ecological corridor along the Yangtze River, so as to make new and greater contribution to protecting the mother river of the Chinese nation.
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