Massive Reforestation Project Gets Underway
CHINA
After decades of logging that left large swaths of the country looking like a desert wasteland, China embarked on a $10-billion, 10-year program to plant 170,000 square miles of trees--an area slightly larger than California.
It is the largest reforestation project ever, forestry officials said, suggesting that only an unprecedented effort can stop the chronic droughts and deadly flooding blamed on logging.
Six separate projects are planned, ranging from reforesting hillsides to creating nature reserves for pandas, Tibetan antelopes and rare orchids.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
