Integrated Farming Systems at Different Scales 469timber, bamboo and other forest products. Forest culture funds should be used
mainly for preparing deforested land for production and for planting new forests.
The forest department will conduct scientific research to increase the wood utiliza-
tion rate and to discover potential uses for tree species that are currently not being
used but which may have domestic or commercial potential. (Li Wenhua, 1993)
- Afforestation and reforestation
To plant trees and afforest the country is a basic national policy. In order to fulfil
the task effectively it is necessary to continue to carry out the construction of forest
systems along the Yangtze River, and to establish timber production bases in the
hilly regions. These areas have high precipitation, with good conditions for devel-
opment of fast-growing trees in short rotation. In addition to afforestation organ-
ized by forestry organizations, a voluntary mass afforestation campaign is being
encouraged. For example, according to a resolution of the People’s Congress, all
Chinese citizens above the age of 11, apart from the old, weak, sick and disabled,
are obliged to plant three to five trees every year or provide an equivalent amount
of labour by cultivating saplings, tending trees or other afforestation work as a
condition of their permit. The locals have to carry out afforestation campaigns
around ‘four sides’ (around houses, villages, roads and ditches). In addition to for-
est plantations, to assist natural regeneration, hillsides should be closed to facilitate
reforestation and redevelopment of forest ecosystems. Aerial sowing is especially
important in sparsely populated remote areas.
The department of forestry will undertake and encourage the development of
agroforestry in the region in general, and in the middle and lower reaches of the
Yangtze River Basin in particular, where population pressure is particularly acute
and cultivated land is scarce. Research programmes should be conducted to iden-
tify the optimal planting and cropping patterns under various conditions in order
to improve overall productivity and to determine ecological compatibility. - Rectifying the existing laws and management systems
These include: adjustment of the timber value in accordance with marketing
requirements; establishment of a rational subsidy system for forest environmental
protection; implementation of a low tax system for ecologically sound and envir-
onmental protection-oriented forestry management units and enterprises; estab-
lishment and improvement of a system of proper rights on exploitation; repayable
use and transfer of forest resources; development of a forestry production insur-
ance system; and accelerating multiple channel fundraising. - Improving nature reserve construction
A nature reserve is a legally confined area where various important ecosystems and
their environment, endangered species and national historical relics are placed
under protection and management. The Yangtze River Basin is characterized by its
rich biodiversity, unique ecosystems and numerous endemic and endangered spe-
cies. During the last decades many nature reserves have been established in this