China restores 6.7 mln ha of land in ecological remediation drive

JINAN, April 22 (Xinhua) -- China has restored over 100 million mu (about 6.7 million hectares) of land in a massive ecological remediation drive called the Shan-Shui Initiative.

The figure was released by the Ministry of Natural Resources at a World Earth Day event in the city of Linyi, east China's Shandong Province, on Monday.

The Shan-Shui Initiative, which translates as "mountains and rivers" initiative, is China's ambitious country-wide effort that aims to restore 10 million hectares of natural spaces, including mountains, forests, grasslands and waterways, by 2030.

Addressing the event, Charles Karangwa, the global head of Nature-based Solutions at the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), hailed China's efforts, saying the country has made significant achievements in ecosystem conservation and restoration.

The initiative covers 29 provincial-level regions. It includes 31 projects concerning the protection of the Yangtze River and Yellow River basins, seven on the protection of the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau, and 21 for the Three-North Shelterbelt Forest Program, according to the ministry.

It also includes 22 projects related to the development of west China, four on the revitalization of northeast China, four on the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta, and four on the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.