Gansu Provincial Forestry and Grassland Administration

Pursuant to the spirit of the Notice issued by the General Office of the Provincial Party Committee and the General Office of the Provincial People's Government on the issuance of the ‘Regulations on the Functional Configuration, Internal Organisations and Staffing Levels of the Gansu Provincial Forestry and Grassland Bureau’:

Article 1 These Regulations are formulated in accordance with the ‘Notice of the General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the General Office of the State Council on Issuing the Gansu Provincial Institutional Reform Plan’ (Zhongfa [2018] No. 120).

Article 2 The Gansu Provincial Forestry and Grassland Bureau (hereinafter referred to as the Provincial Forestry and Grassland Bureau) is a body directly subordinate to the Provincial Government. It operates under the unified leadership and management of the Provincial Department of Natural Resources at the departmental level. Externally, it also serves as the Office of the Gansu Provincial Greening Committee and the Gansu Provincial Administration of the Qilian Mountain National Park for Giant Pandas.

Article 3: The Provincial Forestry and Grassland Bureau implements the guiding principles, policies, and decisions of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the Provincial Party Committee concerning forestry and grassland affairs. In discharging its duties, it upholds and strengthens the Party's centralised and unified leadership over forestry and grassland work. Its principal responsibilities are:

(1) To implement national policies, plans, and standards for forestry, grassland, and ecological conservation and restoration; to draft relevant local regulations and government rules; and to oversee the supervision and management of forestry, grassland, and ecological conservation and restoration throughout the province. Organising dynamic monitoring and evaluation of forest, grassland, wetland, desert, and terrestrial wildlife resources.

(2) Organising ecological conservation, restoration, afforestation, and greening initiatives across the province. Implementing key ecological conservation and restoration projects for forests and grasslands; guiding the cultivation of public welfare forests and commercial timber forests; overseeing nationwide compulsory tree-planting campaigns and urban-rural greening efforts. Directing pest control and quarantine measures for forestry and grassland ecosystems. Undertakes relevant work concerning forestry and grassland responses to climate change.

(3) Oversees the supervision and management of forest, grassland, and wetland resources throughout the province. Organises the formulation and supervises the implementation of provincial forest harvesting quotas. Manages forest land, drafts and implements forest land protection and utilisation plans, guides the demarcation and management of national and local public welfare forests, and administers state-owned forest resources. Oversees grassland grazing bans, grass-livestock balance, and grassland ecological restoration and management, while supervising the development and utilisation of grasslands. Oversees wetland ecological conservation and restoration, formulates wetland protection plans, implements national wetland conservation standards, and supervises wetland development and utilisation.

(4) Oversees desertification control across the province. Organises desert surveys, formulates plans for sand control, desertification prevention, and the establishment of protected areas for sandy land, supervises the development and utilisation of sandy land, and coordinates sandstorm disaster forecasting and emergency response.

(v) Overseeing the supervision and management of terrestrial wildlife resources throughout the province. Organising surveys of terrestrial wildlife resources; guiding the rescue and breeding of terrestrial wildlife, habitat restoration and development, and monitoring of disease sources and epidemics; supervising the hunting or collection, captive breeding or cultivation, and commercial utilisation of terrestrial wildlife; and overseeing the import and export of wildlife.

(vi) Overseeing the management of all categories of nature reserves within the province. Formulating plans and relevant regulations for various nature reserves and organising their implementation. Undertaking tasks related to the construction and management of national parks in accordance with the division of responsibilities. Proposing review recommendations for the establishment or adjustment of nature reserves at all levels and categories within the province, submitting them for approval through established procedures. Responsible for the nomination of World Natural Heritage sites and, in conjunction with relevant departments, for the nomination of World Natural and Cultural Dual Heritage sites. Overseeing work related to biodiversity conservation.

(vii) Responsible for advancing forestry and grassland reform across the province. Formulates major reform proposals concerning the collective forest tenure system, state-owned forest farms, and grasslands, and oversees their implementation. Develops policies and measures for rural forestry development and safeguarding the lawful rights and interests of forestry operators, while guiding the contracting and management of rural forest land. Implements the policy of converting farmland (or pastureland) back to forests and grasslands, and oversees the protection of natural forests.

(8) Formulates policies for the optimal allocation of forestry and grassland resources and timber utilisation across the province. Develops and oversees the implementation of local standards for related forestry industries. Organises and guides the development of forestry industries and the supervision of forest product quality.

(IX) Guide the fundamental construction and development of state-owned forest farms across the province. Organise surveys of forest seed and grass germplasm resources, establish germplasm repositories, oversee the breeding and promotion of superior varieties, regulate the production and operation of forest seedlings and grass seeds, and monitor their quality. Supervise the management of forestry and grassland biological germplasm resources, genetically modified organism safety, and plant variety protection throughout the province.

(10) Implement relevant requirements of the provincial comprehensive disaster prevention and mitigation plan; formulate forest and grassland fire prevention plans and protection standards, guiding their implementation; direct fire patrols, ignition source management, and fire prevention facility construction. Organise and guide fire prevention efforts in state-owned forest farms and grassland areas, including public education, monitoring and early warning, and supervision and inspection. Where necessary, may request the Provincial Department of Emergency Management to deploy relevant prevention and control work under the authority of the provincial emergency command body.

(11) Oversees the management of central and provincial-level funds and state-owned assets for forestry and grassland affairs. Proposes recommendations for budgetary investments and the allocation of national and provincial fiscal funds within the forestry and grassland sectors. Prepares and implements the departmental budget, and reviews investment projects within the scope of national planning, provincial budgets, and annual plans according to prescribed authority. Participates in formulating provincial economic adjustment policies for forestry and grassland sectors, and organises the implementation of ecological compensation initiatives.

(12) Oversee provincial forestry and grassland science, technology, education, and foreign affairs; guide provincial talent development in forestry and grassland sectors; implement international exchange and cooperation initiatives; undertake responsibilities related to implementing international conventions on wetlands, desertification control, and endangered wildlife.

(13) Execute other tasks assigned by the Provincial Party Committee, Provincial Government, and National Forestry and Grassland Administration.

(14) Functional Transformation. The Provincial Forestry and Grassland Bureau shall substantially enhance ecosystem protection efforts, implement key ecosystem conservation and restoration projects, strengthen the coordinated oversight of forests, grasslands, and wetlands, vigorously advance national land greening initiatives, and safeguard national ecological security. It shall uniformly advance the standardisation, consolidation, and integration of all types of nature reserves, accelerating the establishment of a nature reserve system centred on national parks.