BEIJING: Beijing has been designated as the “National Forest City” by China’s National Forestry and Grassland Administration due to its consistent efforts in increasing forest coverage. The city’s forest coverage rate has risen from 38.6 percent in 2012 to 44.8 percent presently, Xinhua reported.
The city boasts 2,088 species of vascular plants and 608 species of terrestrial vertebrates, making it one of the most biodiverse metropolises, Cheng Jianhua, deputy secretary general of Beijing Municipal People’s Government, told a press conference.
“Winning the title is a full affirmation of Beijing’s persistent adherence to green development,” he said.
Cheng added that the city will continue to expand ecological space, implement land greening programmes, and improve its ecosystem stability, sustainability, and diversity.
The National Forest City campaign was launched in 2004 to improve the urban environment. So far, 219 cities across the country have been granted the title.
“The campaign has become an effecti
ve way to improve the ecological well-being of the people and an important platform to popularise ecological knowledge,” said Xu Jide, an official with the National Forestry and Grassland Administration.
Source: Emirates News Agency
JERUSALEM: The Israeli-only municipality of occupied Jerusalem announced this evening its approval of the controversial settlement plan known as Silicon Valley, aimed at destroying the industrial area in the Wadi al-Joz neighborhood of Jerusalem. The approval also includes the establishment of a waste dump northeast of the occupied city.
The so-called Silicon Valley project will extend along the Wadi al-Joz road and the Othman bin Affan Street. Buildings ranging from 8 to 14 stories will be constructed on the ruins of Palestinian-owned commercial and industrial establishments in the industrial area of Wadi al-Joz.
Attorney Muhannad Jabara, who filed a petition against the project on behalf of affected Jerusalem residents, stated that the Silicon Valley plan is disastrous for the people of Jerusalem. According to him, it infringes upon the owners of businesses in the industrial area, seizing their properties despite their need for housing and an industrial zone.
He emphasized that this settlement project ai
ms to remove an entire industrial zone established by the Jerusalem residents prior to the Israeli occupation.
Jabara added that the Israeli municipality is speaking of a new neighborhood in the city, ignoring the presence of an Arab neighborhood in that location. The classification of this plan as “hi-tech” restricts residential projects in the Palestinian land, as Palestinians in Jerusalem are allowed to build on only 10% of their land.
In addition to the colonial plan, the Israeli municipality of Jerusalem approved the establishment of a waste dump on a 109-dunum area in a valley near the neighborhoods of Al-Issawiya, Anata, and Ras Shehada, east of occupied Jerusalem. This area is home to tens of thousands of Palestinians.
The plan was initiated in 2012 when the municipality aimed to establish the dump on a 520-dunum area in the same location. However, Palestinians in Jerusalem legally resisted the establishment of this dump over the course of a decade.
The dump will cover an area of 350,000 cubic met
ers, causing environmental damage to the private lands of the local Palestinian population. The occupation authorities have already demolished 70 residential and commercial structures to implement this plan.
Source: Palestine news and Information Agency – WAFA