UTC to help aid reforestation

US-based industrial group United Technology Corporation (UTC) has signed an agreement with the government of Beichuan Ethnic Qiang autonomous county in Sichuan province to support the forest restoration of Xiaozhaizigou Nature Reserve.

The Fortune 500 company plans to aid tree planting and professional studies of local biological diversity and sustainable development through June 2010.

The forest ecosystem and biodiversity of Beichuan Ethnic Qiang autonomous county were badly damaged by the May 12 Sichuan earthquake. As the best-reserved forest and wild animal-protected area, Xiaozhaizigou Nature Reserve suffered tremendously from the quake. The reforestation office was devastated and the giant panda habitat was particularly affected.

However, there is also a huge demand for timber for construction use after the catastrophe. All the affected counties have been actively responding to demands for reconstruction, prioritizing convenience and high efficiency for local people, which is resulting in logging and acquisition of forest lands.

It is still necessary to operate the sustainable forest management to ensure reduction of ecological damage as well as sufficient timber supply for reconstruction.

The UTC project is expected to plant forests of 120 hectares (1200 Mu) with local tree species in the nature reserve from January 2009 to June 2010. The trees will be planted in key areas of the giant panda habitat or strip corridor. With this project, the administration department of the nature reserve can resume its functions as soon as possible by purchasing equipment for office use and surveying. The project will also create short-term jobs in the community.

Conservation International and Shanshui Center for Nature and Society, the executive organizers of the project, will work for sustainable forest management in cooperation with the Forestry Department of Sichuan Province and Research Center of Nature Reserve and Social Development of Peking University.

(China Daily 04/06/2009 page10)