The CPC Central Committee and the State Council issued a plan and a guideline to boost forestry reform.

The plan and the guideline, published on March 17, will protect woodland resources and stop commercial logging of natural forests so as to promote ecological progress in State-owned forest farms and zones.

The measures aim to stop commercial logging be “halted in a controlled manner”.

The plan and guideline said State-owned forest farms and zones have played an important role in ecological remediation (the removal of pollutants and contaminants), and also contributed greatly to the understanding of ecology, the improvement of the forestry sector, and the “greening” of the countryside.

The plan and guideline set a goal of adding 100 million mu (6.7 million hectares) of forested areas by 2020, and more than 600 million cubic meters of forest growing stock will be added to state forest farms.

The authorities will add 5.5 million mu to national forest zones, including a 400 million cubic meter increase in growing stock.

The plan and guideline also urge national forest farms and zones to separate government functions from enterprise management, and call for more fiscal, financial and infrastructure support to facilitate sustainable development and improve employees’ livelihoods.

Last April, a pilot program was launched in northeastern China’s Heilongjiang province to ban commercial logging of natural forests in its key forest zones.

Following that pilot program, the authorities aim to stop similar logging practices nationwide based on the experience of Heilongjiang.