Poverty alleviation through ecological development

Shanxi authorities have vowed to reduce poverty while at the same time restore the ecological balance of the region.

The local government launched a batch of ecological construction projects in poverty-stricken areas to improve the livelihood of people there.

Loufan county, near the Shanxi city of Taiyuan, has speed up its efforts to plant more trees as the county acts as Taiyuan's water conservation area and ecological barrier.

The county has planted a 173,000 mu forest, a project that recruited people who are living in poverty to join the erosion and torrent control work.

Cao Maozhi, a villager in Loufan, said that they earned more than 20,000 yuan ($3,000) by planting trees, much more money than planting crops in the infertile soil.

In Lan county, more than a thousand households benefited from the forestry projects intended to reduce poverty. It is expected to plant trees on a total area of 200,000 mu in five years and help lift 1,600 households out of poverty.

Shilou county has been sticking to the development of ecotourism, attracting people living in big cities to enjoy the green environment there. It has also planted jujube and walnut trees valued at 111 million yuan, converting the largest area of cultivated land into forests in the province.

Shanxi province is at the center of China's poverty alleviation and development strategy. The province has also suffered from severe water and soil erosion, with 108,000 square meters of loss.

There are 2.32 million impoverished people in Shanxi, and the majority of them are living in the areas blighted by adverse natural conditions.

More than 40 million mu of barren mountain areas are in need of greening.

Shanxi aims to reverse these adverse natural conditions, and use these efforts as an opportunity to develop a green economy and restore the ecological condition.

Liu Zhijie, director of Shanxi's Poverty Relief Office, said that the province should both keep the green environment and develop the economy at the same time. The province's goal is to see a win-win result in poverty alleviation and environmental improvement.