Forest rangers protect key green barrier

Bathed in summer sunlight, Niu Yuzhu, 52, starts his daily patrol of a forest farm in Zhuolu county, North China's Hebei province.

In addition to his patrol work, Niu has taken on other duties as the farm's "forest chief", including formulating forest management and protection plans, mobilizing locals to protect trees and promoting the implementation of protection measures.

To guard the green ecological barrier of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, Hebei has carried out large-scale scientific forestation. Forest protection has become a vital mission for Zhuolu, which is rich in woodland resources.

Approximately 10,000 hectares of forest, distributed across 13 townships in Zhuolu, fall under the management and protection area of the forest farm where Niu works.

"Four forest management and protection sites have been established and more than 100 forest rangers have been employed," Niu says.

He is one of 139,828 forest chiefs appointed by Hebei, amid China's continuous efforts to protect its forests and grasslands.

"After the implementation of the 'forest chief' project, our roles and responsibilities were clearly defined. We divide the forest and grassland resources into various grids that are managed by forest chiefs, rangers and law enforcement personnel to ensure that every plot of land can be taken care of," says Wang Zhong, deputy head of the Forestry and Grassland Bureau of Hebei province.