Reporters learned from the Tibet Autonomous Region Forestry and Grass Bureau a few days ago that during the “13th Five-Year Plan” period, Tibet Autonomous Region have completed afforestation of 9.8 million acres (including projects of returning farmland to forests and sand prevention and control projects).

To be specific, the region adopted the implementation of afforestation and greening in the “Two Rivers and Four Rivers (Two Rivers: Yarlung Zangbo River and Nu River, Four Rivers: Lhasa River, Nyangchu River, Yarlung River and Shiquanhe)” basin, afforestation in Lhasa and surrounding areas and construction of ecological safety barriers to prevent sand.

At present, the shelter forest in key areas such as the Lhasa River Basin, Gonggar in Lhoka to the Nedong section, and the surrounding towns of Shigatse City has begun to take shape, producing significant ecological, social, and economic benefits.

According to official information, by 2023, the administrative villages below 4,300 meters in elevation in Tibet will have completed afforestation of 20 million trees. The green area rate of administrative villages suitable for forests will reach 25 percent, and 200 national forest villages will be built.