Review and Suggestions of the National Compulsory Tree-planting Movement

The national compulsory tree-planting movement, advocated by DENG Xiao-ping in 1981, has been carried out for more than 30 years. It has not only increased greening space and improved the ecological environment, but also promoted citizens'consciousness of ecological environmental protection, cultivated the social conduct of loving green and guarding green. But in recent ten years, the movement is more and more difficult to organize and carry out, and often becomes a mere formality. The main reason is that the law is still the same while the political, economic, and social circumstances have changed sharply. Especially the enforceability in the law is not harmonious with current economic and ecological situations. The compulsory part of the law should be repealed and replaced by volunteer. The provision that each person should plant 3 to 5 trees per year should be repealed too. The compulsory tree-planting can be insteaded by citizens'voluntary labor. The authors suggest that the central government can only issue guiding opinions, and transfer the decision power of how to implement concretely to the provinces, cities and autonomous regions according to their own situations.