News from CCTV: The State Council Information Office held a press conference yesterday (21st) to introduce the latest progress of my country's natural forest protection project. In response to the "Natural Forest Protection and Restoration System Plan" recently issued by the General Office of the Central Committee and the General Office of the State, the relevant person in charge of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration revealed that our country will establish an administrative head responsibility system for natural forest protection and implement the strictest supervision of natural forests.

According to the relevant person in charge of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, my country's natural forest resources protection project has been implemented for more than 20 years. The state has invested more than 400 billion yuan to protect natural forests, bringing my country's natural forest resources to 2.966 billion acres, accounting for 64% of the country's forest area, and becoming the most important green barrier for maintaining homeland security.

However, due to long-term over-exploitation of forests, my country’s natural forests are small in quantity, of poor quality, and severely degraded. Especially in terms of forest accumulation quality and per capita forest area, which reflect the richness of forest resources, there are still large gaps.

To this end, our country will adopt a higher level of protection for natural forests in the future.

Li Shuming, Deputy Director of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration: Establish a natural forest protection administrative head responsibility system and a target responsibility assessment system. Strengthen the construction of natural forest management and protection sites, management and protection networks, disaster early warning systems, forest ranger teams and co-management mechanisms.

Implement the strictest control. A complete halt to commercial logging, allowing forests to recuperate. For natural forests included in key protection areas, production and business activities are prohibited.

Implement a more comprehensive fix. Strengthen the construction of ecological corridors and encourage the gradual restoration of natural vegetation in abandoned mines and barren mountains and wastelands.

Implement stricter supervision. The effectiveness of natural forest protection and restoration will be included in the outgoing audit of natural resource assets of leading cadres.

Li Shuming, Deputy Director of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration: As an important reference for the comprehensive evaluation of local party committees, governments and leading cadres, a lifelong accountability system for damage to natural forest resources should be established.