Beijing: The World Bank Friday approved a $60 million loan to support an afforestation project in China`s eastern Shandong province, Xinhua reported.
The project will reduce soil erosion and protect agricultural land, the World Bank said in a statement.
As part of the Shandong ecological afforestation project, plantation will be carried out in 38,000 hectares of degraded land as well as in the coastal areas.
The loan will cover 50 percent of the project costs. The remaining 50 percent will be financed by government organisations. A monitoring and evaluation system would be set up to measure the outcomes of the project.
While most previous World Bank projects had focused on improving timber output, quality and standards, this project would focus on environmental protection by establishing forest cover in areas prone to soil erosion and coastal areas prone to wind erosion, said Susan Shen, a natural resource management specialist with the bank.
IANS
