The global area of forests has declined sharply from 7.6 billion hectares to 2.8 billion due to continuous human devastation and continues to shrink more than 15 million hectares per year. Forests in China have also been severely damaged.  Because the environmental deterioration of the earth has a “domino effect,” the preservation of China’s ecological environment is critical not only for the sustainable development of the country but also for the rest of the world.  Planting trees is a simple yet effective solution to the problem of deforestation.

 

In 1999, the CYDF launched its “Mother River Protection Project,” with the mission to plant large numbers of trees near the sources of the Yangtze River and the Yellow River and eventually in other environmentally threatened areas throughout the country. This project has already assisted 12 provinces in China and set up 55 programs for planting trees, covering over 1,000,000 acres.

 

The Mother River Protection Project seeks to assist local farmers in the most threatened environmental and underdeveloped areas beside the Yellow River and the Yangtze River to plant trees.   This project will accelerate forestation, raise public awareness of environmental protection, protect and reconstruct ecology, and promote the sustainable development of Chinese society, the economy, and the environment.  To achieve these goals, the CYDF needs to mobilize considerable financial and labor resources.  The CYDF and its authorized provincial foundations collect funds at home and abroad for the Mother River Protection Project.  A management system responsible for application review, project selection, distribution, supervision, and auditing is designed to ensure the safe and effective use of contributions and the healthy growth of the trees.  The method of “one-to-one” aid employed in Project Hope has been adopted for the Mother River Protection Project, and donors are informed of the location and the planters of their funded trees enabling them to contact the planters if they so desire.

 

Over the past three years, the Mother River Protection Project has raised donations of up to RMB 100 million, undertaken 197 programs in 17 provinces across China, planted 2.12 million mu (about 142 thousand hectares) of trees, and organized over 50 million youth volunteers to participate in the planting of trees and other environmental protection activities. 

 

A donation of a mere 5 RMB will donate the planting of one tree.  A donation of RMB 200 will sponsor the planting of one mu of trees (approximately 667 square meters)

 

 

1) A donation of RMB 5 (about US$ 0.6) could fund the planting of one tree;

2) A donation of RMB 200 (about US$ 25) could fund the planting of one mu of trees (about 0.067 hectares);

3) An individual contributor donating RMB 20,000 (about US$ 2,500) or an institutional contributor donating RMB 100,000 (about US$12,500) could name the woods they have funded;

4) Any donation of RMB 1 million (about US$125,000) could be named after the contributor as a specific fund for the Mother River Protection Project;

5) The donation of any products that might be useful for tree planting and program management are also encouraged.

6) The CYDF and its provincial partners will present a commemoration card to those who have made single donations of RMB 200 or more.  These cards will inform the donors of the location and planters of the trees they have funded.