HAIKOU, December 18. /TASS/. Hainan will soon create a multi-level system of the so-called forest managers - officials who will be responsible for the preservation of forests outside city areas., the Hainan Daily reported citing the regional forestry department.
According to the newspaper, the new control mechanism will be finally formed by 2025; its effect will be extended to representatives of both middle and higher management levels. In accordance with the decision, the authorities plan to set up a special database with brief information on all officials and civil servants who are assigned to oversee the state of forests in different parts of the island. The authorities will announce their names and positions to the public through local media. The corresponding measure will affect 18 cities and counties on Hainan, as well as the Yangpu special customs zone on the west coast of the island.
The new program is expected to protect Hainan's Free Trade Port rainforest from illegal logging and barbaric destruction. According to the government's plan, in five years the new system "will make it possible to clearly assign responsibilities and ensure effective and tough control."
According to statistics, since 1988, when Hainan Province was formed, the area of forests covering the island has increased by more than 1.6 times — to 21,300 square meters. As a result, they already occupy about 62% of its territory. Over the past 30 years, more than 71.5 million people have taken part in the regional ecological movement, planting over 300 million trees in the province, according to the authorities.
An analogue of the system of persons responsible for forest areas already exists in China. For example, the country pursues an active policy to protect the ecology of water resources: since 2018, an official is personally responsible for the state of the environment of each river and lake in China — the so-called "water resources managers". Their activities, in turn, are required to be monitored by the heads of provincial administrations.