This aerial photo taken on July 23, 2023 shows a mangrove nature reserve in Qinzhou, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. (Xinhua/Cao Yiming)
NANNING, Aug. 16 (Xinhua) -- South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region has added an annual average of more than 3 million mu (200,000 hectares) of afforested area for 15 consecutive years.↳
The region's grassland vegetation coverage rate has reached 82.9 percent, said the forestry bureau of Guangxi on Tuesday.↳
The rocky desertification land area in the region decreased by 7.2 million mu compared with 2016.↳
Guangxi has adopted various ways to add greenery and promote carbon sink capacity, including comprehensively strengthening scientific afforestation in key river basins and vigorously developing economic forests.↳
So far, the planted forest area in Guangxi has hit 134 million mu, accounting for about 10 percent of the country's total.↳
Cai Zhongping, director of the region's forestry bureau, said the total output value of Guangxi's forestry and grass industry is expected to exceed 1 trillion yuan (about 139 billion U.S. dollars). ■
