BEIJING — The output value of China’s forestry sector will reach 7 trillion yuan (about $1.1 trillion) in 2017 on the back of continued input, an official said on Dec 5.

China has seen the fastest growth of forestry resources worldwide, with an improving environment and higher forestry productivity, Zhang Jianlong, head of the State Forestry Administration, said at a conference in Beijing.

Forestry development has lifted 1.08 million people out of poverty in 2017, playing a bigger role in raising farmers’ incomes.

China has raised ecological construction to an unprecedented level over the past five years, with afforestation one of its major projects.

In the future, China will continue to carry out afforestation projects and help to lift more families out of poverty, Zhang said.

By the end of 2015, the total area of China’s forests stood at 3.12 billion mu (208 million hectares), and forest coverage was 21.66 percent.