Maoming has been striving to strengthen environmental protection and enhance the cultivation of its forest resources in recent years, in a bid to build itself into a "national sanitary city".

The city has made some progress. In 2020, the total output value of its forestry industry is expected to reach 19.92 billion yuan ($3.07 billion).

Maoming Open-Pit Mine Ecological Park. [Photo/WeChat account: maofabu]

Various voluntary tree-planting activities have been carried out in Maoming to cultivate a green social consensus and promote a desire to love, plant and protect trees.

Since the city started building itself into a national sanitary city in September 2017, around 11.52 million people have participated in voluntary tree-planting activities in the city, planting more than 37.96 million trees.

Currently, Maoming has a forest area of 637,700 hectares and a wooded area of 531,200 hectares, with the forest coverage rate reaching 55.8 percent. The green coverage ratio in the main urban area of the city is 42.34 percent, while the per capita park green space area is 16.26 square meters.

The 10-kilometer landscape leisure belt along the Xiaodong River in Maoming boasts splendid natural scenery. [Photo/WeChat account: maofabu]

Construction of the key ecological project of the forestry industry was intensively promoted in Maoming in 2020.

Last year, the reforestation area in the city totaled 171,400 mu (11,426.67 hectares), while the forestry cultivation area was 226,900 mu. A total of 147 demonstration sites for greening and beautifying rural areas were built in the city.

The city also strengthened the protection of natural forests in 2020. It allocated a total of 132.6 million yuan as compensation funds for ecological welfare benefits, accounting for 96.7 percent of the city's total compensation funds.

In addition, Maoming has implemented strict measures to strengthen the control of fire sources in the wild and publicity around forest fire prevention. More than 60,000 copies of promotional materials like brochures and posters have been distributed.

Prevention and control measures for major forestry pests such as pine wood nematode disease have also been established in the city.