Guizhou ranks first in China in afforestation

After years of afforestation efforts, the forest coverage growth rate and amount of reforested farmland in Southwest China's Guizhou province ranked first in China.

In the past 10 years, Guizhou afforested 50.97 million mu (3.4 million hectares) of forest, increased forest coverage rate from 47 percent to 62.12 percent, and returned 16.95 million mu of farmland to forest.

Guizhou also prevented and reversed the expansion of 13,100 square kilometers of stony deserts, and raised 68.5 billion yuan ($10.17 billion) to invest in 5.08 million mu of national reserved forests.

The province is now home to four UNESCO World Natural Heritage sites, more than any other province in China.

Through the protection of the natural ecosystem, Guizhou has established 314 natural protected areas, with the richness of biodiversity ranking among the highest in China.

In the past 10 years, Guizhou's total output value of the forestry industry increased from 40.1 billion yuan to 371.9 billion yuan, and the service value of the forest ecosystem increased from 42.75 billion yuan per year to 87.83 billion yuan per year.