State Forestry Administration: facing difficulties and doing a good job in the new round of returning farmland to forests

On May 8, the State Forestry Administration held a video scheduling meeting on returning farmland to forests. Zhang Yongli, deputy director of the State Forestry Administration, attended the meeting and delivered a speech. He demanded that we should face up to difficulties, innovate methods, make every effort to do a good job in the current work of returning farmland to forests, and consolidate the achievements of returning farmland to forests. Feng Jiaping, chief engineer of the State Forestry Administration, presided over the meeting.

Zhang Yongli said: it is of great importance to do a good job in the new round of returning farmland to forests, and it is necessary to further deepen our understanding of the importance of returning farmland to forests and make every effort to do a good job in the work of returning farmland to forests from three aspects. First, we will lose no time in accomplishing the task of returning farmland to forests in 2014. We should follow up and dispatch the completion of tasks in various counties and cities in a timely manner, and send personnel to the field to strengthen supervision and handling of counties and cities that have many problems and whose implementation progress is still slow. It is necessary to innovate working methods and report to major leaders in a timely manner. We must attach great importance to the quality of returning farmland to forests, do a good job in homework design according to the wishes of farmers, and strengthen the technical training of returning farmland to forests. The second is to make preparations for the implementation of the task of returning farmland to forests in 2015 as soon as possible. In 2015, 10 million mu of farmland was returned to forest and grassland, including 9.4 million mu of forest and 600000 mu of grassland. All localities should take active action to implement the tasks of 2015 to farmers and hilltop plots as soon as possible. We should do a good job in homework design and contract signing, seize the opportunity of afforestation in the rainy season and autumn and winter, and step up efforts to organize and implement the task of returning farmland to forests in 2015. Third, we should lose no time in compiling and reporting the provincial implementation plan. Provinces that have not prepared and submitted provincial implementation plans should organize all localities to step up efforts to formulate plans and arrange and implement tasks for the years to come. Those who have reported provincial implementation plans but have not been implemented on the current land use map and hilltop plots should also coordinate the relevant departments to re-implement them.

Zhang Yongli put forward six requirements for further consolidating the achievements of returning farmland to forests: first, according to the results of joint supervision and inspection of the implementation of the special plan for consolidating achievements, guide all localities to study and solve the problems existing in project construction in a timely manner, and strive to do a good job in the completion of the implementation of the special plan for consolidating achievements; second, we should earnestly do a good job in the rectification and reform of the outstanding problems in stage acceptance. Third, it is necessary to sort out the certification situation and existing problems of the right to return farmland to forests in the previous round, and put forward specific solutions; fourth, it is necessary to promptly include the conversion of farmland to forests that meet the national and local criteria for the demarcation of public welfare forest areas into the compensation for forest ecological benefits of the central and local governments; fifth, it is necessary to gradually bring the conversion of farmland to forests into the scope of existing forest tending subsidies, and constantly improve the quality and efficiency of returning farmland to forests. Sixth, it is necessary to exercise strict discipline and strictly investigate and deal with such problems as the destruction of the achievements of returning farmland to forests and the destruction of forests and reclamation in individual places.

At the meeting, 10 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) and Xinjiang production and Construction Corps of Hubei, Hunan, Chongqing, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan, Guangxi, Gansu, Shaanxi, Shanxi and Xinjiang production and Construction Corps reported on the implementation of returning farmland to forests in 2014 and work preparations for 2015.