Abstract:

The "Three North" protective forest engineering started in 1978. It is a world known, huge ecology improving project in China. As an important part of the engineering, the Gansu "Three North" Protective Forest System covers 384 000 square kilometers,which involves 12 districts and 69 counties, about 84% of th e total area of Gansu Province and 3.43% of the total land area of the "Three North" region of China. Since the "Three North" project being put into practice, Gansu Province has taken the developing strategies of positive planting, comprehensive control, rational exploiting and using. The construction of Gansu "Three North" engineering has been going smoothly and gained great success. It has not only improved the ecological environment by renovating land, controlling desertification and preventing soil erosion, but also gained remarkable social and economic effects such as releasing farmer's economic burden, increasing local people's economic income and strengthening community's economy. Along with the establishment of market economic system, the construction of "Three North" protective forest system is facing some new challenges and difficulties. The "Three North" project is a ecological and public welfare project. It is carried out under administration of the government. All levels of governments are the manager, builder and investor of the project. In Gansu Province, almost 57% of the main part of the project was completed by community and individuals. At present, driven by economic benefit, people are enthusing over planting economic trees. Because of the lack of money and lower economic results, large number of barren hills have lost their original attraction. Moreover, the market econo my provides the builders of the project more other choices. They are easy to engage in more profitable social services. For keeping a sustainable, stable and efficient development of the "Three North" protective forest engineering and realizing the two essential transforms of forestry, various measures which include adding invest, sorting management, using new technology, establish ing share cooperative system of planting tree, optimizing resources disposition etc. must be carried out to guide various kinds of funds to flow into forestry, to heighten the economic contribution of the engineering, and to follow the way of "forestry supperted by the profits of itself". These will be the optimum choice of the "Three North" protective forest system cons truction.

Key words: The "Three North", protective forest engineering, Effect, Strategy