Tree cutter switches to saving forests

After switching from cutting down trees to saving trees, 69-year old Weng Shenglin, of Changshui village in Jiangxi province, said he is proud of the change he has made to a more environmentally conscious career.

“Our family made a living through cutting trees and selling them before 2003. Many people were like us back at that time. They chipped the trunk into mulch, or cut it into smaller blocks and hauled it away. But the tree roots remained in the ground. Forests near our village looked quite bare," Weng said.

Located in the Jiuling Mountain range, about 93.7 percent of the village, or 8,267 hectares, is covered with by forest and creeks.

Weng and his families stopped the business in 2004. At that time the local government put a ban on cutting and selling trees, and rolled out a series of measures to protect the environment and preserve ecology.

Yu Diewen, a local official, said at that time the government believed a good environment and ecology helps lower temperature, improve air quality, provide habitats for wildlife and generate more revenue for villagers.

Weng did not start saving trees until 2018.

“I was outside of the village finding jobs to support my family. The government introduced me to a cleaning job in the village and I took it," Weng said.

Since 2018, Weng had another job as a forest keeper. Daily work includes checking if trees are threatened by insects or disease, and stopping tourists from behavior that could harm trees.

According to Weng, the local government pays him about 20,000 yuan ($2,908) per year as compensation.

“In the past few years I've been seeing the forests recover and the village start to have a scenic view. Our living environment is greatly enhanced. Recent years have also seen an increasing number of tourists. People in my village earn much more now thanks to the improved environment, compared with cutting trees in the past," Weng said.

Weng said there are now nine people working full-time protecting trees and the environment.