Eco-regional Distribution

　　The whole ecological environment of Jilin Province is extraordinarily diversified and relatively unified. It is quiteresilient andwell protected. In terms of eco-regional distribution, the province, from the east to the west, has the ecological region of virgin forest in the Changbaishan Mountains, the ecological zone of secondary vegetation in low mountainous and hilly areas of the mid-east, the Songliao Plain in the central region, and grasslands and humid areas in the west.

　　Being the headstream for several main rivers like Songhuajiang River, Yalujiang River and Tumenjiang River, Changbaishan Mountains in the east are endowed with a wide stretches of forest that makes up 70% of the forest coverage, an intact forest ecological system and a rich biodiversity.

　　In the low mountains and hills of the mid-east, there grow dense natural secondary forests and manmade forests, providing a high percentage of forest coverage and there exist rich resources of water and minerals

　　Vast, flat, fertile and with a complete system of protective forest screens for agriculture, the Songliao Plain in the middle of the province is environmentally robust, offeringfavorable conditions for producing high quality farming products.It is lauded as the “Golden Corn Belt” and “Land of Soybeans”.

　　In the west, there are a vast stretch of low-lying grassland, densely scattered natural ponds and a fairly large area of wetland.Despite little rainfall, favorable conditions of sunshine and heat and ample sources of water surface and underground water provide this are with fine prospects for agricultural development.
Nature Preservation Zones

　　Since 1960 when the Changbaishan Nature Preservation Zonewas established, the province has set up 33 nature preservation zones of different kinds at different levels, with an area of 2.2 million hectaresaccounting for 11.77% of the whole province. Out of the 33, there are 7 national nature preservation zones (NPZ)— in 1980 the Changbaishan Mountains NPZ joined UNESCO’s world biosphere protective network becoming an international nature reserve. The Momoge NPZ is in the southeast of Zhenlai, and it is mainly for the purpose of protecting rare water birds. The Xianghai NPZ in Tongyu County is mainly for protecting red-crown cranes, other rare water birds, and also the Mongolian yellow elms in desert. The Yitong Volcano Group NPZ lies in Yitong County preserving the area’sunique geological relics. TheTianfezhishan Mountain NPZ lies at Longjing City, Yanbian Prefecture, serving to protect pine tree mushrooms. The national NPZ in Upper Reaches of Yalujing River lies in Changbai County, with the main function of protecting endangered coldwater fish.The national NPZ of Longwan is in Huinan County, mainly protecting crater lakes and wetland.
Nurturing the Ecology of the Province

　　In November 1999, the State Council approved the plan that Jilin serve as an experiment in creating an ecological province. In December 2001, the “Overall Outline for Nurturing the Ecology of the Province” was approved by the 27thStanding Committee of the Provincial People’s Congress which proposed that we must scientifically manage ecological resources, continuously improve the ecological environment, relentlessly build an ecological civilization, and gradually develop a mode of economic development unique to Jilin, which is ecologically friendly and beneficial. We must realize that economic, social and ecological benefits are intrinsically linked. We should follow a path of sustainable development that is based on the situation in Jilin. After thirty years of painstaking efforts, we will have changed Jilin into an ecologically healthy province that will have a developed economy, civilized society, an excellent natural environment and resources that will last forever.

　　The construction of the ecological environment in Jilin has achieved an initial result after several years of hard work.By the end of 2004, the accumulated harnessed grassland of salinization or alkalinization totaled 7.53 mu; the land converted to forests and grass was 9 million mu; the timber cutting was reduced by 1.7 million cubic meters, the forestry coverage reached 42.5%; the treated area of soil erosion amounted to 6.92 million mu,; the basic farmland area was maintained around 72.734 million mu; the discharge of main pollutants was decreased by 5.98% on average compared with the year of 2000; and the urban public green area per capita exceeded 6 square meters.