The city of Pu’er in Yunnan province has established the country’s first pilot zone to develop a range of “green industries” that will feature low pollution. Mayor Qian Dewei said the pilot zone will support industries such as biomedicine, clean energy, forestry-related products and modern leisure and health. “Low-emission and green industries already generate more than 90% of the economic activity of Pu’er, and the city wants to share the benefits and set an example for other cities,” said Qian. “By 2016, the proportion is expected to increase to 95%.” Pu’er has established 16 nature reserves and six provincially recognized scenic sites, including the Taiyang River National Park. Forest coverage rose to 68.7% last year from 65.7% in 2010. “The core competitiveness of Pu’er lies in its environmentally friendly methods of agriculture and manufacturing,” said Qian. Pu’er leads the nation’s cities in water resources per capita, and it is first in terms of the area of farmland, forests and tropical plantations in Yunnan. The city is also a key base for hydropower and is famous for its high-quality tea and coffee.

The Shanghai Water Authority began planting sequoia trees in and around the Qingcaosha Reservoir in an effort to curb eutrophication. The reservoir, which is at the mouth of the Yangtze river, is a major source of tap water in Shanghai. About 700 trees will be planted in three years to stem eutrophication which leads to excessive plant growth and decay, said Shen Yichen, General Manager of the Chengtou Raw Water Co, the reservoir’s operator. “The eutrophication cannot be done away with completely but can be controlled with tree planting and other measures,” Shen told Shanghai Daily. A total of 400,000 square meters of trees will be planted on the south bank of the reservoir by 2015, while another 2.4 square kilometers of trees will be planted on the middle island called Qingcaosha. The trees are expected to reduce the amount of nitrogen and phosphorus materials in the water as well as prevent the growth of algae that threatens water quality. The Water Authority is also restoring wetland in and around the reservoir besides introducing algae-eating fish. Signs of eutrophication were first spotted last year, and there are also risks of salt tides.

Fujian province announced that it has been designated China’s first environmental protection pilot zone, which gives it the green light to test a series of measures aimed at energy efficiency, emissions reductions and government accountability. The measures to be implemented include audits of officials to examine their efforts on and financial budgets for environment protection and registering natural resources, such as bodies of water and forests, as intellectual property. Fujian Governor Su Shulin said: “Governments at all levels in the province will strive to eliminate outdated industrial production modes and improve the environmental impact assessment of new projects.” Fujian was selected for the pilot zone because its air and water quality rank highest in the country. Huang Zhigang, Director of Fuzhou University’s Finance Research Institute, said Fujian will advance the preservation of the environment to a higher level and become a role model for other regions. The province’s forest coverage rate reached 65.95% in 2013, the highest in the country. The forest area has increased by 365,000 hectares from five years ago, according to the provincial government.

China is on track to meet its 2020 target for expanding the nation’s forests to cover 23% of its landmass to combat climate change and soil erosion, the State Forestry Administration said. But some observers are critical of the massive reforestation, saying China is focusing on plantation forestry and ignoring the restoration of natural forests, which are still being lost. Since 2008, China has planted 13 million hectares of new forests, roughly the size of Montenegro, taking total forest coverage to 208 million hectares – or just over 21% of its landmass. “We have completed 60% of our task to meet the target for forest coverage and aim at 23% by 2020,” said Zhao Shucong, Director of the Administration. China launched its reforestation program in 1998, after devastating flooding of the Yangtze river was blamed on the loss of trees which had acted as flood barriers. By regrowing forests quickly, authorities hope to conserve 581 billion cubic meters of water each year, while storing 8.4 billion tons of carbon dioxide equivalent that otherwise would be released into the atmosphere. Xu Jianchu, Professor at the Kunming Institute of Botany of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), however said that most of the new forested land was low-quality, and pointed out that while new trees are planted rapidly, data shows that forest loss in many areas of China is increasing. Local authorities often choose to plant non-native species such as fruit trees and rubber in order to maximize economic benefits, instead of opting for trees naturally suited to local areas. In arid and semi-arid regions, this has often worsened soil erosion and water scarcity instead of solving it, adding to food production problems, the Shanghai Daily reports.

Smog in Chinese cities is providing unexpected momentum for a global deal on trade in environmental goods because China urgently needs access to cheaper, cleaner energy, Denmark’s Trade Minister Mogens Jensen said following a visit to Beijing. China last month joined a campaign by major trading powers, including the United States and the European Union, to remove barriers on trade in green goods, ranging from solar panels to wind turbines, a market worth USD1 trillion a year. “Chinese families want green solutions, they want clear blue sky and fresh air for their children,” Jensen said. Jensen was in Beijing at the end of February when the city issued its second-highest warning level, an ‘orange alert’, as pollution levels climbed far higher than the World Health Organization’s recommended upper limit. Fourteen trading powers including China, the United States and the European Union said in Davos in January that they would build on a plan launched by Asia-Pacific nations in 2011 to cut tariffs on green goods to 5% or less by the end of next year. With China’s support, Jensen believes other countries could be encouraged to join and allow negotiations to start around the middle of this year at the WTO in Geneva. So far, countries involved in the green goods initiative, including China, represent 86% of trade in environmental goods, just short of the 90% minimum the WTO requires to launch negotiations on a trade deal. Import duties on green goods can be as high as 35% in some countries, making solar panels and equipment for water treatment plants much more costly, especially for developing nations that need them most.